Sample Development – Huntersourcing

01 / The sample sequence

Five stages, and what each one has to confirm.

Every stage names its owner and the point that has to be settled before the next one starts. This sequence sits inside the wider procurement flow set out on the process page; timings, revision rounds and fees are agreed on the order rather than fixed here.

01

Sample brief

The requirement is written down before anything is made.

The brief fixes what the sample has to prove: the product, material, size, colour, packaging, the quantity behind it and the market it is going to. It is written down, so the factory works from the same version of the requirement that you agreed.

Brief confirmed

Owner: Sales, with you
Works from: The agreed requirement, the target quantity and market, the packaging direction and the price position.
Confirmed at this stage: Material, size, colour and packaging as the points the sample will be held against.
On the record: Written requirement brief and the agreed specification.

02

Supplier feedback

The supplier answers the brief before a sample is started.

The factory works from the brief, not from a verbal description. Points the brief leaves open — material availability, tooling, the structure of the packaging, or the quantity the sample stands for — come back to us, and we put them to you before sampling starts.

Open points returned

Owner: Sales and Sourcing
Works from: The confirmed brief, and what the supplier can actually produce.
Confirmed at this stage: Which supplier makes the sample, and any point in the brief that has to be settled first.
On the record: Supplier response and the decisions taken on the open points.

03

Sample produced

The factory makes the sample against the confirmed brief.

The supplier produces the sample. Where the factory provides the sample free of charge, we do not charge a sample fee, and the courier cost is borne by you. Any sample charge beyond a free factory sample, and the rule for re-sampling, are agreed on the order.

Sample fee agreed per order

Owner: Supplier, coordinated by Merchandising
Works from: The confirmed brief and the specification it carries.
Confirmed at this stage: Material, size, colour and packaging are the points you check on the sample that reaches you.
On the record: Sample photography, how the sample was packed and the courier record.

04

Specification and packaging review

The sample is read against the brief, point by point.

The sample and its packaging are compared with what you confirmed: material, size, colour, and the retail packaging, carton, label and printed information that go with them. A difference is reported rather than smoothed over, because the same points are read again on the bulk.

Differences listed

Owner: Merchandising, with you on the confirmation
Works from: The sample as produced, the confirmed specification and the packaging direction.
Confirmed at this stage: Where the sample matches the brief, and where it does not.
On the record: Comparison notes and side-by-side photography of the points checked.

05

Revision or approval

Either the sample changes, or it is approved in writing.

Where a point does not match the brief, it goes back to the supplier with the correction. How many revision rounds an order takes, and what a further round costs, are agreed on the order rather than fixed in advance. When the sample is right, you approve it in writing and it becomes the reference for the run.

Approved before production

Owner: Sales on the revision request, you on the approval
Works from: The comparison notes and the sample itself.
Confirmed at this stage: The revision points, or your written approval of the sample as the production reference.
On the record: Revision request, revised sample and the written sample approval.

02 / Side-by-side comparison

What the bulk is held against.

The approved sample is the reference. The same points are read on the sample and on the first shot or the bulk, and the difference is written down rather than negotiated afterwards. The checks that follow the same reference before shipment are on the quality control page.

Approved sample against the bulk or first shot, point by point. The method and any accepted range are agreed on the order.
Point	Approved sample — the reference	Bulk or first shot	How the two are compared
Material	The material approved on the sample.	The material actually used in the run.	What was used is held against what was approved, and the difference is written into the record.
Size	The size confirmed on the sample and carried on the specification.	The size as produced and packed.	Measured on the bulk unit and recorded; the measuring method and any accepted range are agreed on the order, not published here.
Colour	The colour approved on the sample.	The colour as produced.	Read against the approved sample and photographed; what counts as acceptable is agreed on the order.
Packaging	The retail packaging and master carton confirmed on the sample.	Retail unit, master carton and packing as produced.	Structure, material, dimensions and printed information checked against the confirmed version.
Label and carton mark	The label, barcode and carton mark confirmed with the sample.	The label, barcode and carton mark as printed.	Compared with the confirmed wording and artwork, and photographed as found.

A comparison is only as good as its reference. That is why the sample is confirmed in writing before the run starts, and why the same points are checked again before the goods leave.

03 / Approval record

Nothing goes into mass production without a written approval.

Until the sample is confirmed in writing, the run has no agreed reference to be held against — and a sample that stops matching the bulk is one of the clearest concerns a buyer can have.

Why production waits for it

The approved sample is a named version. A later revision is a different sample, and the record has to say which one was approved.
The bulk run is held against that sample at the pre-production material check and again at the inspection before shipment.
Written approval is what releases production. It also makes any later difference a matter of record rather than of recollection.

Sample approval

What the record contains

Issued in writing

Which sample: The sample the approval refers to, so a later revision cannot be mistaken for the approved one.
The points confirmed: Material, size, colour and packaging as you confirmed them on the sample.
Points that differed: Any point that did not match the brief, and how it was settled before approval.
Who approved it, and when: A name and a date, so the approval belongs to a version of the sample.
What it releases: The specification the bulk run is held against, at the pre-production material check and again at inspection.

The exact written form of the sample approval is being finalised with the client; the templates are issued on the Huntersourcing letterhead.

04 / Field evidence

What sampling looks like on the bench.

Each figure below is a placeholder labelled with the size it should be replaced at, so real close-up photography from sampling can drop straight in.

Close-up of a reference sample on a bench beside the specification sheet it is read against — Fig. 01 Reference sample read against the specification sheet. 1200 × 800

Approved sample and a first-shot unit side by side under the same light with calipers in frame — Fig. 02 Approved sample against the first shot, point by point. 1200 × 800

Sample approval sheet beside the packed retail unit and master carton it refers to — Fig. 03 Approval record, retail unit and master carton. 1200 × 800

Start here

Send the product, the specification and the packaging direction.

We will confirm what the sample has to prove, how the points are compared, and what the approval has to record before the run starts. The route the bulk follows from there is set out on the process page and the quality control page.

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