Sourcing for Brands / Product & Customisation

Sourcing for Brands

For brands buying under their own name from China: the product detail, materials, colour, packaging and customisation confirmed point by point, the sample held as the reference for bulk, and one controlled channel to the factory.

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01 / What brands need handled

Six things a brand order has to hold together.

Brand work is decided on detail rather than on price alone. Each block below names what it covers, the checkpoint that has to pass and what the record holds afterwards.

Product detail fixed in writing

A brand programme starts from the product as the client sells it. Material, dimensions, colour, appearance and packaging are written down before sourcing starts, together with the quantity, target price and target market the order has to meet.

What this covers: Material, dimensions, colour, appearance and packaging as stated by the client, with the quantity, target price and target market around the order.
Checkpoint: The written requirement is confirmed with the client before sourcing begins.
On record: The requirement brief.

Materials, colour and finish

Material and colour are the lines a factory can read differently. They are settled on the sample and not only on paper, so the approved reference is something both sides can point at later.

What this covers: The material specification, colour reference and surface finish, compared on the sample against the requirement.
Checkpoint: Client confirmation of material, dimensions, colour and packaging on the sample.
On record: Sample photography and the written approval.

Packaging and brand presentation

Retail pack, product label and carton marks carry the brand into the market. They are reviewed against the artwork or the reference the client supplies, and checked again on the packed goods.

What this covers: Retail packaging, product labelling and carton marking for the target market, checked on the packed goods before dispatch.
Checkpoint: Packaging confirmed with the sample, then re-checked on the packed goods.
On record: The approved packaging reference and the packaging check photographs.

Private-label customisation

Customisation is where a factory can misread a requirement. The custom points on the order are listed one by one and each is confirmed rather than assumed, so nothing rides on a conversation.

What this covers: The custom points raised on the order — material, colour, finish, labelling and packaging — each stated in writing.
Checkpoint: Every custom point confirmed on the sample and restated in the PI before production.
On record: The customisation checklist with the approved sample.

Sample-to-bulk consistency

What is approved on the sample is what the bulk is checked against. The gap between a good sample and a delivered order is closed by checking material before production, following production and inspecting before dispatch.

What this covers: Pre-production material check, production follow-up, pre-shipment inspection and, where the order calls for it, a bulk sample.
Checkpoint: Written client approval of the inspection report or the bulk sample before dispatch.
On record: The inspection report with photographs and video.

Controlled supplier communication

The brand and the factory speak through one channel. A lead time, a specification change or a quality question is raised with the client before it reaches the order, and work continues only once there is agreement.

What this covers: Lead time, specification changes and quality questions raised by the supplier or the factory during production.
Checkpoint: Client agreement recorded before the order continues past a change.
On record: The written record of the issue and the agreed way forward.

02 / Specification & approval

What is compared before bulk production.

The same axes are used for every order, so an approval can be read back later. The table states which values are compared and the state the record moves through — never a measurement, a tolerance or a quantity taken as fixed.

Specification axes, what is put side by side, and the state each one reaches on the record.
Specification axis	What is put side by side	State on the record
Material	The material proposed by the factory, read against the material stated in the requirement.	Confirmed in writing
Dimensions	The measured size on the sample, read against the quoted specification.	Confirmed in writing
Colour and finish	The colour reference and surface finish on the sample, read against the approved reference.	Confirmed or returned for rework
Construction and appearance	How the sample is built and finished: seams, edges, assembly and fittings.	Change agreed before production continues
Packaging and labelling	Retail pack, product label and carton marks, read against the approved artwork or reference.	Approved with the sample
Sample to bulk	Production items read against the approved sample at the pre-shipment check.	Released only on written approval

Approval is what the bulk is checked against.

A sample that reads well but was never written down protects no one. Each axis above is confirmed on the sample, restated on the PI, and then used as the reference when the finished goods are checked before dispatch.

The stages and their owners are set out on Our Process; the checks themselves, including what is recorded when something fails, are on Quality Control; the service modules the work is quoted from are on Sourcing Services. Importers and distributors running several product lines take a different route: Sourcing for Importers & Distributors.

03 / What stays on record

The brand file, kept per order.

One file per order rather than one per conversation: the requirement, the approved sample, the checks and the release stay together, so a later restock or a new colourway can start from what was actually agreed.

Requirement brief: Product, quantity, target price and target market, with material, dimensions, colour and packaging requirements.
Specification sheet: The confirmed values that the sample and the bulk order are checked against.
Sample approval: Client confirmation in writing, with photography of the approved sample.
Pre-production material check: Material read against the approved specification before production starts.
Production follow-up notes: Progress and lead time, with any specification change and the client agreement recorded.
Inspection report: Photographs and video of the product and packaging at the pre-shipment check, plus a bulk sample where the order calls for one.
Release authorisation: The client written approval of the report or the bulk sample, held before dispatch.

A restock begins from the same file: the approved sample, the specification sheet and the inspection report are read again before the next order is placed.

04 / Field evidence

What a brand order looks like on the table.

Product detail, packaging and the sample-to-bulk comparison. Each figure below is a placeholder labelled with the size it should be replaced at.

Product detail under review: a sample with material, colour and finish read against the specification sheet — Fig. 01 Product detail under review against the specification sheet. 1200 × 800

Packaging and label approval: retail pack, product label and master carton checked against the approved artwork — Fig. 02 Packaging and label approval against the approved artwork. 1200 × 800

Sample-to-bulk comparison: a production item placed beside the approved sample at the pre-shipment check — Fig. 03 Sample-to-bulk comparison at the pre-shipment check. 1200 × 800

Start here

Send the product, the customisation and the packaging direction.

Material, dimensions, colour, packaging and the market the product is sold into: that is enough for us to assess which suppliers can meet the requirement before quoting.

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