Most first orders from China go wrong in the same places, and almost none of them are in the factory. They are in the specification, the paperwork and the packing. This is the sequence that works.
Step 1: Fix the specification before you ask for a price
Material, grade, gauge, dimensions with tolerance, colour reference, packaging type. A quote without these is a guess, and two factories will quote two different products. The specification is what makes quotes comparable.
Step 2: Decide what you are optimising for
Unit cost or landed cost per SKU. The first wants one product in one colour in volume. The second usually wants several products in a mixed order. You cannot optimise for both, and the supplier will optimise for whatever you ask for.
Step 3: Ask for the MOQ in three configurations
Single product, single product with a size split, and your actual range. Material minimums, component minimums and run-time minimums respond differently to each. Compare landed cost per SKU, not unit price.
Step 4: Identify the production belt
Which region actually makes this. It determines the material minimum, the real lead time, and whether your range can share one container or needs two.
Step 5: Approve a specification, not a sample
Turn the sample into a written document with measured values and photographs. A sample is a conversation starter, not a decision.
Step 6: Settle compliance before the deposit
REACH, GPSR and food-contact requirements, with current test reports for the exact materials. The obligation sits with the importer, so ask for the documents you will need, not a statement that the factory complies.
Step 7: Agree the packing plan
Sequence, cube and weight per position, and the utilisation rate you expect. Ask for the drawing before loading, not after.
Step 8: Put the packaging rules in the purchase order
No factory identity anywhere on product, packaging, labels, carton marks or documentation. Your label and barcode as specified. Photographs of the finished unit and the shipping carton before loading.
Step 9: Inspect before the container is sealed
Mid-production photographs with the order number visible. Packed goods. The open container from the door. For orders above a meaningful amount, a third-party inspection at the factory. All of it costs less than a demurrage charge.
The summary
Specification, belt, MOQ structure, written approval, compliance documents, packing plan, purchase-order terms, inspection. Nine items, and every one of them is cheaper to settle before the deposit than after the container has left the port.
