Shipping and Delivery: How an Order Leaves the Plant

A price and a lead time are only half of what a buyer needs to plan. This page covers the other half. Here we explain how long a job takes, how the goods travel, and what happens to them first.

How long a job takes

There is no blanket lead time for this plant, and it would be misleading to publish one. Lead time depends on the part. We look at complexity, tooling, and how many operations the part needs. Then we look at the material and the quantity you order.

A simple formed bracket and a multi-station progressive-die part do not share a schedule. So we work out the lead time per job. Then we confirm it with the quotation, before you commit to anything.

How the goods travel

Orders ship by sea freight from Tianjin Port. This plant makes stamped and fabricated metal parts, which are dense and non-perishable. Sea freight is therefore the economical choice. We plan transit time around the sailing schedule rather than against it.

Incoterms

We accept any of the standard international commercial terms. Instead of pushing you onto one arrangement, we quote on whichever Incoterm your own purchasing process uses. That could be EXW, FOB, CIF, DDP or any other Incoterms 2020 rule.

Tell us which one you need at the enquiry stage. The term decides who books the freight and who carries the risk in transit. It also decides which part of the cost sits inside our price rather than on your own freight account. So a quote without it is a quote you cannot compare.

If you are not yet sure which term suits the order, say so. We will set out the practical difference between the options for your destination.

Packaging

We specify packaging per order, and we can customise it to your requirement. Instead of shipping in a standard carton, we agree the packaging spec with you first. That happens before our team boxes the parts.

It helps to tell us two things: what the parts have to survive, and what happens to them at your end.

• Handling and stacking — whether your team picks parts by hand or by forklift, and how high they stack them
• Moisture and rust exposure — transit time, humid climates on the route, and how long the parts sit in your warehouse afterwards
• Incoming-goods requirements — your own receiving rules: pallet standard, label format, barcode or QR requirement
• Any retail or end-user packaging — if the part is packed for a customer rather than for a warehouse

Samples

We supply samples free of charge. We do not include the freight.

That is deliberate. It keeps our sample cost low. The only real variable is speed and distance, and that stays in your hands. You choose the courier and the service level, and you pay the carrier directly.

What to send with your order enquiry

1. Drawing (PDF plus the native file) or a physical sample
2. Material grade and thickness
3. Quantity — both the first order and the expected annual volume, if you know it
4. Surface finish or treatment requirement
5. Preferred Incoterm and destination port
6. Any packaging or labelling requirement on top of the standard

Related pages

• Equipment list — the machines a lead time is actually built from.
• Our factory — where we make the parts, and who makes them.
• Custom parts gallery — examples of what ships in these boxes.

Ask about a specific order

Tell us the part, the destination port and the Incoterm you work on. We will then come back with three things together: price, lead time and the shipping arrangement. We answer quotations within 2 hours on working days. Request a quote.