Before Production Starts
Production does not start when the order is placed. It starts when the specification is frozen, the drawings are approved, and — for anything custom or color-critical — a sample has been signed off. On a project with several bathroom types this approval loop can take weeks on its own, particularly if drawings go back and forth. It is the stage most often left off the schedule, and the one most often responsible for a late start that then gets blamed on the factory.
The practical fix is to put the approval milestones on the project program with owners and dates: drawings issued, drawings approved, sample dispatched, sample approved, production released. Only the last of those starts the production clock.
- Specification freeze and drawing approval are scheduled milestones
- Sample approval precedes production release for custom or color-critical items
- The production clock starts at release, not at order placement
Production to Departure
Production lead time is subject to the current production schedule — typically 45–60 days — and should be confirmed for the specific order rather than carried over from a previous one, because the factory's loading at the time of release is what actually sets it. After production, a pre-shipment inspection (whether a third-party AQL inspection or the buyer's own) needs its own slot, and any rework it triggers extends the date. Booking the container, packing and loading, and moving the goods to port follow; sailing dates are fixed by the carrier, so a missed cut-off can cost a full week even when production finished on time.
- Confirm lead time per order: subject to current production schedule, typically 45–60 days
- Schedule inspection as its own step, with time for rework
- Booking and cut-off dates are carrier-fixed; a missed cut-off is a lost week
Transit to Installation
Port-to-port ocean transit from South China is commonly quoted in the region of 12–14 days to the US West Coast and 27–31 days to the East Coast via the Panama Canal; other destinations have their own ranges, and any figure should be confirmed with the forwarder at booking rather than taken from a guide. Port arrival is not delivery: customs clearance, port drayage and inland trucking commonly add around 5–10 days, and forwarders typically advise holding a further buffer of roughly 7–10 days for congestion, customs holds or drayage shortages.
On site, the goods still need to be received, checked against the packing list, stored under protection, and distributed to rooms in installation order. Per-room labeling agreed before production is what makes that last step fast. Planning backwards from the installer's start date through each of these stages — and adding the seasonal constraints of Chinese New Year and peak shipping season — gives a realistic order date. Planning forwards from the order date tends to give an optimistic one.
- Confirm transit ranges with the forwarder; treat published figures as planning references
- Add clearance, drayage and inland delivery time after port arrival, plus a delay buffer
- Receive, check, protect and distribute per room before installation begins
- Plan backwards from the installation date, including holiday and peak-season constraints
