Importing custom sewn goods from China…what is the process?

Our aim at O’Kane Global Sourcing is to make the entire importing process as easy as possible for our clients. We handle all negotiations and correspondence with the Asian factories and you will only interface with our US office. Let me walk you through the process:

1. Initial call/email with client: this is where we first decide if this is a viable project. If it seems like a good fit we’ll send an email summary to the Hong Kong office for their initial comments, concerns and questions. These are shared with the client and then a decision is made to go forward or to pass on the project. We don’t want to waste anyone’s time if the project is not a good fit.
2. Samples and/or drawings + spec sheets are sent to the NH office and are forwarded along to Hong Kong. It usually takes approximately 5 days for the samples to arrive to HKG.
3. Hong Kong staff will acknowledge receipt of samples and clarify any points that are not understood.
4. Factory (ies) will quote the job. Note: we only use factories with whom we have long-standing relationships.
5. Quotes are sent back to the US office where freight charges, tariffs, customs, cargo insurance are calculated.
6. Customer is quoted. Note: we most always quote a landed cost for our clients. It doesn’t need to be structured this way, but experience has taught us that most clients don’t want any uncertainty when it comes to their final cost.
7. Price is approved…if the client approves our quote we will usually make an initial “size and workmanship” sample for their review. This initial sample may not be perfect in terms of color or fabric hand-feel, but rather is designed to show you that we understand how the item is made and to show the quality of our work.
8. At this point you’ve approved our pricing and you’ve seen the initial “size and workmanship” sample. Now’s the time to pull the trigger and issue us a PO.
9. After receipt of your PO we will then begin to order the custom fabrics, labels, accessories and packaging supplies. This generally takes 30 days.
10. Second “pre-production” sample: after we receive all the production run goods we then make a last perfect sample for the client to approve. Note: we do NOT move forward with full scale production until you approve this sample.
11. Once the second samples is approved, a 50% deposit is required.
12. Production: allow 30 days for production
13. Shipment: it will generally take 30 days to make the trip from Hong Kong to the east coast of the USA.

Note: we strive to keep our clients up to date throughout the entire process. Our goal is to anticipate your questions before you even need to ask them.