How to Brief a Chinese Factory

A good factory brief is the difference between a quote in 3 days and a quote in 3 weeks. It is also the difference between a manufacturer quoting correctly and a manufacturer guessing, then discovering mid-production that your specs and their understanding do not match.

A brief is a working document, not a request for quote. It evolves as you talk to suppliers. Before you talk to anyone, the brief must exist in writing. No exception.

Why a written brief beats a chat thread

It reduces miscommunication by roughly 80%. A factory owner may speak English. Their engineer may not. Your WeChat message saying “we want a rugged plastic enclosure, under ¥50” could mean any of:

• Polycarbonate, impact-resistant, hinge-sealed, with gaskets (¥150+).
• ABS, drop-safe, snap-fit, no sealing (¥30–50).
• Generic plastic shell, no drop testing, fits loosely (¥15).

With a written brief, you specify which one. The quote matches your intent.

A written brief separates qualified suppliers from tourists. A supplier who takes two hours to read your brief and comes back with manufacturability feedback is engaged. A supplier who quotes sight-unseen with zero questions is not serious.

It also creates a contract foundation. Your brief becomes Appendix A of the purchase order. If production deviates (wrong material, wrong finish, tooling change) you point to the brief and say “this is what we ordered.” Clear scope beats court later.

And it forces you to clarify your own thinking. Writing the brief often reveals missing specs (tolerances, power requirements, certifications). Better to discover gaps now than in tooling.

The 12 mandatory fields

Every factory brief must include these twelve fields. Order matters; put cost, volume, and timeline at the top.

1. Product name and function (one sentence).
2. Intended market and end-user.
3. Target retail price and landed cost (FOB or CFR).
4. Monthly volume and 12-month forecast.
5. Dimensions, weight, critical tolerances.
6. Materials and finish specification.
7. Bill of materials (simplified table + attachments).
8. Packaging and labeling.
9. Certifications and compliance required.
10. Quality and inspection standards.
11. Lead time and schedule.
12. Revision scope and acceptance criteria.

Field-by-field detail

1. Product name and function. Example: “Portable Bluetooth speaker, 5W, 2000mAh battery, 8-hour playtime, IPX5 water-resistant.” Not: “cool portable speaker device.”

2. Intended market and end-user. Example: “North America and EU consumer market. Active lifestyle (outdoor, fitness, travel). Price-sensitive below ¥200 retail.” This determines certifications (FCC, CE), durability standards, and packaging expectations.

3. Target retail price and landed cost. Example: “Retail ¥500 (USD 70). Landed CFR to US port ¥120. FOB Shenzhen ¥60.” This is the spec that prevents bad quotes. If you do not state it, the factory will quote what it thinks is reasonable (often wrong).

4. Monthly volume and 12-month forecast. Example: “Months 1–3: 500/month (pilot). Months 4–12: 2,000/month. Year 2: 5,000/month.” Factories size lines to volume. Understating means small-batch pricing; overstating means they plan capacity you will not use.

5. Dimensions, weight, tolerances. Example: “Enclosure 150 × 100 × 50mm ± 0.5mm. Weight 350g ± 10g. Beveled edges, paint finish Ra <1.6µm.” Provide CAD or reference photos. If you do not specify tolerance, factories apply their default (often ±2mm for injection moulding) and you find out the hard way.

6. Materials and finish. Example: “PC/ABS blend, matte gray (Pantone 7546C). Soft-touch coating, 60–70 Shore A. Stainless steel 304 connectors. No aluminium (salt-water corrosion).” Vague materials means random budget allocation.

7. BOM (simplified). A table of components with quantities, target supplier (if known), and critical specs. Attach full Gerber/BOM files. “Speaker driver, any brand” means the factory picks the cheapest option and fails sound test. “Driver 5W peak, ±3dB 100–20kHz, no rattle” gets you a real quote.

8. Packaging and labeling. Example: “Corrugated outer carton, 25 units (5×5), 360×240×180mm. Inner blister + cardboard backing + shrink wrap. ¥5/unit total packaging budget. QR code on back of pack for firmware download.” Vague packaging is where budgets quietly balloon.

9. Certifications and compliance. State every certification you need and the specific standard. Example: “FCC Part 15B (unintentional radiator), CE EN 61000 (EMC), CE EN 62368 (audio safety), RoHS 2011/65/EU (lead-free), UN38.3 (battery air shipment).” If you do not specify, the factory does not plan for testing, and you discover mid-production that tooling does not include EMI-shielding cans. Now a four-week delay.

Common categories:

• FCC (USA): Part 15B (unintentional radiator), Part 15C (intentional radiator).
• CE (EU): EMC Directive 2014/30/EU, Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU (if mains-powered).
• RoHS: 2011/65/EU.
• UL / ETL: USA and Canada safety mark for power, batteries, chargers.
• UN38.3 / IEC 62133: lithium battery transport and safety.

10. Quality and inspection. Example: “AQL 2.5 Level II (ISO 2859). Inspection points: (1) 100% visual + 10% functional at end of line, (2) 10% random pre-shipment functional test, (3) 5-unit sample from each carton at container load. Defects: any DOA, cosmetic defect >1mm, non-functional button, battery leakage = reject.”

11. Lead time and schedule. Example: “Paid sample 4 weeks. Golden sample approval 1 week. Pilot 500 units 3 weeks. First mass production 2,000 units 6 weeks after pilot approval. Target ship 15 October 2026. Sea freight LCL to Los Angeles.”

12. Revision scope. Example: “Accepted: color, button texture, label artwork, equivalent-spec connectors. Not accepted (new tooling, new sample cycle): enclosure shape, dimensions, material, finish type. Final approval: internal testing + third-party certification (SGS, BV or Intertek).”

A markdown template you can copy

# Factory Brief — [Product Name] — v[X.X] — [YYYY-MM-DD]

## 1. Product
- Name:
- Function (one sentence):
- Reference photos / link:

## 2. Market & end-user
- Target geographies:
- End-user profile:
- Retail price range:

## 3. Cost targets
- Retail (consumer):
- Landed (CFR to [port]):
- FOB [origin port]:

## 4. Volume
- Pilot (months 1–3):
- Months 4–12:
- Year 2 (forecast):

## 5. Dimensions & tolerances
- Outer dimensions:
- Weight:
- Critical tolerances:
- Drawings: [attached file name]

## 6. Materials & finish
- Enclosure:
- Coating:
- Hardware (metal):
- Colors (Pantone):

## 7. BOM
| Component | Qty | Spec / Supplier | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
|  |  |  |  |
- Full BOM file: [attached]
- PCB Gerber: [attached]

## 8. Packaging
- Outer carton:
- Inner pack:
- Labels:
- Budget per unit:

## 9. Certifications
- Required (region / standard):
- Test reports needed:

## 10. Quality
- AQL level:
- Inspection points:
- Defect definition:

## 11. Lead time
- Paid sample:
- Golden sample:
- Pilot:
- First MP:
- Target ship date:
- Ship mode:

## 12. Revisions
- Accepted without re-tooling:
- Not accepted (new tooling):
- Final approval criteria:

## Attachments
- [ ] CAD / STEP files
- [ ] 2D drawings with tolerances
- [ ] BOM (Excel)
- [ ] PCB Gerber + BOM
- [ ] Reference product photos
- [ ] Packaging template

A filled-in example: consumer Bluetooth speaker

Product: 5W Bluetooth 5.3 speaker, rechargeable 2000mAh Li-Ion, 8-hour battery, IPX5, weight <400g.

Market: Consumer, North America and EU. Active lifestyle. Price-sensitive vs. mid-tier brand-name alternatives.

Cost targets: Retail ¥420 (USD 58). Landed CFR US port ¥150. FOB Shenzhen ¥110.

Volume: Months 1–3 500/month (pilot). Months 4–12 2,000/month. Year 2 5,000/month.

Dimensions: 150 × 100 × 50mm ± 0.5mm. Weight 350g ± 10g. Beveled edges, soft-touch matte finish.

Materials: PC/ABS, matte gray (Pantone 7546C). Soft-touch coating 60–70 Shore A. Stainless steel 304 connectors. No aluminium.

BOM:

Packaging: Corrugated carton, 25 units (5×5), 360×240×180mm. Inner blister + cardboard backing + shrink wrap. ¥5/unit total. QR code label on back.

Certifications: FCC Part 15B, CE EN 61000, CE EN 62368, RoHS 2011/65/EU, UN38.3.

Quality: AQL 2.5 Level II. Inspection: 100% visual + 10% functional EOL, 10% pre-shipment functional, 5-unit sample per carton at container load. Defects: any DOA, non-functional button, battery leakage, cosmetic defect >1mm = reject.

Lead time: Paid sample 4 weeks. Golden sample approval 1 week. Pilot 500 units 3 weeks. First MP 2,000 units 6 weeks after pilot approval. Target ship 15 October 2026. Sea freight LCL to Los Angeles.

Revisions: Accepted, color, button texture, label artwork, equivalent connectors. Not accepted, enclosure shape, dimensions, material, finish type. Final approval, internal testing + third-party certification (SGS, BV or Intertek).

Common brief mistakes to avoid

1. Vague cost targets. “Make it as cheap as possible.” Factories quote ¥200 cost against a ¥60 target. Be specific: “FOB target ¥110; flag if your estimate is >¥130.”
2. Missing certifications. You discover mid-production that the factory did not design for EMC shielding because you never mentioned FCC. State certifications upfront.
3. No packaging samples or reference images. A factory guesses at packaging and builds expensive clamshells when you wanted simple bags. Provide a photo or competitor example.
4. Unrealistic timelines. “I need 1,000 units in 6 weeks including tooling.” Injection moulding alone is 8–12 weeks. Either a bad quote or a missed deadline follows.
5. Unclear revision scope. You ask for “one small change” mid-production (a 5mm dimension shift). The factory sees new tooling, +4 weeks, +¥30k. Define upfront what changes are free vs. paid.
6. Too many suppliers. Sending your brief to 50 factories means 50 different quotes and 50 different interpretations. Send to your top 5–8 qualified candidates only.
7. No BOM links or attachments. “I’ll send the PCB design later.” You send it three weeks in; the factory recalculates everything and misses the promised timeline.

Bilingual brief tip

Put English and Chinese on the same page for the things that get mis-translated:

• Materials: 塑料 (plastic), 不锈钢 (stainless steel), 涂层 (coating).
• Certifications: FCC认证, CE认证, RoHS.
• MOQ and volume: 最小订单量 (MOQ), 月产量 (monthly volume).
• Lead time: 交期 (lead time), 周 (week), 天 (day).
• Tolerances: 公差 (tolerance), 公差范围 (tolerance range).

Spend one hour with a translator or an AI building a glossary. Then your brief is bilingual. Cost: roughly zero. Time: one hour. Value: 10+ hours of clarification saved across every supplier conversation.

Trade shows where a good brief shines

• HKTDC Electronics Fair: Hong Kong, April and October.
• Canton Fair (CIEIF) Phase 1: Guangzhou, April–May and October–November, electronics and home appliances phase.
• Global Sources Electronics: Hong Kong, April and October.

A printed brief plus a 60-second pitch lets you qualify a booth in 3 minutes instead of 30.

When to use us

If you would rather have someone review your brief before you send it, or translate it, attach it to a vetted supplier shortlist, and chase samples on your behalf, that’s the sourcing desk and hardware founder tour. We will also walk you through supplier qualification and Huaqiangbei in person.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-23.