Glossary · Business & Sourcing
What Is First Order Process?
The first order process is the sequence a new brand normally follows with a manufacturer: brief and quotation, sample development and approval, deposit and purchase order, artwork approval, pre-production sample, production, quality release and shipment. Each stage has an approval that gates the next.
Why it matters when you source
Knowing the sequence lets you work backwards from a launch date and see where the real slack is, which is usually sampling and artwork rather than production. Ask the factory to state the sequence and the expected days per stage in writing.
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