Your drawing, your part number, your packaging. We handle tooling, sampling, first article approval and production, and we tell you at quotation which parts are engineering and which are simply commercial.
The words get used interchangeably in enquiries, and they lead to very different quotations. Worth deciding which one you actually want before the first email.
| Criterion | OEM | ODM |
|---|---|---|
| Whose design | Yours. We build to your drawing. | Ours, adapted. Existing tooling, your brand. |
| Tooling | Cut for your part, owned by you | Already exists, so no tooling charge |
| Change freedom | Any dimension, within process limits | Changes sit inside the existing envelope |
| Lead time | Tooling time plus production | Production only, samples from stock tooling |
| Cost at low volume | Higher, because setup is real | Lower, because setup is already paid |
| Who it suits | Brands with a product design and a specification to protect | Brands entering a category who need a sellable part fast |
| Your IP position | The design is yours and stays yours | The base design is ours; your brand and artwork are yours |
If you are not sure, send what you have. A drawing with gaps gets an OEM quotation with the gaps listed. A reference product and a target price gets an ODM proposal against existing tooling.
Both routes apply to all three lines we build: USB charging cables, AC power cords and wire harnesses. The drawing, the tooling question and the approval route are the same conversation whichever one you are buying.
You send the drawing, target quantity and market. We review manufacturability and come back with questions rather than a price with asterisks. If something on the drawing cannot be moulded, crimped or tested economically, this is where it gets said.
Unit price at your quantity, tooling cost if new moulds are needed, sample charge, and the documents we can supply. Setup cost is shown as a line item, not folded into a unit price that shifts when volume changes.
Moulds are cut, samples built against the drawing, and the samples go to you for testing on the real device. Fit, retention and electrical behaviour get checked by the person who owns the product, not by us on a bench.
You approve the sample and it becomes the golden reference. We record the dimensions, the bill of materials revision, the artwork proof and the test parameters, so the tenth run matches the first. Any later change goes through a revision, not a quiet substitution.
Production runs against the approved reference. Incoming material check, in-process inspection, 100% electrical test, then packing. Third-party inspection is welcome and we plan the schedule around the booking rather than after it.
Packing list, invoice, HS code, declarations and certificates of origin prepared before the carton is closed. EXW, FOB or CIF. Forwarder booked with your approval, and you get the booking reference, not a reassurance.
Where the tooling sits is the thing that decides whether you have a supplier or a hostage situation. Our position is unambiguous: if you pay for the tool, the tool is yours.
What we ask in return. Tooling paid for over a production amortisation schedule is not the same as tooling paid outright. If your order carries amortised tooling and the volume never arrives, we will say so at the point it becomes a problem rather than sending a revised price six months later.
Most OEM cable programmes live or die at retail, so the packing is part of the specification rather than an afterthought.
| Polybag | With or without suffocation warning, barcoded |
| Header card | Printed, with hang hole and barcode |
| Blister | Printed card and formed blister, tooling required |
| Colour box | Printed carton, insert and window options |
| Master carton | Your marks, inner pack count, export grade |
| Barcode | EAN, UPC or FNSKU as you nominate |
| On-product | Laser, print or moulded logo and part number |
Artwork proofs are approved in writing before the print run. The approved proof, not the original file, is what inspection checks against.
Eight lines in an email can save two weeks of back and forth. This is the list worth copying into your own template.
| 1. Drawing or pinout | Even a hand sketch beats a description |
| 2. Connectors | Part number, or a sample to identify from |
| 3. Length | Finished length with tolerance |
| 4. Electrical rating | Voltage, current, data rate if any |
| 5. Workmanship | IPC class, if you have a requirement |
| 6. Market | Destination country and approval needed |
| 7. Quantity | First order and annual estimate, separately |
| 8. Packaging | Bulk, polybag or retail, and barcode |
Indicative, and confirmed against your drawing at quotation:
A word on rush orders. Anything can be expedited if the tooling exists and the material is on the shelf. If it does not, a promise of a fast lead time is just a promise. We would rather quote the real date and lose the order than book it and explain the delay later.
You own the drawing you send, and you own the mould you pay for. We do not show one customer's drawing to another, and we do not run another customer's parts in your tool. If the programme moves, the tool moves with it or is scrapped at your written instruction.
Samples from existing tooling are usually charged at a nominal cost plus freight, and often credited against the first production order. Samples that require new tooling carry the tooling cost, and that is a real cost we cannot absorb. It is quoted as a separate line so you can see exactly what you are paying for.
Yes. Send your own NDA or ask for ours. For most cable programmes the drawing is not the secret; the product it goes into is, and that never leaves your side of the conversation.
Yes, through a revision. A change to length, colour or marking is usually a straightforward re-quote. A change to conductor gauge, connector series or jacket compound can affect tooling and approval, so it is priced as a new part rather than a variation of the old one.
On an ODM part, yes, and you should assume that when you choose the ODM route. On an OEM part built to your drawing with your tooling, no. That is the practical difference between the two and the reason the distinction is worth understanding before you order.
Terms are agreed per programme and depend on whether tooling is involved and whether it is a first order. Ask at quotation and it will be stated on the quotation rather than raised later. We do not ask for the full order value in advance on a first production run.
Eight lines is enough to start. You will get a quotation with the setup cost split out, a realistic lead time, and a straight answer on anything we cannot do.