Lead Time Components
Break lead time into materials, production, inspection, export clearance, freight, and destination clearance + delivery. Knowing each piece lets you target the real bottleneck.
Quick Calculator
Start with this base model (days):
- Materials: 7-21
- Production: 10-25
- Inspection + rework: 2-5
- Export clearance: 1-3
- Freight: sea 15-35, air 3-7, rail 12-20
- Destination clearance + delivery: 2-7
Sum, then add contingency (10-20%) for peak seasons.
Compression Tips
- Pre-book materials with a deposit or VMI for fast-moving SKUs.
- Run parallel tasks (artwork, labeling, compliance) during production.
- Use DPI to catch defects before PSI; reduces rework delay.
- For urgent orders, split shipments: air small batch, sea main batch.
Buffers & Risk
Add buffers for holidays (CNY/Golden Week), port congestion, and customs holds. Track actual vs planned lead time every order and adjust the model. Pair this guide with the interactive tool in /tools/lead-time once available.