Every OEM conversation starts with the same two numbers: minimum order quantity and unit price. Both are real, and both are the least interesting part of the project. The part that decides whether a private-label display line ships this quarter or next year is the sequence — what has to be decided before what, and which decisions are expensive to reverse.
This is that sequence, written from the factory side of the table. It applies to e-paper frames, signage panels and phone accessories alike; the timings shift, the order does not.
What "OEM from 100 units" actually means
A hundred units is not a discount tier, it is a production run small enough to be hand-built. What changes at that quantity is not the factory's willingness, it is where the cost sits:
| Quantity | Tooling | Per-unit cost | Realistic lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–30 (stock) | None — existing shell, existing firmware | List price | 3–5 business days to dispatch |
| 100–300 | Logo and packaging print; no new mould | Modest reduction | 2–3 weeks |
| 500–1,000 | Logo, packaging, firmware skin, possibly a colourway | Meaningful reduction | 3–5 weeks |
| 2,000+ | New mould or new panel configuration becomes economic | Lowest, tooling amortised | 6–10 weeks plus tooling |
Two things buyers get wrong here. First, they ask for a new mould at 100 units and are quoted a tooling charge that is larger than the order — correctly. Second, they assume 100 units means 100 identical units; in practice a 100-unit run often splits into two or three colourways, which is fine, but it must be decided before the print run, not after.
The five cost buckets
An OEM quote is not one number. Ask for it broken into these five, or you cannot compare two suppliers:
- Unit cost at quantity. Should be quoted at two or three quantities, not one — you need to see the curve to know whether doubling the order is worth the inventory risk.
- Tooling and setup. One-time, non-recurring. Some of it is a mould; more often at 100–500 units it is print plates, jigs and firmware provisioning. Ask whether it is charged once or per run.
- Samples. Usually charged, sometimes credited against the first order. Confirm which, in writing, before you approve the sample — this is the single most common invoice surprise.
- Packaging. Retail packaging is a design project with its own lead time. If your product needs a printed box, a blister or a hang tag, that artwork should be in review while the units are being built, not after.
- Certification and compliance. Whoever puts the product on the market owns the compliance file. A factory can supply test reports for the module it buys; it cannot certify your brand for a market it has never shipped to. Budget for the gap, and agree in the contract who holds which document.
The timeline, week by week
Assumes a stock-platform product — existing shell and panel, your logo and packaging. Add four to eight weeks if a new mould is involved.
| Week | What happens | What you owe |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | RFQ, quote, quantity decision | A specification, not a wish list |
| 1 | Sample order placed; artwork brief agreed | Logo files in vector, target retail price |
| 2–3 | Sample built and shipped; packaging dieline drafted | Feedback within 48 hours of receipt |
| 3–4 | Sample approved; PO issued; deposit received | Signed spec, signed packaging proof |
| 4–6 | Production run; firmware provisioned; QC | Nothing — this is the quiet part |
| 6–7 | Packing, carton marking, booking | Shipping marks, consignee details, HS code confirmation |
| 7–10 | Transit (express vs sea changes this line the most) | Import duties and VAT payable on arrival |
In our own line, dispatch from stock is 3–5 business days and a built-to-order run is quoted at 15 days. Those are production facts, not a promise about your container's transit time — that is a freight decision, and sea freight adds weeks that no factory can compress.
The RFQ that gets a usable answer first time
Most first RFQs come back as a price range three times wide, because they omit the four variables that actually move the price. Send this instead:
Product: [category, size, key spec — e.g. 31" full-colour e-paper signage, battery, front light]
Quantity: first order / annual estimate, split by colourway or SKU if applicable
Branding: logo on housing only, or logo + retail packaging + firmware splash screen
Market: destination country (this determines the compliance file and the plug/PSU variant)
Deadline: the date it must be in your warehouse, not the date you would like to order
Trade term: DDP, CIF or FOB — and the destination port if CIF
Reference: a competitor product or a photo, even a bad one. This saves two rounds of clarification.
With those seven lines, a factory can quote properly in one pass. Without them, both sides spend a fortnight on email and the unit price you eventually get is the cautious one.
Five ways these programmes fail
- The sample is not the production unit. Hand-built sample, then a production run with a different panel batch and a different power supply. Insist the sample is built from production components, and keep it as the reference for QC.
- Artwork arrives as a JPEG. Vector logo or nothing. A rasterised logo on a moulded surface looks like a photocopy, and fixing it after the print run means a new run.
- Nobody owns the compliance file. The importer of record usually does. Settle this before the PO, not at customs.
- Packaging designed after production. Boxes are printed in a separate run with their own lead time. If they are not ordered in parallel, finished goods sit in a warehouse waiting for cartons.
- Unit price negotiated, total cost ignored. A 6% cheaper unit with a 3-week longer lead time and no spare-parts commitment is not cheaper for a retail launch.
Spare parts and the second order
The question nobody asks at PO stage and everybody asks at month nine: what happens when 2% of units arrive with a dead panel, or a customer returns one? Agree in the contract on a spare-parts percentage (2–5% is common on a first run), the warranty period, and whether replacement units ship with the next production run or separately. A factory that has thought about this will answer immediately; one that has not will offer a discount instead.
Where to start with us
Our OEM minimum is 100 units per SKU, on any of the four lines: e-paper phone accessories, digital frames, e-paper signage and LED holographic displays. Logo, packaging, firmware splash and colourway are all open to customisation; the panel and the housing platform are not, below 100 units.
If you already know the quantity, market and deadline, send the seven-line RFQ and you will get a costed answer rather than a brochure. If you are still choosing between two categories, describe the application — the wrong-category question is cheaper to answer before the tooling than after.