The season is fixed and it does not move.
If production, inspection and shipment do not land before the window opens, the program is lost for the year.
Solution · Retail Programs
Scale for a Retail Program
A retail program is decided by dates, documentation and consistency. We schedule volume across eight owned factories, check the product before production and before shipment, and ship against the window the program is bought on.
8 Factories Owned capacity
70+ Production lines
AQL 1.5 Pre-shipment inspection
The Situation
What a Retail Program Adds
At retail scale the failure modes change. A late container or a drifting batch is not a rework: it is a missed window, a returns problem and a conversation with your buyer.
Programs ask for documentation, not only a price.
Audit history, testing and material controls are part of the qualification, long before a purchase order exists.
A batch problem at retail scale is not a rework.
Returns, chargebacks and a lost program are decided by consistency between one container and the next.
COMCO Response
Capacity, Controls and a Dated Plan
The program is planned backwards from the delivery window, with the controls a retail buyer asks to see.
Capacity
Volume scheduled across owned factories
Eight owned factories, 2,000+ staff and 70+ production lines, so production can be scheduled across lines. The plan is built backwards from the date the goods have to land.
- 8 owned factories, 70+ production lines
- Volume placed across lines
- Plan built backwards from the window
Controls
Checked before production and before shipment
Incoming material is screened in our own laboratory, samples go through pre-production physical testing, applicable inflatables are held under pressure for 24 hours, and pre-shipment inspection runs at AQL 1.5.
- In-house material screening
- Pre-production physical testing
- AQL 1.5 pre-shipment inspection
Process in action
From Requirement to Shipment
Five stages, planned against the delivery window rather than from the order date.
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01
Requirement
Product, volume, destination market and the date the goods have to land.
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02
Compliance Pre-Screen
Material and product requirements for the destination market reviewed before cutting.
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03
Sampling & Approval
Samples approved before tooling and before volume, packaging artwork included.
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04
Production
Scheduled across lines against the window, with in-house film and printing.
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05
Inspection & Shipment
Pre-shipment inspection at AQL 1.5, packing to the agreed specification, and your own third-party inspector welcome at the factory.
Evidence
What a Program Is Planned On
45–120 Days
Production lead time
Typically 45–60, 60–90 or 90–120 days, depending on the product and the season.
AQL 1.5
Pre-shipment inspection
Most customers also arrange their own third-party inspection at the factory before shipment.
8 Factories
2,000+ staff, 70+ lines
Capacity held across owned factories rather than a single line.
Lead time starts once the sample and the packaging artwork are confirmed, so a late approval moves the delivery date rather than the season. Audit and program experience is documented on Factory Audits & Compliance, where each program is stated with its own scope.
Where this leads
Related capabilities and products
A retail program is scaled, inspected and documented through these capabilities.
Capability
Testing & Inspection
Testing of materials and finished goods, and inspection before shipment.
Capability
Factory Audits & Compliance
Audits of the manufacturing site and the compliance documents a retail program asks for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Scale for a Retail Program FAQ
What buyers ask first about this problem, and how COMCO answers it.
Volume is planned backwards from the delivery window and placed across our own lines. Lead time is typically 45–60, 60–90 or 90–120 days depending on the product and the season, and it starts once the sample and the packaging artwork are confirmed.
Incoming material is screened in our own laboratory, and third-party testing can be arranged against the requirements of the destination market. The scope depends on the product and the market it is sold into.
Yes. Most customers arrange their own third-party inspection at the factory before shipment, alongside the pre-shipment inspection we run at AQL 1.5.
Plan the program
Give us the window and the volume.
Tell us the product, the volume and the date the goods have to land. We will come back on how the program is scheduled and what has to be confirmed first.