ODM means the product already exists: we designed it, we own the tool, and we build it under your name. What you buy is a proven housing with a specification you control — not a mould, and not a sticker on someone else's carton.
Same factory floor, three completely different commercial arrangements. Most sourcing conversations go wrong because nobody says which one is being quoted.
A new housing is developed against your brief, a mould is cut for it, and the tool belongs to your programme. Correct when the shape itself is the product — expensive when it is not.
The housing is already cast, machined and measured. You select it, set the performance tier and the branding, and sell it as your own product line.
A trader buys stock and prints a logo. You cannot see the tool, choose the LED bin or audit the test record — and there is nobody to call when a batch fails.
This is the honest boundary of ODM, and it is worth reading before you compare us with a factory that will quote you a new tool instead.
| Item | Fixed on a library mould | What you set |
|---|---|---|
| Housing geometry | Cast and machined. Reshaping it is a new tool, not a change order. | Nothing on a library model — a private mould is a separate programme. |
| Optic & beam | Lens position and reflector family. | Beam mix and spot-to-flood ratio within that family. |
| LED & output | Footprint and thermal budget of the head. | Bin selection, colour temperature, output levels, runtime targets. |
| Driver | Board outline and mounting points. | Mode logic, level spacing, lock function, indicator behaviour. |
| Battery | Pack bay volume and connector. | Capacity inside the bay, cell supplier, charging current. |
| Finish | Substrate and coating process. | Colourway, anodised or painted, two-tone, texture. |
| Branding | Nothing is moulded in — every mark is added. | Laser mark, bezel engraving, band print, label, manual. |
| Packaging | None. | Box or blister, insert, artwork, barcode, languages. |
| Accessories | None. | Charger, cable, spare band, carry bag, mount kit. |
| Market & compliance | None. | Destination market, responsible person, marks and label copy. |
If a row in the left column is exactly what your product needs to change, you need a private mould rather than an ODM model — and we would rather tell you that on the first call than after two rounds of sampling.
Six stages. The only one that ever runs long is the one where the specification keeps moving.
Datasheet, photographs of the moulded part and, where it matters, a physical sample to hold. Nothing is committed at this stage and nothing is signed unless you ask for it.
One written sheet: output at each level, runtime, colour temperature, finish, battery, packaging. Both sides initial it. This document becomes the acceptance criterion for the batch.
Logo files placed on the physical surfaces we can actually mark, plus the packaging dieline, label copy and market marks. We send proofs on the real substrate, not on a screen.
Units built on production tooling, laser-marked in your livery, measured on the sphere, and shipped with the test report attached to the same email.
You approve one unit, we keep one. That pair settles any argument later. The order is then scheduled backwards from your launch date, not forwards from ours.
Every unit output-tested before packing, batch records filed, goods shipped under your name. Reorders run on the same mould, the same spec and a shorter lead time.
Fixed where it can be fixed. Quoted where it genuinely depends on the configuration.
| Item | How it is handled |
|---|---|
| Tooling | No charge on any library model. The tool is ours, stays ours, and is maintained by us — including the mould service that keeps the shots consistent over years of reorders. |
| MOQ | From 500 pcs per model and finish; lower on reorders and additional colourways of an existing order. |
| Samples | Charged at unit cost plus freight, credited against the first production order. |
| Sample lead time | 10–15 days on an existing mould once the specification is locked, including branding and the test report. |
| Production lead time | 30–35 days from golden sample sign-off and deposit, stated per order rather than as a general promise. |
| Exclusivity | Territory or channel exclusivity on a library model is available against an annual volume commitment. Private moulds are exclusive by default. |
| Private mould | Quoted when the library genuinely does not fit — as its own programme, with its own tooling cost and schedule. We will say so rather than pretend a library model can be reshaped. |
| Payment | Deposit and balance, stated in the quotation. |
| Incoterms | Quoted to the term you need, with the shipping mode and destination named. |
MOQ, lead times and exclusivity terms above are indicative and confirmed in the quotation for your configuration.
An ODM model is efficient because the tool is shared across time, not across clients — but it only works when the housing is not the thing you are selling. If any of these describe you, say so early and we will point you elsewhere instead of quoting around it.
If you are still choosing, send the price band and the shelf you are aiming at — that is enough to narrow it to two models.
