Knitted Bag Delivery Schedule Planning: Six Decisions in Backwards Order, From Required Date to Purchase Order
How far ahead does a knitted bag order have to be placed? About 12 weeks from purchase order to distribution centre: 7 working days of sampling, 30 days of bulk production, about 3 days of packing and documentation, roughly 35 days of sea transit from Xiamen to northern Europe, about 5 days of customs entry and roughly 3 days inland. Planning forwards instead of backwards is what turns a 12-week plan into a 16-week one. This article sets the six decisions in the order they have to be taken.
The Backwards Plan: Six Decisions in Order
A knitted bag delivery schedule is built backwards from the date the goods have to be on the shelf, through six decisions in a fixed order: required date, mode, entry and inland, despatch, bulk, sampling.
The order is not arbitrary. Each decision consumes time that the decisions before it have already spent, and a buyer who plans forwards — sampling first, then bulk, then asks when it arrives — discovers the answer only after the irreversible commitments have been made. Planning backwards costs nothing and is the whole method. A programme needing goods in a European distribution centre in the first week of March discovers, working backwards, that the purchase order had to be placed in early December, and that the binding constraint is not production at all but a factory shutdown and a vessel schedule it has no control over.
The two numbers a buyer controls entirely are the 7 working days of sampling and the 30 days of bulk production. Everything else in the chain is partly outside anyone's control, which is why the plan is built by subtracting the uncontrollable parts first and seeing what is left.
Decision One: Fix the Required Date at the Destination
The required date is the date goods must be available at the destination, and it is not the date the retailer wants them on shelf, because most distribution centres need an inbound window of several days before the floor date.
That distinction is where schedules quietly lose a week. A retailer's floor date is a marketing date; the operational date is the last day goods can arrive at the distribution centre and still make that floor date, which is typically about five working days earlier for a national chain and about two for a smaller operation. A buyer who plans to the floor date rather than to the inbound cut-off arrives late by the size of the gap. It is worth asking the retailer for the inbound window in writing, because it is a number they hold and it is rarely volunteered.
The second thing to fix at this step is the tolerance. A programme that can accept arrival a week early and not a day late plans differently from one that can accept a week late and not a week early. Sea freight with a buffer suits the first; air freight on part of the quantity suits the second.
Decision Two: Choose the Mode and Take the Transit Figure
Sea transit from Xiamen runs roughly 30 days to the United States west coast, roughly 35 days to northern Europe and roughly 40 days to northern Europe with transhipment, against about 5 days by air, and the mode is chosen first because it consumes the largest block of time in the whole plan.
| Leg | Sea | Air |
|---|---|---|
| Transit to US west coast | About 30 days | About 4 days |
| Transit to northern Europe | About 35 days | About 5 days |
| Transit to northern Europe with transhipment | About 40 days | About 6 days |
| Booking lead in peak season | About two weeks | About three days |
| Cost per kg on a knit carton | Low, and cube is the limit | Billed on 16 kg volumetric against 12 kg actual |
Two further figures belong to the mode decision and are frequently forgotten. Freight is booked about two weeks ahead in peak season, because vessel space on the Asia-Europe lanes tightens from about August, and a booking made the week before despatch may not get the vessel wanted. And the container has a cut-off: cargo has to be gated in before the terminal cut-off, which is normally about three days before sailing, and the verified gross mass has to be submitted before loading under the SOLAS requirement. Those three days are part of the transit block, not part of production.
Decision Three: Add Customs Entry and Inland Delivery
Customs entry and inland delivery add roughly 8 days combined in a normal case and closer to 15 where a document is queried, and the variable part is documentation rather than transport.
Entry itself is quick when the set is consistent: about 2 days in most EU and UK ports and about 3 in the United States. Inland delivery adds about 3 days to a regional distribution centre. The figure that moves is the query, and the query is caused by the same four failures every time: a piece or carton count that does not reconcile, an origin marking missing from the article, a claim with no current certificate, and a classification that does not match the goods. Adding about a week of buffer for the possibility of a query costs less than recovering from one, and unlike most buffers it costs nothing unless it is used.
Who performs entry depends on the term. Under FOB Xiamen the buyer's broker handles import entry; under DDP the seller's side does. That is not a scheduling difference but it is an accountability one, and a programme that has not decided which side chases a query will find both sides waiting.
Decision Four: Work Back Through Packing and Despatch
Packing, inspection and documentation take roughly 3 days after production ends, and they are the days most often omitted from a plan because they happen after the part everyone thinks of as production.
The three days break down as packing the cartons, running the AQL 2.5 inspection (ISO 2859-1), and issuing the packing list, the invoice and the certificate set. Inspection is the one with a real duration rather than a nominal one: a lot of 600 cartons sampled at AQL 2.5 with a general inspection level takes about a day of inspector time, and a lot that fails and has to be re-presented takes two. A plan that assumes inspection is instantaneous is a plan that will be a day late with no warning.
- Sampling
- 7 working days
- Bulk production
- 30 days
- Packing and inspection
- About 3 days
- Certificate issue
- Requested early in the bulk window, not in the final week
- Booking lead, peak
- About two weeks
- Terminal cut-off
- About 3 days before sailing
- Sea transit, northern Europe
- About 35 days
- Customs entry and inland
- About 8 days, or about 15 with a query
Decision Five: Place the 30-Day Bulk Window
The 30-day bulk production window starts on approval of the sample and ends when packing begins, and it is the only block in the plan whose length is fully predictable.
Predictability does not mean it cannot move. It moves for three reasons: a change to the specification after bulk has started, a late arrival of a bought-in component, and capacity. The first is entirely within the buyer's control and is the one that costs most, because a specification change at week three means re-work rather than a pause. The second is a procurement decision: hardware, zips and printed packaging all have their own lead times and all have to be ordered when bulk starts rather than when they are needed. The third is a booking decision, and on a programme running across 7 production lines at about 200,000 pcs per month, a large order placed without a reservation is the one most likely to slip.
The way to protect the window is to freeze the specification at sample approval and to order bought-in components in the first week of bulk. A programme that does both rarely overruns 30 days; one that does neither regularly does.
Decision Six: Place the 7-Working-Day Sampling Window
The 7-working-day sampling window is the block that slips most often, and it slips because it is measured in working days and because a second sample round is common.
Seven working days is about a calendar week and a half once weekends are counted, and each additional sample round adds the same again. Two rounds is normal on a new programme and three is not unusual when artwork is still moving, so the honest planning figure for a first programme is roughly three weeks rather than seven working days. Programmes that plan for one round and get two lose about eight days they did not have, and the loss appears entirely at the end of the schedule where it is most visible.
Artwork is the lever. Hangtag, woven label and packaging artwork are all approved inside the same window as the bag sample, and artwork that arrives late or changes after approval is the single largest cause of a second sample round. Sending the compliance text frozen and complete at the start of sampling is the one action that most reliably keeps the window at 7 working days.
The Calendar Risks That Move a Schedule
Four calendar risks move a knit bag schedule and none of them appears in a production plan: a factory shutdown, a peak-season booking squeeze, a public holiday at the destination, and a certificate issued after the container sails.
Shutdown periods
Chinese New Year closes production for roughly two weeks, and the weeks either side of it run at reduced pace. Golden Week in October does the same for about a week. A bulk window that straddles either needs the closure added to it.
Peak booking
Asia-Europe vessel space tightens from about August. A booking made a week before despatch in that period may not get the vessel wanted, so the booking is made about two weeks out.
Destination holidays
Customs entry and inland delivery stop during destination public holidays. A container arriving on the day before a long holiday weekend waits, and the wait is not recoverable by paying for faster transport afterwards.
Certificate timing
A GRS transaction certificate is issued after the transaction and covers a named quantity. Requested in the final week of bulk it arrives after the container has sailed, which turns a documentation task into a choice between holding and shipping without it.
A Worked Schedule From Purchase Order to Distribution Centre
A programme needing goods available at a northern European distribution centre on 2 March works out to a purchase order placed in the first week of December, and the largest single block in that span is transit rather than production.
- Week 1: purchase order placed, artwork supplied frozen, sampling begins.
- Weeks 1 to 2: sampling completes in 7 working days, with one planned second round.
- Weeks 3 to 6: bulk production, 30 days, with bought-in components ordered in week 3.
- Week 7: packing, AQL 2.5 inspection, packing list and invoice issued.
- Week 6: vessel booked, since booking leads despatch by about two weeks.
- Week 7: container gated in before the terminal cut-off, about 3 days before sailing.
- Weeks 8 to 13: sea transit of about 35 days.
- Weeks 13 to 14: customs entry and inland delivery, about 8 days.
- Week 14: goods available at the distribution centre.
Reading that list by block rather than by week is the point. Production, sampling and packing together are about eight weeks. Transit, entry and inland are about six. The things most buyers try to compress are the eight, and the things that actually move are the six.
What a Schedule Commitment Should Say
A schedule commitment is worth having only if it names the sampling window, the bulk window, the despatch week and the assumed transit, and says which of the four is a commitment and which is an assumption.
That distinction is the honest part. Sampling at 7 working days and bulk at 30 days are commitments a knit programme can make. Vessel transit is an assumption made by a carrier, and customs entry is an assumption made by an authority. Writing them down separately means that when something slips, everyone already knows which block moved and whose assumption it was, instead of spending three days establishing it.
Plan a delivery schedule
Send the required date at the destination and the piece count, and the knit team will return a backwards plan with sampling, bulk and despatch weeks. Start the plan
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a knitted bag order take from order to delivery?
About 12 weeks to a northern European distribution centre: 7 working days of sampling, 30 days of bulk production, about 3 days of packing and inspection, roughly 35 days of sea transit and about 8 days of entry and inland delivery.
Why should a delivery schedule be planned backwards?
Because the uncontrollable blocks are transit, entry and inland, and they have to be subtracted first. Planning forwards commits sampling and production before anyone knows whether the arrival date is achievable, and the discovery comes too late to act on.
What is the difference between a floor date and an inbound date?
The floor date is when the retailer wants goods on shelf; the inbound cut-off is the last day they can arrive at the distribution centre and still make it, usually about five working days earlier for a national chain.
How long is sea transit from Xiamen?
About 30 days to the United States west coast, about 35 days to northern Europe and about 40 days where transhipment is involved. Air is about 5 days to northern Europe and roughly twice that to door.
How long do customs entry and inland delivery take?
About 8 days combined in a normal case: roughly 2 days for entry and about 3 for inland, with the remainder as buffer. A document query pushes it toward 15 days, which is why the buffer is built in rather than hoped away.
How far ahead should a container be booked?
About two weeks in peak season, which on the Asia-Europe lanes runs from about August. A booking made the week before despatch in that period may not secure the vessel wanted.
What is a terminal cut-off?
The deadline by which cargo has to be gated into the terminal, normally about three days before sailing. The verified gross mass also has to be submitted before loading, so those three days belong to the transit block rather than to production.
How long does the sampling window really take?
7 working days per round, which is about a calendar week and a half once weekends are counted. Two rounds is normal on a new programme, so the honest planning figure for a first programme is roughly three weeks.
What causes a second sample round?
Most often artwork that is still moving. Hangtag, woven label and packaging artwork are approved in the same window as the bag, and artwork arriving late or changing after approval is the largest single cause of a second round.
What makes the 30-day bulk window slip?
Three things: a specification change after bulk has started, a bought-in component arriving late, and capacity. Freezing the specification at sample approval and ordering hardware in the first week of bulk prevents the first two.
When should a GRS certificate be requested?
Early in the bulk window. It is issued after the transaction and covers a named quantity, so requesting it in the final week risks it arriving after the container has sailed, which forces a choice between holding and shipping without it.
How do shutdown periods affect the plan?
Chinese New Year closes production for roughly two weeks and the weeks either side run slower; Golden Week in October does the same for about a week. A bulk window straddling either needs the closure added to it.
Does air freight solve a late schedule?
Partly. It removes about 30 days of transit but not the sampling and bulk blocks, and it is billed on 16 kg volumetric against 12 kg actual for a standard knit carton. It rescues a schedule that slipped late, not one that started late.
Should buffer be built into the schedule?
Yes, about a week for the possibility of a documentation query, and it costs nothing unless used. Buffer belongs at the entry and inland end, where variability is highest, rather than inside production.
What should a schedule commitment state?
The sampling window, the bulk window, the despatch week and the assumed transit, with each marked as a commitment or an assumption. When something slips, everyone then knows which block moved without spending days establishing it.
Who handles customs entry under each trade term?
Under FOB Xiamen the buyer's broker handles import entry. Under DDP the seller's side handles it. The term does not change the duration but it does decide who chases a query, and that should be settled before the container sails.
People Also Ask
How long does a bag order take to arrive?
About 12 weeks from purchase order to distribution centre: 7 working days sampling, 30 days bulk, about 35 days sea transit and about 8 days entry and inland.
How long is shipping from Xiamen to Europe?
About 35 days by sea to northern Europe, or about 40 days where transhipment is involved. Air is about 5 days.
When should I place my bag order for spring delivery?
About 12 weeks before the goods need to be available at the distribution centre, and earlier if the bulk window straddles Chinese New Year or Golden Week.
What is a terminal cut-off date?
The deadline for gating cargo into the terminal, normally about three days before sailing. Verified gross mass has to be submitted before loading as well.
How many sample rounds should I plan for?
Two on a new programme, which is roughly three weeks rather than 7 working days. Artwork that is still moving is the main cause of the second round.
What is the biggest block in a bag delivery schedule?
Transit, entry and inland together, at about six of the twelve weeks. Production, sampling and packing are about eight but are the blocks most buyers try to compress.
Sources and further reading
Every figure on this page is either our own programme data or attributed below. Open the originals before you write them into a specification.
- Incoterms rulesInternational Chamber of Commerce The rule set behind the FOB Xiamen term and the CIF and DDP alternatives, and the point at which responsibility for entry transfers.
- IMO — Maritime safety and cargoInternational Maritime Organization Source of the SOLAS verified gross mass requirement that has to be met before a container is loaded.
- Harmonized System nomenclatureWorld Customs Organization The classification basis behind the customs entry, which is the schedule block most likely to be extended by a query.
- Recycled Claim Standard and Global Recycled StandardTextile Exchange The transaction certificate that has to be requested inside the bulk window rather than in the final week.
- ISO 2859-1 — Sampling procedures for inspection by attributes, Part 1: AQL-indexed sampling schemesISO The AQL 2.5 plan whose inspection duration is part of the packing block in the schedule.
Compress What You Control, Buffer What You Do Not
Sampling and bulk are the two blocks a knit programme controls, and they are already at 7 working days and 30 days. Transit, entry and inland are not controllable and are where the twelve weeks actually go.
Subtract the uncontrollable blocks first, then place production, and the despatch week holds. For the documents that decide whether entry takes two days or fifteen, see export documentation for bag shipments. For the load plan that has to be ready before booking, see pallet and container loading for bags.