The gap between a strong OEM project and a stalled one is almost never the factory — it is the brief. When drawings arrive without dimensions, or a target price lands without a quantity, the quotation cycle stretches, the sample misses, and the calendar slips. A precise brief, written once in the right order, is what lets an OEM lighting manufacturer such as ours — founded in 2014 in Zhongshan Guzhen, the lighting capital of China — respond in working days instead of weeks.
Why the brief decides the price and the timeline
Every quotation we produce — across five production lines and more than 200 completed projects shipped to 11 countries — starts from the same document: your brief. It drives the materials list, tooling, labour hours, certification path, packaging and freight estimate. Vague in, vague out: an incomplete brief means re-quotes, re-samples and a decision-maker losing a week to email loops. A complete one means the engineer opens the file on day one and closes a quotation within days.
Before you write a single line, decide which route you are on. If your design is a genuine signature piece, OEM is the right call. If a stock silhouette covers 90% of your need, buying from the catalogue is faster — our hotel and banquet chandelier range is the place to start. The brief below is for the other case: your drawing, your brand, our production line.
The cost of ambiguity compounds quickly. A brief that skips the colour temperature forces a round of questions; one that skips the ceiling height forces a second quotation; one that skips the target market delays the certification quote by a week. Three vague fields can stretch a two-day quotation into a ten-day correspondence. The checklist below exists so that your first message is also your last round of clarification.
The eight points to prepare before you send drawings
Work through these in order. Each point either locks a production decision or saves a round of emails.
- Overall dimensions. Overall height and width, canopy size, drop length (fixed or adjustable), and the ceiling height of the space. Note minimum and maximum values where the design has options — a chandelier sized for a 3-metre lobby and one sized for a 6-metre atrium are different jobs.
- Material and finish. Body material (brass, iron, aluminium, acrylic), shade material (glass, crystal, acrylic, fabric), and the finish reference — brushed brass, matte black, antique bronze, or a Pantone/RAL code when the colour is non-negotiable.
- Light source and colour temperature. Lamp type (E27, GU10, LED module), wattage, target lumens, colour temperature (2700K warm, 3000K, 4000K) and the dimming protocol (TRIAC, 0–10V, DALI). State whether the driver sits on-board or remote — it changes the canopy depth.
- Certifications for your market. CE, UL or RoHS, depending on where the fixture lands. Telling us the destination market early decides the driver, components and documentation path, and it is the single biggest time-saver in the process.
- Quantity and MOQ. Every product carries its own MOQ, confirmed on the quotation. State quantities per SKU, and whether you plan to mix finishes within one order line.
- Lead time and launch date. A hard date — a hotel opening, a trade show, a store fit-out — drives the whole plan. As a benchmark, samples run 10–15 working days and production 30–45 days after sample sign-off.
- Budget. Target ex-works or FOB price per unit, tooling budget if the design needs moulds or custom glass, and freight tolerance to your port. A realistic number saves both sides a wasted quotation cycle.
- Packaging and shipping. Carton type, foam or corner protection for fragile glass, palletisation, incoterms (FOB, CIF, DDP) and the destination port. Lighting ships internationally every week; saying where and how is the last detail that matters.
How a complete brief moves through our factory
Once your brief is complete, the work is ours to carry. Founded in 2014 in Guzhen — the town where Chinese lighting manufacturing has been concentrated for three decades — the factory runs five production lines across its workshops, with an in-house sample team that builds before it scales. The same bench that quotes your project handles your samples, so nothing is lost in a hand-off between sales and production. Quality gates sit at every stage: incoming material checks, in-process inspection, a 100% burn-in test, and a photo report before packing.
If you want the full sequence after the brief — drawings, renders, sample, production, inspection — our walkthrough of the OEM manufacturing process, from your drawing to production, covers each stage in detail.
What you get back within one working day
A good brief earns a fast, specific answer. Within one working day you receive a feasibility note: what works, what needs changing, tooling requirements, a realistic cost range and the certification path for your market. After approval, our designers return production CAD drawings and photorealistic renders for written sign-off, then a physical sample. The sample fee is credited against the bulk order, and revisions run until you approve the piece on paper — a photo of a sample is not a sample.
Commercial terms are kept equally plain: payment terms confirmed in the quotation for your project. Warranty terms are confirmed by product; most products are covered for 1–2 years from delivery, depending on the fixture and configuration. Your drawings stay yours — we sign NDAs as standard and do not re-sell proprietary designs. If you are moving from enquiry to order, the trade program page summarises the buying process, MOQ rules and what is included in the price. And for proof that a customer-supplied drawing becomes a finished fixture, this custom blown-glass chandelier built from a buyer’s own drawings shows exactly that path.
Free template: your OEM lighting brief
Copy this template, fill in the blanks, and send it with your drawings. Every field maps to one of the eight points above.
- 1. Dimensions — overall H × W/L: ___; canopy: ___; drop: ___ (fixed / adjustable); ceiling height: ___
- 2. Material & finish — body: ___; shade: ___; finish: ___ (or RAL/Pantone: ___)
- 3. Light source — lamp: ___; wattage: ___; lumens: ___; colour temperature: ___; dimming: ___
- 4. Certifications — CE / UL / RoHS / other: ___; destination market: ___
- 5. Quantity — per SKU: ___; total: ___ (MOQ applies per product)
- 6. Timeline — sample needed by: ___; production by: ___; launch date: ___
- 7. Budget — target unit price: ___; tooling budget: ___; freight to: ___
- 8. Packaging & shipping — carton: ___; incoterms: FOB / CIF / DDP; destination port: ___
Attach anything you have alongside the template: CAD, DXF, a hand sketch with dimensions, or reference photos with a target silhouette. What matters is that the eight fields above are filled — the format of the drawing is secondary. Send the completed template through the contact page, and the feasibility note lands within one working day, free of charge and with no obligation.
If it helps to see the output before you write your own brief, look at a blown-glass project chandelier made from a customer drawing, a round project chandelier sized to a specific ceiling, a submarine-shaped project chandelier built for a double-height void, and a cream acrylic chandelier built as a repeatable series. Each page shows the finished result of the brief you are about to send.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a sample take after my brief is approved?
Samples run 10–15 working days from approval of the production drawings. Revisions are unlimited until sign-off, and the sample fee is credited against the bulk order.
What is the MOQ for OEM orders?
MOQ applies per product and is confirmed on the quotation — it depends on the design, materials and any tooling. That is why quantities belong in the brief: the more precisely you state volume per SKU, the more precisely we quote.
Which certifications are included?
Certification documentation for CE, UL and RoHS can be arranged according to the destination market, product configuration and project requirements. We confirm the applicable documentation path in the quotation before you commit.
What are the payment terms for OEM projects?
Payment terms are confirmed in the quotation for your project. Warranty terms are confirmed by product; most products are covered for 1–2 years from delivery, depending on the fixture and configuration.
Can I use the template if I only have a photo and rough sizes?
Yes. A photo plus approximate dimensions is enough to start — the feasibility note fills the gaps and flags what must be decided before sampling.