OEM Sink Orders: Packaging, Labelling and Inspection Checklist

OEM sounds straightforward until the first container arrives with the wrong cartons, missing barcodes or a retailer rejecting the pallets. Almost all of that is decided at the quotation stage, not at the factory gate. Here is the checklist to settle in writing before production starts.

What OEM actually covers

OEM can mean anything from a logo printed on an existing carton to a fully customised product, and the price difference between those two is significant. Define which of these you are buying: branded product (laser mark, etched logo, branded strainer), custom packaging, custom model codes and manuals, or a custom product variant. Each one adds tooling, artwork or inspection work, and each one should appear as a separate line in the quotation.

The packaging specification

• Carton board grade and burst strength, not just dimensions. A five-layer board is normal for a sink with accessories.
• Internal protection: edge protectors on the rim, foam or moulded inserts for accessories, and separate bagging for the drain assembly.
• Drop test. Ask for the drop height used and whether it follows a standard such as ISTA. A carton that survives 60 cm is not the same as one tested at 90 cm.
• Palletisation and container plan. How many cartons per pallet, how many per container, and whether pallets are used at all in your market.
• Master carton marks: barcode, model, quantity, gross and net weight, country of origin, and your own reference.

Labelling and compliance

Retail channels increasingly reject deliveries for labelling rather than for product defects. Confirm the barcode symbology and whether an inner label is required as well as a master carton label. If the product is sold to consumers, check the country of origin statement, the material description, and any care or disposal instructions the destination market requires. Where a market has a low-lead or material declaration requirement, the label usually has to carry it.

Inspection: who, when and how

Agree the inspection point before production, not after. A practical structure is a pre-production sample approval, an in-line check at the packing stage, and a final random inspection using an AQL level you choose. Decide up front who pays for the inspection, who pays if the batch fails, and how defects are documented. Photographs with timestamps, a written defect list and a retained sample from the inspected batch are the three items that make a later claim resolvable.

The documents that should travel with the goods

• Packing list with carton-level detail and gross weights.
• Material certificate for the steel used, matching the grade ordered.
• Certificate of origin, where the destination market requires it.
• Product photographs from the inspected batch, at minimum the packed carton and the finished sink.

If a claim does arise later, the process is described in the same terms as material verification: how to verify 304 stainless steel sinks explains what evidence holds up. OEM orders, packaging artwork and inspection terms can be quoted through the contact page, and the current model range is listed under products.