What is the minimum order quantity for small batch and low-volume manufacturing?
Confidence 4/5 Established practice
Minimum order quantity for small batch and low-volume manufacturing from China:
As low as 1 for machining, 3D printing and hand assembly. 50–200 for silicone and cut-and-sew. 300–1,000 where a printed plate or a simple tool is involved. 1,000+ for injection moulding and die casting, because those tools are the expensive kind.
Sources
- Low-volume manufacturing process selection — Industry practice; process crossover points are widely documented
- De minimis thresholds and informal entry — US Customs and Border Protection
What goes wrong with small batch and low-volume manufacturing
- Choosing a process because it is the one the factory has, rather than the one the volume suits.
- Letting set-up cost hide inside the unit price, which makes the volume trade-off invisible.
- Re-tooling at the crossover instead of planning the transition in advance.
- Assuming a small order gets the same attention as a large one; it needs a factory for which it is not trivial.
- Overlooking de minimis thresholds, which can change the entire landed cost for a small shipment.
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