Ranges, not promises
Any number quoted without seeing your program is a guess. Footwear minimums and lead times move with the style, the construction, the season and the factory's queue, so the desk quotes reference ranges first and confirms exact figures in writing once the program is defined. That order protects both sides: you can plan a season on the ranges below, and your commitments are made against written figures that describe your program, not an average of someone else's.
| Route | Reference range | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| In-stock lots | By the carton; 12 pairs per carton, mixed models allowed per carton | Supplier packing list |
| Stock dispatch | Orders picked immediately upon confirmation; typical dispatch within days | Supplier statement |
| OEM samples | Development + counter-sample, typically about 15-30 days | Footwear industry practice |
| OEM bulk | Typically about 45-60 days after sample approval; longer before peak season | Footwear industry practice |
| OEM MOQ | Set per style and tooling; confirmed per program | Industry practice |
The stock route: minimums in cartons
Stock minimums are counted in cartons because stock is picked, not made. Each carton holds 12 pairs in a size run, and mixed models are allowed within a carton, so even a small program can spread across several styles. Orders are picked immediately upon confirmation and typically dispatch within days. The constraint sits on the other side of that speed: the list changes as cartons ship, so a program is always confirmed against the list as it stands that week, in writing at RFQ - never against a catalog page. See how the list is presented on the stock route.
The OEM route: minimums per style
OEM minimums are set per style and per tooling because an OEM program creates costs that exist before production starts: sample uppers cut and stitched, molds built or adapted, a line timed for your construction. Those costs do not scale down with quantity, so the minimum exists to carry them. That is also why the number moves with design decisions: a new upper on an existing platform sits far lower than a fully sculpted new sole. The desk quotes minimums per program in writing - there is no universal figure. The MOQ walkthrough explains the two economies behind that in depth.
How color depth moves the minimum
Colors are planned in dye lots, printing screens and material runs, each set per colorway. Two colors at depth are a simpler program than six colors spread thin: the same total quantity concentrates into fewer changeovers, and the minimum follows. When a range plan calls for many colors, the honest options are to raise the total quantity, cut the palette, or put the extra colors on the stock route, where depth already exists in core colorways. Color depth is a planning decision, and the desk would rather make it with you at spec-sheet stage than discover it at quotation.
How size runs move the minimum
A full adult run spans EU 36-45 - nine size steps - and every step needs pairs in the size curve. A tighter run concentrates the same quantity into fewer steps; a kids' or women's run at 36-41 changes the curve again. The run you choose should match how your channel actually sells, not how a size chart reads. If your market buys through the middle steps, a concentrated run lowers the minimum and raises sell-through at once; if you serve a broad retail floor, the full run earns its width. Final grading is confirmed on the spec sheet per program, and the conversion context sits on the size chart page.
The clock, stage by stage
| Stage | Stock route | OEM route |
|---|---|---|
| Program confirmed | Picking starts immediately | Spec sheet locked; sampling scheduled |
| Before bulk | Not applicable - the shoes exist | Development + counter-sample, about 15-30 days |
| Production | Not applicable | About 45-60 days after sample approval |
| To dispatch | Typically within days of confirmation | After inspection against the approved sample |
Read the two columns as two clocks. The stock clock starts at confirmation and ends in days. The OEM clock has two hands: samples first, then bulk after approval - and the approval is the hinge, because a slow feedback round costs more time than any factory stage.
Before peak season, add margin
OEM bulk runs longer before peak season. Lines fill, material queues lengthen, and every factory in the cluster competes for the same weeks. The reference range already says about 45-60 days; close to a peak it is prudent to plan the top of that range and start conversations earlier. The desk flags seasonal pressure in the first reply, so the program's dates reflect the calendar it will actually run in. See planning orders around selling seasons.
What the desk does not quote
Three things stay off the table by design. Prices are never published on the site - they are quoted per program from the live list or the approved spec sheet. There is no universal minimum that applies to every style, because tooling and platform decisions make each style its own case. And factory-level figures such as staff, lines and monthly output are not invented here: they come from the factory profile, provided on request, so your program is planned on documented capacity rather than a marketing number.
Your program's numbers, in writing
Ranges are for planning; programs run on written figures. Send the route you lean toward, the styles, size range and quantity on the request form, and the reply comes back with the figures that matter for your case: the live stock list and dispatch window, or the OEM minimum, sampling plan and bulk window per style. For how sampling fits the clock, read the sampling process; for structuring a first order, see the lot buying guide.