Ordering process
From first enquiry to delivered load in five steps, with what we need from you at each one and how long each stage actually takes.
Most packaging suppliers put this information behind a sales conversation. We publish it, because the questions below are the ones that decide whether you place a first order, and making you ask them one at a time wastes a week of your time and ours.
The short version
You contract with the manufacturer, not with us. The factory quotes you, the factory invoices you, and you pay the factory price. We are paid a commission by that manufacturer, at the same rate across every plant in our network.
What we do is turn your requirement into a written specification, bring back two or three comparable quotations in English, arrange samples, inspect the batch against the specification before it ships, and make sure the compliance documents arrive with it.
Minimum order is one pallet per specification. Lead time is 12–15 working days ex works for stock specifications, 18–22 for custom sizes or print. Payment on a first order is typically 30% on confirmation and 70% before dispatch, moving to 30 days net after three completed shipments.
Everything below is the detail behind those four sentences.
Why an agent rather than going direct
Nothing stops you contacting a Polish factory yourself. What stops most buyers finishing is the middle of that process: writing a specification a plant will quote against without ambiguity, getting three quotations onto comparable terms when each arrives in a different format, judging whether a sample is representative of a production run, and having someone at the plant when the batch is made rather than after it has landed.
That is the work, and it is priced into a distributor’s markup whether you see it or not. Here it is paid for by the manufacturer, as a commission at the same rate everywhere, which is why we can tell you when a quotation is the wrong one.
On accountability, plainly: the supply contract is between you and the manufacturer, so a claim is made against the manufacturer. We open it, put the evidence together, and press it — but we are not the counterparty and we will not pretend to be. Anyone offering you single-throat-to-choke accountability for a commission is describing a liability they have not taken on.
What we will not do
- Sell below one pallet. Under that quantity the freight cost per unit makes the order worse for you than buying locally.
- Quote without a written specification. A price against “heavy duty bin bags” is a number that will change when the specification firms up, and a quotation that changes is worse than no quotation.
- Name our factories. See our manufacturers for what we do publish, and why.
- Issue the Declaration of Conformity. The manufacturer issues it, because the manufacturer is the economic operator that stands behind it. What we do is make sure it is in the document pack before the load leaves, and check it says what the specification says.
Where to start
If you already know what you buy, send the specification and skip the reading. If you are scoping a change of supplier, the pages below cover every commercial question in the order it usually comes up — including the two that matter most before you commit: why not go to the factory yourself, and why not simply buy from the distributor you already use.
MOQ & lead times
Minimum order quantities and lead times published per category, from one pallet upwards — including what moves a lead time and by how much.
Incoterms & shipping
EXW, FCA and DAP explained for packaging loads from Poland, with who carries which risk and cost to Germany, the Netherlands and the Nordics.
Quality control
What we inspect before dispatch, what the tolerances are, and exactly what happens — and who pays — when a load arrives off-specification.
Private label & OEM
Your brand on the product and the case, produced in Poland: minimums, plate costs, artwork requirements and what a first private-label run actually costs.
Request samples
Physical samples of any stock specification, free and dispatched within five working days — including what to test when they arrive.
Why not go to the factory yourself
Nothing stops you. Here is the work between a factory's e-mail address and a delivered pallet that meets the specification, and what it costs to do it.
Why not use your distributor
Your distributor buys in Poland too. What you are paying for is the markup, a single source of supply, and a contract with a reseller rather than a producer.
Tell us what you need on a pallet. We will price the truck.
Send a specification, a competitor product code, or a photo of what you currently buy. You get a written quotation with pallet configuration and delivered price within two working days.