Charger Factory & Production
Capacity, platform and process are the three claims every factory makes and the three that are hardest to check. This guide covers how to compare manufacturers and how to plan production slots so your launch date holds.
Three routes, and you only need one of them
Choosing a factory, verifying one you have already chosen, and planning a production run are three different jobs. Start with the one you are actually doing.
Shortlist manufacturers
Comparing a website claim against a real platform list and a real capacity figure is the first filter.
Verify what they claim
Platforms, lines and capacity are checkable. These are the questions that separate a real platform list from a brochure.
Plan the run
Slot planning and capacity planning decide whether the launch date survives contact with the production calendar.
The three claims that are worth checking
Every factory says the same five things. Only three of them are checkable before you place an order.
Platform, not product count
A catalogue of two hundred SKUs usually means a handful of platforms with variations. Ask for the platform list with its wattage range, and you will know what can actually be built for you.
Lines and shift pattern
Monthly capacity is lines multiplied by shift pattern. A single number tells you nothing until you know how many shifts it assumes and what else is already booked into them.
Where the test happens
In-line electrical testing is standard. What varies is whether reliability and safety testing happens in-house or is outsourced, and that changes the failure feedback loop.
Why launch dates slip inside a factory calendar
Almost every delay in a charger programme comes from one of three places: tooling, a shared line, or a festival.
Tooling has its own clock
Tooling lead time does not compress the way production time does. It is a physical process, and starting it late moves everything behind it.
Lines are shared
Your run sits next to someone else’s. Slots are booked weeks ahead, and a change to the specification after booking usually means losing the slot.
Calendar, not just capacity
Lunar New Year and the pre-holiday peak reshape the calendar more than any capacity number. Build the plan around them rather than discovering them at booking.
What actually decides whether the date holds
When tooling starts, not when the order is placed
The order is a commercial event. Tooling is the physical one, and the delivery date follows it.
Whether the slot was booked around a festival
A slot that overlaps the New Year shutdown is not a slot. Confirm the working calendar before accepting the date.
How many approvals sit between sample and production
Each approval gate is a round trip. Counting the gates is more accurate than counting the days.
Whether the factory makes the components or buys them
Vertical integration shortens the critical path. Where it does not exist, the component supplier becomes part of your lead time.
Where to go from here
Four guides that pick up where this one stops.
Quality & inspection
The gates that catch a problem before it ships.
Open the guide →OEM & ODM programmes
Choosing the programme level and the branding route.
Open the guide →Programme execution
RFQ, tooling and repeat-order mechanics.
Open the guide →GaN charger technology
What changes at each wattage tier.
Open the guide →Factory and production questions
How do I evaluate a charger factory before ordering?
Ask for the platform list with wattage ranges, the line count and shift pattern behind the capacity figure, and where in-line testing and reliability testing happen. Those three answers tell you more than any certificate.
What does factory capacity actually mean?
It is lines multiplied by shift pattern, minus what is already booked. A headline monthly figure without the shift assumption and the current load is a marketing number rather than a planning number.
How far ahead should I book production?
Book the slot as soon as the sample is approved, and confirm the working calendar at the same time. Tooling should start before the slot is booked, because it is the longest single item in the schedule.
Is a China factory always cheaper?
Not automatically, once duty, freight and the cost of managing a longer supply chain are counted. What China usually offers is platform depth — the ability to re-specify an existing design instead of tooling a new one.
What should a factory audit cover?
Process control, incoming inspection, in-line testing, traceability and how defects are closed out. An audit that only checks certificates verifies paperwork, not production.
Send us the specification and the target date
Tell us the product, the volume and the date you need it. We will come back with the platform that fits, the tooling position and a realistic production slot.