OEM or ODM — which one suits your project?
The difference is not the factory and not the quality standard. It is who owns the design, who pays for tooling, and how much time you have before launch.
Build to your design
You bring the drawing, schematic, BOM or a physical sample. We qualify a factory against that specification, develop or transfer the tooling, run samples and then mass produce. The product is yours: your design, your tooling, your part number.
- Suited to products with a two-year-plus life and meaningful volume
- Highest level of control over cost, material and specification
- Tooling and NRE quoted separately and stated on the quotation
- Longer path to first shipment because everything is built new
Adapt an existing platform
We start from a product already in production — a 65 W GaN charger, a sensor node, a display module — and change what your brand actually needs: enclosure colour, logo, plug set, output configuration, firmware options and retail packaging.
- Suited to fast market entry, accessories and test-the-market runs
- Lower NRE and lower MOQ because the moulds already exist
- Often 10 – 25 % lower unit cost than a new design at the same volume
- The underlying design stays with its owner; your brand and artwork stay yours
OEM and ODM compared across the terms that decide a project
The table below is the same list we walk through on a first call, so the commercial consequences of each route are visible before tooling is discussed.
| Criterion | OEM — build to your design | ODM — adapt an existing platform |
|---|---|---|
| Design ownership | Yours. We build to your drawing, schematic and BOM. | Ours or the platform owner's. You license or buy the design and brand it. |
| Tooling | New dies, moulds, jigs and fixtures developed for your part; usually customer-funded. | Existing tooling reused; only branding, colour or packaging tooling is new. |
| Typical MOQ | Higher — 1,000 – 5,000 pcs typical for injection-moulded or die-cast parts. | Lower — from 300 – 1,000 pcs, because the platform is already in production. |
| Time to market | Longer: 10 – 22 weeks including tooling, DFM and sample rounds. | Shorter: 6 – 12 weeks, often 4 – 6 weeks for branding-only changes. |
| Cost structure | Higher NRE and unit cost, but the cost model is fully transparent line by line. | Lower NRE; unit cost benefits from an existing production volume, so it is often 10 – 25 % below a new design. |
| IP ownership | You own the design and the tooling you paid for; we sign an NDA and an IP assignment. | The underlying design stays with the platform owner; you own your brand, artwork and packaging. |
| Best suited to | Products central to your brand, with volume and a two-year-plus lifetime. | Fast entry, test-the-market runs, accessories and products where speed matters more than exclusivity. |
Six stages from requirement to after-sales
The same six gates apply to a 300-piece machined part and to a private-label charger programme. Nothing moves to the next stage until the current one is signed off in writing.
Requirement & feasibility
You provide the drawing, sample, specification or target price. We review manufacturability, material availability, certification route and volume fit, and confirm within three to five business days whether the project is feasible as specified.
DFM review & cost model
A design-for-manufacturing review identifies cost drivers: tolerances that are tighter than needed, unnecessary process steps, part count and packaging. You receive a costed BOM, an NRE and tooling quote, and a target unit basis at two or three volume steps.
Tooling & sample approval
Tooling is released only against a written purchase order. First articles are dimensionally and functionally checked, and the golden sample is signed by both sides and retained as the reference for every later shipment.
Pilot run & validation
A pilot run at production settings validates the process, not the prototype. Test reports, yield data and any certification pre-tests are reviewed, and corrective actions are closed before mass production is authorised.
Mass production with QC gates
Production runs against the approved part list and golden sample, with incoming material checks, in-line inspection and a pre-shipment inspection to an agreed AQL. Weekly progress reports and photo evidence are issued while the order runs.
Shipment & after-sales
Goods are consolidated in Kwai Chung, documented and shipped against the agreed Incoterm. Spare parts, replacement policy and warranty handling are confirmed before delivery, not after the first complaint.
What we manage for you
A manufacturing project fails on detail: an unapproved material substitution, a revision mix-up, a packaging artwork that was printed before it was proofed. These are the six things we hold on your behalf, with a named person responsible for each.
Tooling and mould ownership
Dies, moulds, jigs and fixtures are registered to your project with an asset number, and the ownership and transfer position is documented. Maintenance schedules and tool life records are kept by the factory and reported with each production run.
Golden sample control
A signed golden sample is held by the factory, by us and by you. Pre-shipment inspection compares production units against that sample, so "acceptable" is a physical reference rather than an opinion.
ECN / ECO change control
Every engineering change is raised in writing, costed, approved by you and recorded against the part number with an effective date. Production and inspection documents are re-issued so old and new revisions are never mixed in one shipment.
Packaging and artwork
Retail cartons, inserts, instruction sheets, labels, barcodes and shipping marks are proofed and signed off before printing. Packaging is drop-tested where the product is sold through retail or shipped as a parcel.
Certification testing coordination
We book accredited laboratories for IEC/EN 62368-1, EMC, RoHS and REACH testing, prepare the technical file, and track the certificate through to issue. Test samples are taken from the production run, not from a hand-built prototype.
Spare parts and service strategy
Recommended spare parts, minimum stocking levels and a last-time-buy plan are agreed at project close, so service and warranty support does not depend on a factory keeping a line open indefinitely.
What is quoted separately, and why
Non-recurring engineering and tooling are one-time costs that exist whether you order 500 pieces or 500,000. Keeping them separate from the recurring production figure is what makes a Vemlora quotation readable: you can see the one-time cost and the per-unit cost instead of an unexplained blended figure.
Quoted separately from production
- Tooling: dies, injection moulds, blow moulds, jigs, fixtures and test rigs
- Engineering: design for manufacturing, PCB layout support, firmware development
- Sampling: first-article and pre-production samples, courier and laboratory test samples
- Certification: laboratory testing, technical file preparation, certificate issuance
- Packaging: artwork development, printing plates, retail tooling and drop testing
How amortisation usually works
Tooling is normally invoiced in full before tooling release. On request it can be amortised across an agreed quantity: a tooling cost spread over 3,000 units adds far more per unit than the same cost spread over 30,000 units. Once the agreed quantity has shipped, the amortisation ends and the recurring figure drops accordingly. The quotation states the block size and the point at which amortisation is removed.
Ownership and buy-back
Tooling you pay for is your property, recorded with an asset number and held at the factory on your behalf. If you move production elsewhere we arrange packing, transfer and re-qualification. If the project is discontinued we can buy the tool back at an agreed residual value, typically written down over 24 – 36 months.
Why MOQ exists
Minimum quantities are driven by tooling and line setup, not by policy. A progressive die needs a run long enough to justify its build cost; an SMT line loses money on very short runs once setup, stencils and feeder loading are counted. For ODM projects, the MOQ is lower because tooling already exists and the line is already running.
PCB & PCBA Assembly Module MCU Control & Driver Boards GaN Power Adapters & Chargers
Indicative project parameters
The figures below are indicative planning ranges for projects of this type, not a quotation. Actual NRE, tooling and lead times depend on geometry, material, tolerance, certification route and quantity.
| Project type | NRE | Tooling lead time | Sample lead time | Mass production MOQ | Mass production lead time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCB / PCBA assembly | Quoted per project — design and stencil work | n/a | 3 – 7 days | 500 pcs | 12 – 20 days |
| Control board with firmware | Quoted per project — engineering and firmware development | n/a | 7 – 14 days | 500 pcs | 14 – 24 days |
| Power adapter, GaN charger | Quoted per project — certification and tooling | 25 – 35 days | 7 – 12 days | 1,000 pcs | 12 – 20 days |
| Injection-moulded enclosure | Quoted per project — mould cost dominant | 30 – 45 days | 10 – 15 days | 2,000 pcs | 18 – 28 days |
| Sheet metal enclosure | Quoted per project — press tooling and fixtures | 18 – 30 days | 7 – 12 days | 300 pcs | 14 – 22 days |
| Stamped metal part | Quoted per project — progressive die cost dominant | 22 – 35 days | 8 – 14 days | 30,000 pcs | 12 – 20 days |
| Machined part (CNC) | Quoted per project — programming and fixtures only | n/a | 5 – 10 days | 200 pcs | 12 – 20 days |
| Cable or harness assembly | Quoted per project — tooling and test jig | 15 – 25 days | 5 – 10 days | 2,000 sets | 10 – 18 days |
| Private-label product (ODM) | Quoted per project — branding and packaging only | 12 – 25 days | 7 – 14 days | 500 – 1,000 pcs | 12 – 20 days |
How to read this table
NRE excludes tooling unless stated. Tooling lead time is counted from receipt of an approved drawing and a tooling purchase order. Sample lead time assumes the tooling is already built and runs from tooling sign-off. Mass production lead time is counted from golden sample approval, not from order placement. All values are indicative and confirmed in writing per project.
The six questions every project manager asks
Straight answers on tooling, changes, quantities, confidentiality, IP and continuity of supply.
Tooling paid for by the customer belongs to the customer. The tool is registered on the quotation and in the supply agreement with its asset number, location and condition. On request we arrange for the tool to be transferred to another approved factory, or bought back by us at an agreed residual value, normally written down over 24 – 36 months of production.
Yes, but every change follows a written ECN/ECO. You submit the change, we cost it, and you approve before anything is cut, moulded or assembled. Changes after tooling release normally require tooling modification, a new sample round and a revised mass-production date. Unapproved changes are never introduced into production.
Minimum order quantities exist mainly because of tooling and setup. A progressive die or an injection mould has a fixed cost that must be spread over a production run, and SMT lines have setup and feeder-loading time that only pays back above a certain quantity. Indicative MOQs are shown in the table above; for repeat orders the minimum can often be lowered once tooling is amortised.
We are happy to sign your NDA before drawings, BOMs or samples are exchanged, and we can provide our own mutual NDA if you prefer. Drawings and specifications are shared with a factory only on a need-to-know basis and under a matching confidentiality undertaking. Customer-branded tooling and artwork are never used for other customers.
For OEM projects you own the design, drawings and any tooling you paid for. For ODM projects the underlying platform remains with its owner; you own your brand, your artwork, your packaging and, where agreed, an exclusivity window in your market. Either way the position is written down before production, not assumed afterwards.
Every project qualified by us has at least one validated second source for the critical process, and tooling duplication is quoted separately if you want physical redundancy. If a factory is fully booked, exceeds agreed defect rates, or stops operating, we move production to the approved alternative, carry the transition cost as agreed in the supply contract and keep you informed at each step.
Have a drawing, sample or platform in mind?
Send the drawing, sample photo or target specification with an estimated annual quantity. We return a feasibility view, an NRE and tooling estimate and a target unit basis within three to five business days.