"Can you make this in our size?" is the most common question a factory receives, and the answer is almost always yes — but the useful answer describes what happens next. Custom outdoor furniture is not a different product so much as a different process, and understanding that process is what lets a buyer put it on a realistic programme. This guide sets out what customisation actually covers, the path from drawing to container, and the numbers that matter: MOQ, lead time and payment.
What "custom" covers at factory level
For a manufacturer building in-house, customisation is broader than most buyers assume:
- Dimensions — length, depth, seat height, back rake, table height and extension.
- Material and section — teak grade and section size, aluminium tube gauge and profile.
- Finish — any RAL number on powder-coated aluminium; stain or natural on teak.
- Fabric — any colour from the standard Sunbrella or olefin card, and custom colours above a mill minimum.
- Cushion specification — foam density, quick-dry core, piping, zip position and tie detail.
- Hardware — 304 or 316 stainless, brass inserts, adjustable feet, stacking buffers.
- Branding — private-label cartons, instruction sheets, woven labels and logo application.
Because all of this happens in one workshop, confirming a change is a workshop decision rather than a chain of suppliers. That is the practical difference between a factory and a trading company, and it is why the answer to "can you change it" comes back in a day rather than a fortnight.
The OEM path from drawing to container
Step 1 — Brief and drawings
Send whatever you have: a dimensioned drawing, a sketch with key measurements, a reference photograph with notes, or a furniture schedule with target sizes. The more of the duty cycle you can describe — who uses it, how often it moves, what the climate does — the better the material and section recommendation will be.
Step 2 — Quotation
You should receive trade pricing, a material and construction note, an MOQ, an estimated cube and carton count, and a production lead time. If a quote arrives without a construction note, you are comparing prices between things that may not be the same product.
Step 3 — Sample
Drawing-to-sample runs about three weeks. Samples are priced at a premium over container quantities because they carry the same setup work without the volume, and that cost is credited back once the production order is placed. For a full property package, always sample — the sample is where you find that a seat height is 20 mm too low for your table, and finding it there costs nothing.
Step 4 — Production
Standard production runs 25–35 days after deposit, depending on quantity and finish. Repeat orders are usually faster because patterns, jigs and finishes are already set up — which is worth remembering when you are deciding whether to over-order in year one.
Step 5 — Inspection and shipment
You inspect, or appoint an inspector, before the balance is released. We load FOB Shenzhen or Nansha and work with your forwarder or ours, and we prepare a loading plan showing carton counts, total CBM and container utilisation before the container is sealed so freight is booked against real numbers.
MOQ, and why the number exists
Minimum order quantities are not a sales tactic; they are a setup cost. Cutting, jigging, finish changeover and fabric rolling all carry a fixed cost regardless of whether you order five or fifty, so the MOQ is the point at which that setup can be absorbed.
Typical figures for a FCL teak furniture supplier building to order are 5 sets for sofa and dining sets, 3 sets for large cage daybeds, 10 pieces for sun loungers and 20 sets for small bistro sets. MOQ applies per model — but you can mix models and materials freely to fill one container, and most buyers do exactly that.
Custom sizes normally carry no tooling charge above MOQ. Custom colours outside the standard fabric cards typically need 500–800 m of fabric, which usually means 15–20 sets; for smaller runs we can normally find a close match within an existing range.
Lead time and seasonal planning
Work backwards from the date you need furniture on site, not from the date you want to order. Allow for a sample round, sign-off, production (25–35 days), sailing, customs and an installation buffer. Then note that factories are busiest when buyers are specifying, not when they want delivery: January to April books up first for the Northern summer season, and Southern Hemisphere buyers should plan the mirror image.
The single most useful thing a buyer can do is share the target delivery month early. It changes what is realistic and it costs nothing to ask.
Payment terms and risk control
Our standard arrangement is a 50% deposit to start production, with the 50% balance paid after your inspection confirms the goods and before shipment. That structure puts the inspection between the two payments, which is where you want it: nothing ships without your sign-off, and nothing is fully paid for before it is verified. Terms for repeat buyers and larger programmes are negotiable, and we can quote against an L/C at sight if that suits your bank arrangement better.
Four things that cost buyers time
Approving a sample without sitting on it
A sample that looks right in a photograph can still be wrong in use. Seat height, back rake and cushion firmness are all ergonomic decisions, and they cannot be signed off from a screen. Get the sample on site, put the heaviest and lightest members of your team on it, and sign off from that.
Leaving the fabric choice to the end
Fabric is the longest lead item in most custom orders, and it is the one most often left until after the frame is approved. Choose the fabric card at the same time as the frame finish, particularly if you want a colour outside the standard range where mill minimums apply.
Not flagging the delivery month early
Production capacity is booked months ahead, and the factory that can hit your date in March may not be able to hit it in May. Share the target delivery month with the first enquiry rather than after the quote is agreed — it changes what is realistic and it costs nothing.
Ordering exact quantities with no spares
Damage happens, in transit and in service. A 2–5% allowance on frames and 5–10% on cushion covers converts a future crisis into a same-day swap, and it is dramatically cheaper inside the first container than in a separate air-freighted shipment.
What to send us to get an accurate quote
- Project type, location and whether the site is coastal
- Areas to be furnished, with approximate quantities per area
- Drawings, reference photographs or a furniture schedule
- Material preference — or ask us to recommend one
- Target delivery month and destination port
Send that and you will have trade pricing, DWG and 3D files, a material recommendation and a container loading plan — usually within one working day.