First granite import from China: how many stages are there?
From inquiry to collection the chain breaks into seven stages. You can push three of them; four you can only wait through. Knowing which three stops you mistaking waiting for progress.
What are the seven stages?
Inquiry and specification, sampling and sample approval, proforma invoice and payment, scheduling and processing, inspection and packing, booking and loading, then clearance and collection. The first five happen in China; the last two happen at sea and on your side. Listing them matters because each stage has a deliverable — not progress, but something you can hold.
Which three can you push, which four can you only wait for?
You can push specification approval, sample approval and payment timing, since paying on time moves you up the schedule. You can only wait for scheduling, processing, booking and ocean transit, because those depend on the supplier's capacity, the carrier's space and the routing. The usual cost of misjudging this is chasing daily on stages that cannot move, damaging the relationship while still not getting real information.
How do you get sampling right the first time?
Three rules: the sample must be cut from the block batch that will actually be shipped; approval must state in writing that this sample governs, with copies held by both sides; and what you approve includes surface finish, edge profile and thickness tolerance, not only colour. The more precisely it is approved, the fewer disputes later. The cost of skipping this is usually paid on arrival.
How do you monitor production usefully?
Track three checkable milestones instead of asking how far along it is: blocks arriving, with batch number and quantity photographed; cutting complete, with specification and count photographed; packing complete, with the actual goods per pallet photographed. Require a fixed angle and a date each time. Those three correspond to real progress better than any percentage.
What does the buyer do about booking and shipping?
Under FOB you book, so ask about sailings before expected completion and give the supplier the cut-off date. Under CIF the supplier books, and your job is to confirm vessel and voyage, note the ETA, and get the clearance documents to your broker early. The two classic failures here are goods ready with no space, and space booked with goods not ready. The dates on both sides must line up.
Where do first-time importers actually get stuck?
Not in production — in documents and clearance. First-timers focus entirely on the goods and overlook consignee details, tax registration, certificate of origin and wood packaging fumigation: the paper side. The vessel arrives, the documents do not, and detention starts accruing daily. Send your broker the clearance document list before loading and have it checked.
Can you give a staged timeline?
Yes, but built on milestones rather than day counts, because capacity and routing differ by supplier: inquiry, specification, sampling, sample approval, proforma invoice, deposit, scheduling, processing complete, inspection, packing, booking cut-off, loading, bill of lading, arrival, clearance, collection. For each milestone write who owns it, what the deliverable is, and how many days after the previous milestone it should occur. That is far more useful than one total number.