What actually decides whether a luggage factory fits a brand is operational control. Does the factory cut its own moulds? With mould making 100% in-house, they manage the fact that a new mould ≈80 days (10 cutting + 25 transit and fitment + 45 production). Clarify what the MOQ really is and how it is counted: typically MOQ 100 pcs per SKU counted per colour × size. Assess if it can show test evidence rather than claim it, and whether it can name the materials it uses. Check if it controls its own injection capacity—utilizing two 1,500-tonne injection machines for 80,000 units a month ensures sampling 7–15 working days and bulk 25–55 days. Most first-time buyers over-weight price and under-weight tooling ownership.
What to verify before you place a luggage order
Evaluating a custom luggage manufacturer comes down to six things you can verify rather than trust: the shell material and case structure, whether the factory makes its own moulds, which test standards the cases are checked against and what the reports actually show, the minimum order quantity and lead time, the export packaging specification, and whether the factory can name the compliance rules its packaging satisfies. DJI Luggage is a luggage manufacturer in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, producing hard-shell and soft-shell suitcases on an OEM and ODM basis. Two 1,500-tonne injection machines and 100% in-house mould making support a monthly capacity of 80,000 units, about 70% of it hard shell, shipping over 100 x 40HQ containers a year to China, Indonesia, the United States, Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The minimum order is 100 units per SKU, and lead time is 25-55 days from deposit and approved sample.
Verification checklist
| What to check | What to ask | How to verify it | Our position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mould ownership and in-house tooling | Are your moulds made in-house, and who owns the custom moulds? | Request a video call to view the tooling workshop and ask for a contract draft to review mould ownership terms. | Mould making 100% in-house; new mould ≈80 days (10 cutting + 25 transit and fitment + 45 production); 75 staff; Kemang, Bogor, West Java. Mould ownership and payment terms: "confirmed per order". |
| Minimum order quantity | What is the exact minimum order requirement per size and colour? | Submit a breakdown of your preferred colour and size mix to see if they approve it under their MOQ. | MOQ 100 pcs per SKU counted per colour × size. |
| Sample and bulk lead times | How long does it take for sample creation and full bulk production? | Ask to see redacted bills of lading from recent shipments to check actual lead times against their claims. | Sampling 7–15 working days; bulk 25–55 days. |
| Injection capacity | What is the machine size and your total monthly production volume? | Ask the supplier to film the specification plates on their injection machines during a live factory tour. | Two 1,500-tonne injection machines; 80,000 units a month. |
| Test evidence | Ask for 1 complete test report | request the sample test report | 900 mm loaded drop onto a solid steel plate; 90 cm drop after 4 hours at −12 °C; four-hour static load of 40 kg (535–660 mm bodies) and 60 kg (685–835 mm bodies); wheel runs 8 km + 2 km + 2 km with wear ≤2 mm plus 25 consecutive 200 mm loaded steps; 16-hour neutral salt spray per ISO 9227 / ASTM B117 with ≤3 corrosion points each ≤1 mm²; case-mouth Brinell hardness ≥40 HWB per ISO 6506 / ASTM E10; IQC, IPQC and OQC inspection; SGS produces sample test reports on submitted samples, not a certification |
| Material specification | Ask for 1 list of materials | ask which resin and alloy grade are used | ISO 9001 in registration; materials — Covestro polycarbonate, ABS+PC, ABS, polypropylene, 5052/6061 aluminium |
| Export documentation | Ask for 1 export document checklist | ask which certificate-of-origin forms the factory can issue | export documents — Indonesian Certificates of Origin (COO/SKA) Form D, Form E, RCEP, IJEPA, ICO. Payment and trade terms: "confirmed per order" |
| Question to ask | What a good answer looks like | What to be wary of |
|---|---|---|
| Which shell materials do you mould? | Named materials: PP, PC, ABS+PC, aluminum frame, fabric | Marketing terms with no grade or wall thickness |
| Are your moulds made in-house? | A stated proportion, plus machine count and tonnage | A capability claim with no mould or machine detail |
| Which test standard do you work to? | A named physical testing protocol (drop, wheel drum, stacking, ISO 9227 salt spray), with a written SGS or lab report | "International standards" with no number and no report |
| What is your minimum order? | A number stated per specification | An MOQ that changes once you ask about colours |
| When does lead time start? | A named trigger: deposit plus approved sample | A day count with no start event attached |
Shell material and case structure
Ask which shell material the factory actually moulds, because the material sets both unit cost and how the case behaves in transit. DJI Luggage produces PP, Covestro PC, ABS+PC, plain ABS, 5052/6061 aluminum frame, full aluminum, and fabric. Building to a buyer's own specification is what our OEM programme does.
- PP - the lightest hard-shell option, injection-moulded on 1,500-tonne machines where weight matters more than finish.
- Covestro PC - polycarbonate, which resists cracking across a wide temperature range.
- ABS and ABS+PC - cost-focused plain ABS or an ABS+PC blend balancing cost against impact resistance.
- Aluminum frame - a Covestro PC or ABS+PC shell closed by an extruded 5052/6061 aluminum frame, bent from profile and riveted rather than welded.
- Full aluminum - an all-metal 5052/6061 alloy body and frame for flagship travel lines.
- Fabric - soft-shell construction for programs needing expandability.
The frame is a structural component, not the whole body. If a supplier describes an entire case as aluminum but quotes a polycarbonate shell, the specification is inconsistent. Ask whether the frame is welded or riveted, and for the anodised film thickness. On the 5052/6061 aluminum frame cases produced here the frame is riveted, the film is 10-12 microns, zippers on zippered lines are YKK, and spinner wheels are SilentMove.
Mould ownership and in-house capability
Moulds decide how quickly a new shape reaches production. When a factory outsources mould making, a new shell design waits in a third party's queue, and that delay lands in your lead time whether or not it appears in the quotation.
At DJI Luggage, mould making is 100% in-house and runs alongside two 1,500-tonne injection machines, which allows a new shell shape to be scheduled without an external tool shop. Three questions get to the truth:
- How many injection machines does the factory run, and at what tonnage?
- Are moulds made in-house or outsourced, and in what proportion?
- Who owns the mould if you pay for a new shape?
Mould ownership causes the most trouble later, so the tooling agreement should say who holds it and when it can be moved. Our production workflow page shows how these stages fit together. Once the factory itself checks out, the next decision is which model fits your product: OEM vs ODM for luggage brands sets out what each one asks of you.
Test standards and the evidence behind them
Cases here are tested against our standardized mechanical luggage durability protocol, which aligns with SGS, Intertek, and Bureau Veritas physical luggage testing programs. Because no single global ISO standard covers whole suitcases, we combine suitcase-specific drop, wheel-drum, and static-stacking tests with ISO 9227 / ASTM B117 salt spray and ISO 6506 / ASTM E10 Brinell hardness testing. Ask to see the full lab report, not a summary. The case-level tests are:
- Drop. Conditioned at 18-25°C for at least an hour, then released from 900 mm onto a solid steel impact plate, handle-up and side-handle-up. Shell, case mouth and frame must not crack.
- Low-temperature drop. Conditioned at -12°C for four hours, then dropped from 90 cm: five times on the base, once on each other face, once on each side edge.
- Wheel and step running. A two-wheel case runs 8 km on a cement drum then 4 km on a cleated conveyor, with wear within 2 mm; cases are also run down 25 consecutive steps at 200 mm under load.
- Static load. Four continuous hours: 40 kg on cases from 535 to 660 mm, 60 kg on cases from 685 to 835 mm.
- Salt spray. 16 hours neutral salt spray (ISO 9227 / ASTM B117), no more than three corrosion points each under one square millimetre.
- Aluminum frame hardness. The case mouth is tested for Brinell hardness under ISO 6506 / ASTM E10 and must reach at least 40 HWB.
When you read a report, check the conditioning step, and check whether it covers the finished case or only its parts. Wheels, handles, locks and zips are tested and certified by their component manufacturers, so the case-level report and the component certificates are separate documents. Finished cases are sent to SGS for testing; these are reports on submitted samples, not a product certification.
Minimum order, lead time and payment terms
Commercial terms show whether a factory is set up for the order size you actually have. The minimum order here is 100 units per SKU, which matters most when testing a new market: a 100-unit run validates sell-through before you commit to a container. Lead time is 25-55 days from deposit and approved sample, and payment terms are 30% deposit and 70% balance, unified across all order types.
Sample development happens before that clock starts, so treat the sample approval date, not the enquiry date, as the beginning of your schedule. Two questions separate a realistic quotation from an optimistic one:
- Does the minimum order apply per specification, per colour, or per order?
- Does lead time start at deposit, at sample approval, or at material arrival, and which changes after approval push the date?
Export packaging and market compliance
Packaging is where a careful factory and a cheap one diverge most: the cost sits in details that are easy to omit, and the failures appear only after the container has crossed an ocean.
Export packing here covers single pack and nested pack, such as a 20" + 24" + 28" nested set; non-woven fabric or EPE foam between nested cases; a PE/PP dust bag on every case; die-cut corrugated board or EPE foam at the wheel housings and handle mounts; and silica gel desiccant or an anti-mould patch for container rain.
Packaging is produced to EU PPWR, US CONEG (heavy metals under 100 ppm) and REACH (no DMFu) requirements, and export documentation includes an Indonesian Certificate of Origin. A rule that is new to the factory can delay your first shipment, so ask which of your market's rules it already works to.
Warning signs in a factory quotation
Most problems with a first order are visible in the quotation before the deposit is paid.
- A material named only in marketing terms. "Premium polycarbonate" is not a specification. Ask for the grade and the wall thickness.
- Mould ownership left unstated. If you pay for tooling, the quotation should say who owns it.
- Test claims without a report. "Tested to international standards" means nothing without a standard number and a report.
- A day count with no start event, or vague packaging and capacity. "Export carton" says nothing about protection, and a capacity figure without units or a period cannot be checked.
Once the factory and the commercial model are settled, quality control in suitcase production covers how the agreed standard is checked on the line.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an OEM and an ODM program? In an OEM program you supply the design and the factory builds to it. In an ODM program the factory brings product structures and component options and you adapt them.
Can I start with a small order? The minimum order is 100 units per SKU, low enough to test a market before committing to a full container.
Do you claim a quality management certificate? No management-system certificate is claimed. Finished cases are sent to SGS for testing, and component suppliers certify their own parts.
How do I start? Send the size, material direction, target quantity and any artwork or reference sample through the contact page, and we will reply with minimum order, lead time and options.
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