What separates an ODM Protective Case from a buyer's own drawing?

Answer: Ownership. Structure, tool and drawing stay with the factory; the buyer holds a licence for its own colour, foam and marking.

How far can an existing tool be modified?

Answer: Depends on the layer. A hole through an insert is small, RMB 8,000 to 20,000. A rib in the cavity doubles that.

Can a buyer start at 100 units?

Answer: Yes for foam, 200 for a colour. The closer the order to the threshold, the closer the price.

What does a colour change add?

Answer: Very little. Two hours of purging and 8 kg of scrap over 200 units is one to three yuan each.

ODM Protective Case Procurement: Pricing, MOQ and Lead Time

Q: How long does exclusivity usually run?

Answer: Twelve months, against 3,000 units a year or 30 percent prepayment. Otherwise expect six months non-exclusive.

Quick answer: In an ODM Protective Case programme the factory owns the design and the buyer picks a shell and brands it. There is no tooling line, only colour, foam and marking, so entry is cheap and exclusivity is where the money goes. A first order of a few hundred units ships in four to five weeks.

How an ODM Protective Case Is Quoted
The Existing Tool Library and Change Limits
MOQ and Exclusivity Terms
Colour and Foam Changes at Minimum Cost
From Selection to Trial Order
FAQ

1. How an ODM Protective Case Is Quoted

Quoting starts from the shelf price of an existing shell. The library holds 24 shells spanning 200 to 1,200 mm; the tooling line reads zero, because that cost was absorbed years ago.

Four blocks stack on top: shell by shot weight and cycle, foam by material and die, colour by purge time, print by colour count. Only the shell price is hard, so an ODM Protective Case quotation can show three numbers for one shell.

Quotation block	Priced from	Who pays
Shell	Shot weight and cycle	Baked into unit price
Foam	Material and die	Buyer pays die once
Colour	Purge time and scrap	Baked into unit price
Print	Colour count	Buyer pays screens once

2. The Existing Tool Library and Change Limits

The boundary of change has to be mapped first. Wall thickness, rib direction and hinge seats belong to the original tool; the buyer changes colour, foam, marking and hardware, plus a few holes. Ask for the tool drawing, because none of it is in a brochure.

ODM Protective Case: an off-white case on a galvanised steel shelf, a circular badge recess moulded into the lid, front latch and white handle facing the camera, dust on the corners

A new hole means a new insert, RMB 8,000 to 20,000 and 10 to 15 days. A new rib means cutting the cavity, doubling the cost and repeating the ingress test; a new parting line is a new tool, no longer ODM.

The 24 shells leave gaps between size bands, so a buyer whose size falls between two takes the nearer shell and re-cuts the foam, or pays for a new tool.

3. MOQ and Exclusivity Terms

MOQ is low because the tool is paid for. Colour runs start at 200 units, foam at 100, single-colour print at 500, and mixed loads build in steps of 50.

Exclusivity is separate. Keeping one shell away from same-category buyers costs a 12-month term plus 3,000 units a year, or 30 percent prepayment; otherwise the buyer gets six months non-exclusive.

Territory must be defined by country, province or channel. An ODM Protective Case exclusive drawn too wide will not be signed.

Authorisation	Threshold	Term	Price effect
Non-exclusive	None	Open	Base price
Territory exclusive	3,000 units a year	12 months	Plus 5 percent

4. Colour and Foam Changes at Minimum Cost

Colour is the cheapest differentiation: one mould, two hours of purging, 8 kg of scrap, a 200-unit minimum, matched to Pantone and held within ΔE 1.5. Structure and rating stay untouched.

ODM Protective Case: a row of horizontal injection moulding machines receding into a workshop, hoppers fed by red hoses, a crane beam overhead, stacked cartons on the right, yellow floor lines

Foam costs more than colour, less than tooling. EVA at 30 kg per cubic metre needs a die at RMB 800 to 1,500 and a 100-unit minimum; EPE is cheaper but collapses in transit.

Combining both adds RMB 6 to 12 per case, keeps the minimum at 200 and adds seven days. Cushion thickness changed, so the drop test repeats once.

5. From Selection to Trial Order

The short chain wins: three days to select a shell, seven for a colour board, five for the foam die, 15 to 20 for a trial run. The cycle closes in four to five weeks, half a drawing-based project.

An ODM Protective Case trial of 100 to 300 units proves three things: whether the colour reads in the channel, whether the foam releases parts cleanly, and whether the carton survives a drop. Keep 20 as a reference.

Two delays repeat: the colour board is approved after scheduling closes, so the factory runs the old colour; or the foam drawing and the shell drift and the die will not fit.

Conclusion

An ODM Protective Case buys time and optionality: the factory keeps the structure and tool, the buyer adds colour, foam and marking. The low entry price is not free, because exclusivity, change limits and re-testing must be settled before the shell is chosen. Choose the right library and the trial ODM Protective Case order grows into a product line.

This article discusses only the container (case body) side of specifications and design intent, and does not cover any handling, loading or use of the contents.