Dubai · HQ Guangzhou Hong Kong
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Process · Capabilities · Operating model

How we actually work — no fluff.

A lot of trading companies pitch "end-to-end service" without explaining what that means. Below is the real picture: the six services we offer, the six stages every order goes through, what we can and cannot do, and the most common questions from new partners.

What we do

Six services, under one roof.

Most clients use two or three of these. A few use all six. They're all run by the same team — not outsourced or sub-contracted to third parties.

— 01

Wholesale Sourcing

Multi-supplier sourcing across China and Hong Kong. We compare 3–5 quotes per SKU, verify factory authorisation for branded goods, and return a costed CP — not just a price list.

— 02

Quality Control

In-house QC team based in Guangzhou. Pre-shipment inspection on 100% of containers, AQL 2.5/4.0 standards, photo and video reports shared before vessel departure — not after customs clears.

— 03

Logistics & Freight

Sea, air and rail freight with full documentation. FOB, CIF, DDP and DAP options. Customs declaration handled by our China team; door-to-door delivery available to most major destinations.

— 04

E-commerce Supply

Dedicated supply lines into Amazon FBA, eBay, Noon and Alibaba. FNSKU and UPC labelling, FBA-compliant carton sizing, polybag and bubble-wrap prep at the Guangzhou warehouse before shipping.

— 05

OEM & Private Label

Your brand on factory products. We handle factory introductions, sample iteration, packaging design files, MOQ negotiation and small-batch trial runs before committing to a full container order.

— 06

Trade Finance

T/T, escrow and L/C settlement supported. Multi-currency invoicing in USD, EUR, AED, CNY, GBP and HKD. Trade-credit insurance and cargo insurance available for high-value FCL orders.

The 6-stage process

From your RFQ to your warehouse — every order, every time.

This is the operating model we run for every client, every order, regardless of size. Days are typical for an in-stock SKU. Configure-to-order or OEM projects extend stage 04 by 30–60 days.

01
— Day 0–1 · RFQ Intake

You send the brief. We acknowledge fast.

Your shopping list arrives at request@estrel-world.com — SKUs (or descriptions if you don't know exact part numbers), target volumes, target landed cost, destination port, packaging requirements and timing. Our Sales Executive acknowledges within 4 business hours and either starts sourcing immediately or asks for the missing details we need to begin.

— What you provide
  • SKU list or product descriptions
  • Target volume per SKU
  • Destination port or city
  • Required Incoterm (EXW/FOB/CIF/DDP)
  • Packaging preference if any
— What we do
  • Acknowledge receipt within 4h
  • Confirm scope is feasible for us
  • Ask any clarifying questions
  • Brief the China sourcing team
  • Set the quotation deadline
02
— Day 2–7 · Supplier Discovery & Quotation

China team sources, verifies and quotes.

Our Guangzhou team queries 3–5 suppliers per SKU — both factories we've worked with for years and new candidates if a better price-to-quality ratio is available. For branded goods we verify authorisation through the brand's official China channel. We come back with a single consolidated commercial proposal in your preferred currency, with line-by-line pricing and Incoterm options.

— What's in the quote
  • Per-SKU unit pricing in your currency
  • FOB / CIF / DDP cost columns
  • MOQ per supplier per SKU
  • Lead time from confirmed deposit
  • Payment terms offered
  • Validity window (typically 14 days)
— What we verify
  • Factory authorisation for branded goods
  • Recent customer references
  • Production capacity vs your timeline
  • Any export-licence requirements
  • Customs / HS codes for your destination
03
— Day 7–10 · Contract & Deposit

Sales contract, advance payment, production booked.

If the CP is acceptable, we issue a sales contract — full SKU list, agreed prices, Incoterms, payment schedule, packaging spec, QC standard, lead time and penalties. After both parties sign, a 30% deposit (or 50% for fast-track production) is wired against our pro-forma invoice. The factory is booked, raw-material orders go in, the production slot is locked.

— Standard payment terms
  • 30% deposit on contract signing
  • 70% balance against pre-shipment QC photos
  • Or full L/C at sight (large orders)
  • Or escrow via Alibaba Trade Assurance
— Documents issued
  • Sales contract (English + Chinese)
  • Pro-forma invoice with bank details
  • QC standard agreement (AQL 2.5 / 4.0)
  • Production timeline with key dates
04
— Day 10–30 · Production Monitoring & QC

Weekly updates, mid-production samples, full pre-shipment inspection.

During production, our China team gives weekly status updates. For OEM or custom-packaged orders we share mid-production samples and approve before mass production continues. Once goods are ready, our QC inspectors visit the factory with an AQL-based sampling plan, photograph and video-document the inspection, count cartons, verify labels and check function on a sampled batch. The report is shared before you wire the balance — not after.

— QC inspection covers
  • AQL-based sampling (2.5 major / 4.0 minor)
  • Function test on sampled units
  • Packaging integrity check
  • Carton count and labelling verification
  • Serial number / IMEI sample list
  • Photo + video documentation
— If defects are found
  • Inspection report sent immediately
  • Re-work negotiated with factory
  • Re-inspection at factory expense
  • Or partial rejection with credit note
  • Or full rejection — escalation to refund
05
— Day 30–35 · Consolidation & Logistics

Multi-supplier consolidation, export packing, customs.

Goods are picked up from each factory and consolidated at our Guangzhou warehouse. If you've ordered from five suppliers, you get one container — not five separate shipments. Export packaging is added (corner protectors, stretch-wrap, fumigation if needed), shipping marks applied per your spec, and customs declaration filed. Vessel or flight is booked according to the agreed Incoterm.

— Logistics options
  • FCL — Full Container Load (20'/40'/40'HC)
  • LCL — Less than Container Load
  • Air freight (urgent or high-value)
  • Rail freight (China–EU)
  • Express (DHL/FedEx) for samples
— Documents prepared
  • Commercial invoice
  • Packing list (carton-level detail)
  • Bill of lading / Air waybill
  • Certificate of Origin (Form A / FE / CO)
  • Export licence if applicable
  • Insurance certificate (CIF only)
06
— Day 35–60+ · Delivery & After-Sales

Tracking, handover, warranty & long-term review.

Once the goods are in transit, we share tracking access — you can see vessel position, ETA and any port-of-call delays. On arrival, full document set is transmitted to your customs broker (or our partner broker if DDP). Goods clear, deliver to your warehouse, you confirm receipt. The relationship doesn't end there — warranty issues, replacement parts and the next order's planning all run through the same Sales Executive.

— During transit
  • Real-time vessel tracking access
  • Notifications on port-of-call ETAs
  • Document set transmitted before arrival
  • Customs broker liaison if needed
— After delivery
  • Receipt confirmation & sign-off
  • Warranty issue handling (DOA returns)
  • Replacement part orders
  • Quarterly supply review for repeat clients
  • Annual contract renewal & pricing
— By the numbers

Six stages, one contract, 13 years of pattern recognition.

Most of what makes ESTREL work isn't a clever process — it's having seen these exact issues 1,000 times before. Suppliers cutting corners on packaging. Customs clearing slowly because the HS code was wrong. Containers held at port because one document had a typo. We don't avoid these problems by being lucky.

1435
Days · standard lead time
100%
Pre-shipment QC coverage
35
Suppliers compared per SKU
24h
RFQ acknowledgement target
Operating capabilities

Specs of the operation, in one place.

If you're evaluating ESTREL against another sourcing partner, this is the side-by-side checklist. Twelve operating parameters, plain-text — no marketing fluff.

— Spec 01

Order volume range

From USD $25,000 minimum order value up to $5M+ single contracts. Below $25K we can't add value — we'd be more expensive than your local distributor.

— Spec 02

Payment terms

T/T (30/70 standard), L/C at sight, L/C 30/60/90 days, escrow via Alibaba Trade Assurance, or PayPal for samples. We're flexible on instruments, strict on scheduling.

— Spec 03

Incoterms 2020

EXW, FOB (Shenzhen, Yantian, Shanghai, Ningbo), CIF, CIP, DAP, DDP. We don't do DAT (replaced by DPU in Incoterms 2020) but can on request.

— Spec 04

Lead times

Stock-available SKUs: 7–14 days. Configure-to-order: 21–35 days. Custom OEM with packaging design: 45–75 days. Fast-track surcharge available on most categories.

— Spec 05

Currencies

USD primary. Also: EUR, AED, CNY, GBP, HKD, SGD. Exchange rate locked at contract signature, valid for 14 days.

— Spec 06

Languages

Business correspondence in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. Documentation always issued in English; bilingual contracts on request.

— Spec 07

QC standards

AQL 2.5 (major) / 4.0 (minor) default per GB/T 2828.1 / ISO 2859-1. Tighter standards available; lab testing (CE, FCC, RoHS) optional.

— Spec 08

Packaging options

Original retail box (default), bulk tray, polybag for FBA, custom branded retail packaging. Asset-tagging and imaging available for corporate roll-outs.

— Spec 09

Documentation pack

Full export pack: B/L or AWB, commercial invoice, packing list, COO (Form A / FE / CO), insurance cert (CIF), export licence and HS classifications.

— Spec 10

Insurance options

All-risk cargo insurance (default for CIF/CIP), trade-credit insurance for high-value FCL, D&O coverage on long-term contracts above $1M annual.

— Spec 11

Compliance & certifications

NDAA-compliant sourcing for surveillance gear, GDPR-aware data handling, country-of-origin verification, end-user statements where required.

— Spec 12

Volume scaling

From a single 20-foot container to 50+ container annual programmes. Long-term clients get dedicated account management and pre-allocated production capacity.

Honest disclosure

What we don't do.

The fastest way to wreck a partnership is to overpromise. Below are four categories of work we'll politely decline — better to lose the inquiry than to fail the engagement.

Retail / single-unit orders

We don't fulfil orders below ~USD $25K. Below that volume, your local distributor or marketplace is genuinely cheaper than us — there's no value we can add.

Dropshipping & per-order shipping

We don't pack and ship to your end customers from our address. We're a B2B wholesaler, not a fulfilment service — there are dedicated 3PLs for that role.

Counterfeit or unbranded knock-offs

For branded goods, we work only with authorised channels. We won't source counterfeit, refurbished-and-relabelled, or "no-name" copies presented as the original.

Embargoed regions & restricted goods

We comply with UAE, Chinese, EU, UK and US trade restrictions. We don't ship to OFAC-sanctioned destinations or supply dual-use goods without proper export documentation.

FAQ

The questions every new partner asks.

Six recurring questions from our intake calls — answered the way we'd answer them on the phone.

01 · What's your minimum order value?

Around USD $25,000 per order — for the simple reason that below that, our overheads (sourcing time, QC visits, freight consolidation, documentation) make us more expensive than your local distributor or even Alibaba retail.

For smaller test orders we'll often introduce you to a known supplier and step out of the deal. We'd rather lose the margin than commit to a money-losing engagement on either side.

02 · How does payment work? Do you offer escrow?

Standard terms are 30% deposit by T/T against pro-forma invoice, 70% balance against pre-shipment QC photos. The balance is wired before vessel departure but after you've seen our QC inspection report.

We also accept Letter of Credit at sight for orders over $200K, L/C 30/60/90 days for established repeat clients, and Alibaba Trade Assurance escrow for first-time partners who'd like the platform's protection. PayPal works for samples and small replacement orders only.

03 · What happens if QC finds defects?

The QC inspection report is shared with you before you wire the balance. If the AQL fails, you have three options: (a) factory re-works the batch at their cost, we re-inspect, vessel slips a week; (b) partial rejection — we offload the defective units and ship the rest at a renegotiated price; (c) full rejection if the failure is severe — your deposit is refunded after the factory negotiation closes.

In 13 years of operation, full rejections have happened twice. Re-works happen maybe 5–10% of orders. Partial rejections are the most common middle-ground outcome.

04 · How long does sourcing take from RFQ to my warehouse?

For in-stock SKUs (i.e. goods the factory has on shelves): RFQ to FOB-loaded vessel typically 14–21 days, then ocean freight 18–35 days depending on destination. Door-to-door 35–56 days.

For configure-to-order (servers, custom-spec laptops): RFQ to FOB 30–45 days, total transit 50–80 days.

For OEM with custom packaging: add 30–60 days to the front of any of the above for sample iteration and packaging design approval.

05 · Do you do OEM and white-label products?

Yes — primarily in accessories, audio, smart home and IoT categories, where the factory base is well-suited to private-label work. We can introduce you to factories, manage sample iteration, handle packaging design (we have an in-house design partner), negotiate MOQs (typically 500–5,000 units depending on SKU complexity) and run the production-and-QC loop.

We don't do OEM in servers, smartphones, branded laptops, branded TVs — these are products where unauthorised re-branding violates IP and we won't touch them.

06 · Which countries do you ship to?

Routinely: UAE, Saudi Arabia, the wider GCC, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, Türkiye, Egypt, Nigeria and West Africa, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, the EU, the UK, and the Americas.

We can ship to most other destinations on request — but we comply with UAE, Chinese, EU, UK and US export-control regulations. We don't ship to OFAC-sanctioned countries (currently North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Syria) or to entities on restricted-party lists. Dual-use goods may require additional export-licence documentation that takes 4–8 weeks to clear.

Get started

Process makes sense? Let's run it on your project.

Send the brief — SKUs (or descriptions), volumes, target landed cost, destination — to the address below. Our Sales Executive acknowledges within 4 business hours and the China sourcing team starts within 24.

RFQ
Wholesale orders
B2B
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