In the meantime, the factory has been busy arranging to begin production. It is now time to check their pre-production samples, which could be from the first day of production.
Verifying Production Samples
Everything you told the factories before should have been implemented in these samples and it is your job to verify it.
Now is the time to take out the reference samples and compare them with the production samples. They should be close or identical but unfortunately, that is not always the case. There could be minor deviations, which could even be an improvement and it is up to you to make the right decisions.
I do not suggest letting this decision out of your hands. Only you or your company representative know the complete picture and should be the ones to release the mass production for all its consequences.
If you employ an inspection company to perform an Initial Production Inspection (IPI) or a During Production Inspection (DPI) you will be in a much better position because they will be on the spot and can talk directly to the factory management and request changes on your behalf.
You can now see how a local representative can save time and money, especially if you are on a tight schedule that sometimes happens for reasons which are out of your control.
The pre-production or early production samples will of course be delivered together with their final gift boxes and instruction manuals and you can check again that all changes have been incorporated by the factory.
If everything is according to your expectations, you must release or confirm mass production without further delay.