Should I accept a partial factory shipment?

Start with what the early delivery would achieve

The factory delay guide covers establishing progress and building a recovery plan. Here, decide whether the proposed split actually helps your business. Identify the customer order, installation or stock gap it would cover, and the latest arrival date at which it would still be useful.

Ask your customer or operations team what they could do with the proposed portion immediately. Goods arriving early have little value if they must sit untouched until the balance arrives. Compare waiting, shipping a usable portion and obtaining temporary replacement stock against the same business need.

Count usable sets, not just finished units

Match the ready goods against the components, accessories, instructions and packaging needed for their intended use. Complete housings without their fittings, or products without compatible power supplies, may leave you with unusable stock. For a range, check whether the available sizes or variants match actual demand.

Ask for a shipment list showing complete usable sets and anything missing from each set. Check compatibility across the proposed shipments, including finish, dimensions and approved versions. Define the inspection around the goods selected for release using the inspection guide, rather than treating a check of other finished stock as sufficient.

Test whether the remaining delivery is credible

For every unfinished order line, ask what operation remains, whether the required materials are available, who controls the work and what evidence supports the completion date. Check whether the same blocker affects the ready portion. A sales promise is less useful than evidence that the missing component has arrived or the required production slot is allocated.

Ask what changes after the ready stock leaves. Could the factory move your remaining work behind another order, lose access to matching materials or require another setup? Agree how the balance will remain identifiable and prioritised. If its completion still depends on an unresolved shortage, assess whether the early shipment would remain worthwhile through a longer delay.

Compare the whole split with waiting

Request a written comparison covering the early shipment and the later balance together. Include repeated collection, packing, inspection, clearance handling, delivery and receiving work, plus storage and any repacking needed to reunite sets. Use the landed price guide to check which items are included and which would be extra.

Compare that additional spend with the business loss the usable early stock could realistically prevent. Use the quantity customers will actually take, rather than the entire ready quantity. Check the transport estimate against your useful arrival deadline. If the remaining shipment is still uncertain, ask how the cost comparison changes if it becomes smaller or needs different transport.

Approve a defined release, with a separate balance plan

Put the selected order lines, quantities, complete sets, inspection conditions, packing details and agreed cost allocation in writing. Record the amount payable for this release and how it relates to earlier payments and the remaining balance. State that the approval covers the listed portion, and record unfinished quantities separately.

Prepare shipment-specific paperwork and reconcile it against the whole order so goods and payments are not counted again later. UK importers must retain commercial invoice records and customs paperwork, including their import VAT certificate. Use the customs documents guide for the wider paperwork checks.

Approve release when usability, the remaining delivery and the cost case are supported. Otherwise, request a different selection or wait. Set a review point tied to evidence of the outstanding work, and record what you will reconsider if that evidence does not arrive. For an existing third-party order, agree the scope of Cambridge China Bridge's help before relying on it.