How to Tell Suppliers Your CNY Plan: Message Templates

Start with your delivery requirement and ask for a workable plan

Adapt these Chinese New Year message templates to your purchase and destination. State where the goods must arrive, when you need them and what flexibility you have. Check destination-specific requirements separately.

Replace every placeholder before sending. Write dates with the month spelled out in English and with 年、月、日 in Chinese; specify the time zone for timed deadlines. Separate your requested arrival date from the supplier’s proposed completion date and the forwarder’s transport estimate.

For the holiday background, use the Chinese New Year planning hub. Check factory closure and reopening questions and working-day lead times around China’s holidays rather than treating a general holiday calendar as your order schedule.

Template: ask for closure dates and the reopening plan

Use this before committing to a holiday-period order or revising an existing schedule. Ask about the people and materials needed for your order, rather than accepting an office reopening date alone.

English template: Hello [name], we are planning order [reference] for delivery to [destination], with arrival required by [date]. Please confirm your last production day before Chinese New Year, office reopening date and expected production restart for this order. Are any materials, components or packaging still awaiting confirmation? Please propose a schedule covering completion, inspection and collection, and let us know which dates are confirmed and which remain estimates. Please reply by [date, time and time zone]. Thank you.

Chinese template: [姓名]，您好！我们正在安排订单【订单编号】，货物最迟需于【日期】到达【目的地】。请确认贵司春节前最后一个生产日、办公室恢复办公日期，以及本订单预计恢复生产的日期。目前是否还有原材料、零部件或包装尚未落实？烦请提供包含完工、验货及提货安排的计划，并注明哪些日期已确认、哪些仍为预计。请最迟于【日期、时间及时区】回复，谢谢！

If the supplier cannot confirm a milestone, ask what is outstanding, who will resolve it and when they can give a firmer answer.

Template: confirm production before the factory closes

Send this once the supplier has proposed a schedule. Identify the specification and approved sample, and state that proposed changes require your written approval.

English template: Hello [name], please confirm the pre-holiday production plan for order [reference]: [product and quantity], to specification [version] and approved sample [reference]. Our requested completion date is [date], with inspection on [date] and collection on [date]. Please confirm material and packaging availability and whether this schedule is achievable. If anything is at risk, please send a revised plan for our approval before proceeding. Please obtain our written approval before changing materials, specifications, quantities or agreed quality checks.

Chinese template: [姓名]，您好！请确认订单【订单编号】的春节前生产安排：产品及数量为【产品及数量】，按规格【版本号】及经我们确认的样品【样品编号】执行。我们希望于【日期】完工、【日期】验货，并于【日期】提货。请确认原材料和包装是否齐备，以及上述安排能否落实。如有风险，请先提供调整方案，经我们批准后再执行。任何材料、规格、数量或已约定质量检查的变更，均请先取得我们的书面同意。

Describe unaccepted dates as requests. Once agreed, retain the supplier’s written confirmation with the order documents. Keep payment milestones tied to the agreed terms; explicitly agree any proposed changes.

Template: request inspection or shipping before closure

Use the inspection request when checking the goods is the next step. Use the shipping request when arranging collection and transport. Keep both messages if both tasks remain outstanding.

English inspection template: Hello [name], for order [reference], please confirm when the goods and packaging will be ready for the agreed inspection against specification [version] and approved sample [reference]. Our requested inspection date is [date]. Please confirm the inspection location, contact and quantity available. If corrections or a recheck are needed, please confirm whether they can be completed before closure. If not, please propose a revised dispatch plan for our approval.

Chinese inspection template: [姓名]，您好！关于订单【订单编号】，请确认货物及包装何时准备就绪，可按规格【版本号】和经我们确认的样品【样品编号】进行约定的验货。我们希望于【日期】验货，请确认验货地址、现场联系人及届时可供验货的货物数量。如需整改或复验，请说明能否在停工前完成；如无法完成，请提供调整后的出货计划，供我们批准。

English shipping template: Hello [name], we would like order [reference] collected before your closure, subject to the agreed inspection and release conditions. Please coordinate with [forwarder/contact] and confirm the goods-ready date, collection appointment, booking reference, cargo and document cut-offs, and estimated departure and arrival dates. Please send the draft commercial invoice and packing list for review. If the booking is unconfirmed or a cut-off cannot be met, please tell us before dispatch and submit an alternative plan, including any additional costs, for our approval.

Chinese shipping template: [姓名]，您好！我们希望订单【订单编号】能在贵司停工前提货，前提是满足已约定的验货及出货放行条件。请与【货代及联系人】对接，确认备货完成日期、预约提货时间、订舱编号、货物交付及单证提交的截止时间，以及预计启运和到达日期。请先发送商业发票及装箱单草稿供核对。如订舱尚未确认，或无法赶上截止时间，请在发货前告知，并提交包含任何新增费用的替代方案，供我们批准。

If there is insufficient time to correct defects, assess postponement, a specific agreed remedy or a partial shipment. Ask for the costs and consequences before approving an alternative.

Template: confirm the order after reopening

Ask for the actual status after the supplier returns. You can begin with a New Year greeting, then request an updated order schedule.

English template: Hello [name], happy New Year. Please send an updated status for order [reference]. Has production for this order resumed, and are the required materials, packaging and production staff available? Please confirm work completed, outstanding work, revised completion and inspection dates, and the earliest collection date. Please identify any change from the pre-holiday plan, explain the reason and state its effect on our required arrival date of [date]. Let us know when you can next provide a progress update. Thank you.

Chinese template: [姓名]，您好，新年好！烦请更新订单【订单编号】的进度。本订单是否已恢复生产，所需原材料、包装及生产人员是否已到位？请说明已完成和待完成的工作，并确认最新完工日期、验货日期及最早可提货日期。如与节前计划有变化，请说明原因，以及对我们要求最迟于【日期】到货有何影响。也请告知下次可以更新进度的时间，谢谢！

Use the reply to update your forwarder and anyone relying on the delivery. If the schedule has changed, request an achievable replacement plan rather than repeatedly asking the supplier to reconfirm an outdated date.

Keep the tone polite, specific and easy to answer

Explain the business reason for your deadline: a customer commitment, launch or stock requirement. Say which dates are essential and where you can accept flexibility. Avoid threats or broad requests such as “please hurry” without identifying the decision you need.

Use specific requests such as “请确认” (please confirm), “烦请说明” (please explain) and “如无法按期完成，请提供调整方案” (if you cannot finish on schedule, please provide a revised plan). If the supplier replies “尽量”, ask for a confirmed date rather than recording that reply as a commitment.

Keep each order reference visible. After a call or chat, send a written recap covering the agreed dates, unresolved points and next update. Ask the supplier to correct anything inaccurate. Record unanswered points as unconfirmed.

For a small purchase, remove fields that do not apply. For a larger programme, send separate order schedules or attachments while keeping the message focused on the decisions requiring a reply.

Destination paperwork: a short UK example

Add your destination and document requirements to the shipping message. Ask for invoice and packing-list drafts early enough to resolve discrepancies before collection.

For goods shipped by sea directly into Great Britain, HMRC includes relevant delivery and insurance costs up to the port of importation in the customs value. Import VAT valuation starts with the customs value, adding applicable import duties and charges, excluding VAT itself, and relevant incidental expenses to the first UK destination. Such expenses to a further UK destination must also be included if that destination is known at importation. Avoid counting costs already included.

The practical message is: “Please itemise the goods price, freight, insurance and any additional shipping charges, and send revised documents if the transport plan changes.” Ask your customs representative how the actual costs should be treated. The HMRC sources below support this UK example; use destination-specific guidance for other markets.

Sources

The official HMRC sources below support the UK customs-value and import VAT example. The bilingual messages are editable planning templates, not official forms or confirmed supplier schedules.