Lead time is the total time from placing an order to having the goods available to sell. It is not production time, and it is not transit time: it is the sum of everything, including the dead time nobody invoices but everybody pays for.
What it is made of
Factory production, inspection, consolidation and export clearance at origin, international transit, import clearance, and last mile to your warehouse. Every link carries its own variability, and real lead time is the sum of the times, not the sum of each one’s best case.
Why it matters when importing from China
In every restocking decision. Lead time defines when you must reorder to avoid running out, and on the Asia-Latin America corridor it is long enough that orders have to be placed well before the need is felt. It also shifts with the calendar: Chinese New Year and Golden Week stop factories and fill vessels.
The common mistake
Using the lead time your supplier promised in the best month of the year as if it were constant. It is measured with your own data, shipment by shipment, and planned with the real range, not the optimistic one. An underestimated lead time gets paid for in stockouts or in emergency air freight.
We help you map your real lead time, leg by leg: write to us and we review it alongside your Asia sourcing plan.
