Five files are available here: an RFQ template with 15 fields, a tech pack template with 12 components, a bill of materials template, a defect dictionary graded critical, major and minor, and a production schedule template built around the 35-50 day bulk window. All five are sent by email as XLSX or PDF, and nothing else is sent to that address.
Five files, sent by email: an RFQ template of 15 fields, a tech pack template of 12 components, a bill of materials template, a six-page defect dictionary graded critical, major and minor, and a production schedule template mapped to the 35-50 day bulk window. Four arrive as XLSX and the dictionary arrives as PDF. The address is used for delivery and version notices only.
What Are the Five Downloads, and What Sits Inside Each One?
These are the files used internally on live programmes, cleaned of client detail and released as templates. They are not marketing collateral: the RFQ is the form that decides whether a quotation comes back in one round or four, the tech pack is the document a sample is judged against, and the defect dictionary is the list an inspector works from on the day.
01 · RFQ template
An enquiry form with 15 fields, ordered so that the ones which move price come first. Covers intended use, quantity per style and colourway, target delivery week, destination port, construction notes, print or embroidery method, hardware, testing requirement, packaging, labelling and the compliance standards that apply.
02 · Tech pack template
Twelve components in a fixed order: cover sheet, flat sketch with dimensions, materials schedule, hardware schedule, colourway breakdown, construction notes, stitch specification, print or embroidery artwork placement, labelling and packing instruction, test protocol, tolerance sheet and sign-off block.
03 · BOM template
A three-section bill of materials: face and lining fabric by weight and finish, components including foam, board, webbing, zips and hardware, and trims covering thread, labels, cords and packaging. Each line carries supplier, specification, consumption per unit and waste allowance.
04 · Defect dictionary
The reference an inspector and a production floor can both hold. Every common bag fault is named, photographed in description, given a definition, a measurement method and a grade: critical, major or minor, with the grade tied to how AQL 2.5 counts it.
05 · Production schedule template
A milestone grid running from tech pack sign-off through material arrival, cutting, printing, assembly, inspection and packing to container loading, with a weekly reporting checkpoint and a column for the evidence attached at each milestone.
- Bag enquiry form (RFQ) — XLSX, 15 fields
- Tech pack template — XLSX, 12 components
- Tech pack guide — PDF, the twelve components explained
- Bill of materials — XLSX, 3 sections, 48 lines
- Defect dictionary — PDF, three grades
- Production schedule — XLSX, 35-50 day grid
The numbering is deliberate and the sequence is the order they get used in. Filling in 01 before 02 is the difference between a tech pack that answers the buyer's questions and one that generates new ones, because the fields in the RFQ are the same fields the tech pack has to resolve.
Which Download Do You Need at Which Stage of a Programme?
Most buyers ask for all five and then use two. The mapping below is the honest one: the RFQ and the schedule are used once per programme, the tech pack and BOM are used once per style, and the defect dictionary is the only one that stays on the desk through inspection and beyond.
| File | Stage it belongs to | Who fills it in |
|---|---|---|
| RFQ template (15 fields) | Before any quotation exists | The buyer, usually a sourcing or product manager, in one sitting |
| Tech pack template (12 components) | After the concept, before sampling | The buyer writes it; the production team completes the construction and tolerance sheets |
| BOM template (3 sections) | During costing, before the price is fixed | The production planner, then reviewed by the buyer against the tech pack |
| Defect dictionary (3 grades) | Before inspection, and again on inspection day | Nobody fills it in — the inspector and the floor both work from the same copy |
| Production schedule template | From sample approval through loading | The production planner issues it; the buyer reads the weekly checkpoint column |
| All five together | A first programme with no templates in house | A team that has not yet standardised how it specifies a bag |
One row deserves a note. The defect dictionary is the only file in the set that is not filled in by anybody, and that is what makes it useful. The argument on inspection day is almost never about whether a fault exists; it is about whether the fault is major or minor, and a dictionary that both sides were handed before production started settles that before it is worth arguing about.
Why Release Them Instead of Keeping Them Inside the Quotation Process?
Because the templates are not where the value is. The value is in knowing which of the 15 RFQ fields actually moves a price, which of the 12 tech pack components is going to be revised three times, and which of the 48 BOM lines is the one that will be substituted if a material runs short. A template handed over without that knowledge is a form with columns.
There is a second reason, which is less generous than it sounds. An enquiry that arrives on our own RFQ layout, with the tech pack completed against our own tolerance sheet, can be quoted in one round instead of four. That is worth more to us than the small advantage of keeping the format to ourselves, and it is worth more to the buyer than the file itself.
- The files are the ones used on live programmes, with client detail removed — not samples written for a content page.
- A buyer using the same layout gets a first answer in one round rather than a week of clarification.
- The defect dictionary only works if both sides hold the same copy, so it cannot be kept on one side of the relationship.
- Published formats are stable; the version number and change note travel with the file.
- Nothing in the set contains pricing, capacity claims or anything a competitor could not work out from a specification.
What Actually Happens to the Email Address You Type In?
It delivers the files, and it tells you when a version changes. That is the whole list. There is no drip sequence, no newsletter cadence, no third-party list appended to it and no scoring attached to which file you asked for. If the defect dictionary moves from revision 3 to revision 4 because a standard changed, one notice goes out and that is the only reason the address is used again.
Under the GDPR basis used here, the address is held on the basis of consent for the purpose of delivering a requested file and its updates, it is held only for as long as that purpose lasts, and it can be removed on request. Every message carries a one-click unsubscribe, and deletion of the record can be requested at any time by replying to the message or writing to the address on the privacy policy page.
The files themselves carry no tracking. They are XLSX and PDF documents, not hosted views, which means nobody can see when they were opened or how far they were read. A template that reports back on its reader is a different kind of object entirely, and it is not the kind we send.
How Do the Five Files Sit Against the Locked Programme Numbers?
- MOQ
- 500 pcs per style / colourway (300 pcs on a repeat)
- Sampling
- 6-10 working days (12-15 for complex builds)
- Bulk production
- 35-50 days from sample approval
- Inspection
- AQL 2.5, ISO 2859-1, General Inspection Level II
- Payment
- T/T 30/70
- Incoterm
- FOB Xiamen (CIF / DDP available)
- RFQ template
- 15 fields, XLSX, one sheet
- Tech pack template
- 12 components, XLSX and PDF, four pages
- BOM template
- 3 sections and 48 line rows, XLSX
- Defect dictionary
- PDF, three grades
- Production schedule
- Milestone grid across the 35-50 day window, XLSX
The schedule template is the one that most obviously depends on those figures: it is drawn across 35-50 days from sample approval, with a checkpoint per week and a column for the evidence attached at each one. A buyer holding that grid can tell, without asking, whether a programme is on plan or whether a milestone has quietly slipped by four days.
How Is the Defect Dictionary Graded, and Who Uses the Grades?
Three grades, and the grade is what AQL 2.5 counts against. A critical defect is one that makes the unit unsafe or unsaleable — a broken load-bearing handle, a grommet that pulls free, a needle left in the goods. A major defect is one a customer would return: a failed weld, a seam opening, a visible shade difference against the approved swatch. A minor defect is one a customer would not notice on the shelf but an inspector should record.
| Grade | Test the dictionary applies | Example on a bag | How it counts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical | Would the unit injure somebody or fail a mandatory safety requirement? | Handle stitching releasing under load; a broken needle in the filling | Zero acceptance at any AQL level; the lot is not released on a critical |
| Major | Would a retail customer return this unit on sight? | Liner weld leaking, a seam opening at the base, a shade step against the swatch | Counted against the accept number at AQL 2.5 for the sample size drawn |
| Minor | Would a customer notice it unaided, and does it affect function? | A thread end inside the lining, a print registration shift inside tolerance | Counted separately at a looser level, recorded rather than automatically failing |
| Not a defect | Is it inside the written tolerance on the tech pack? | A dimension within the stated plus or minus range | Recorded and closed; no count against the plan |
The fourth row is the one that gets skipped, and it is the row that prevents most arguments. A dimension inside the written tolerance is not a defect, which means the tolerance sheet in the tech pack has to be filled in before inspection rather than during it. The AQL position sets out why the level is 2.5 and not 1.5.
What Happens After the Files Come Back Filled In?
What a completed set returns
- A quotation that does not need a second clarification round, because the 15 RFQ fields were answered first.
- A sample brief that can be judged against a number, because the tech pack carries dimensions and tolerances.
- A costed bill of materials with consumption and waste per unit, so a material change can be priced without a new sample.
- An inspection whose outcome is predictable, because the defect grades and the sampling plan were agreed before production.
- A schedule with weekly checkpoints and evidence attached, so a four-day slip is visible the week it happens.
- One audit trail across sampling, bulk and inspection, all carrying the same document numbers.
That list is the actual product being offered here, and none of it requires a buyer to work with us. A completed RFQ and tech pack will get a better first answer from any supplier, including one that has never seen these templates. Which is the honest reason to publish them: they make an enquiry legible, and legible enquiries get quoted properly whoever they go to.
How Are the Templates Kept Current?
Each file carries a version number and a change note on its cover. A revision is issued when something external moves — a standard is revised, a compliance requirement changes, or a field that used to be optional turns out to decide the price. Minor corrections are folded into the next revision rather than announced, so a version notice in the inbox means something actually changed.
The compliance sheets are the part that moves most often, because the standards they point at do. REACH, CA Prop 65, CPSIA and EN 71 each have their own revision rhythm, and a template that named the wrong edition would be worse than no template at all. Where a requirement depends on the destination market, the file says so in the field rather than assuming one.
Ask for the five files
Send one email and the set goes out as attachments: RFQ with 15 fields, tech pack with 12 components, BOM, the six-page defect dictionary and the production schedule grid. The address is used for delivery and version notices only. Send the files back filled in and the first answer comes back in one round.
Frequently Asked Questions
What five files are available to download?
An RFQ template with 15 fields, a tech pack template with 12 components, a bill of materials template in three sections, a six-page defect dictionary graded critical, major and minor, and a production schedule template mapped to the 35-50 day bulk window.
What formats do the downloads come in?
Four arrive as XLSX working files and the defect dictionary arrives as PDF. The tech pack ships in both, because one version is edited and the other is the one that gets signed and filed. None of the files contains tracking of any kind.
Is there a cost or a subscription for the templates?
No. The files are sent as attachments on request, with no subscription, no fee and no follow-on obligation attached to receiving them. The reason they are released at all is that the value sits in knowing how the fields are used rather than in the columns themselves.
What happens to the email address I give?
It delivers the files and it tells you when a version changes. There is no drip sequence, no newsletter and no third-party list appended. Unsubscribe is one click, and deletion of the record can be requested at any time, as set out on the privacy policy page.
How does the defect dictionary grade a fault?
Three grades. Critical means unsafe or unsaleable, such as a handle releasing under load. Major means a retail customer would return it, such as a leaking liner weld. Minor means a customer would not notice it unaided. A fault inside the written tolerance is not a defect at all.
What is the difference between the tech pack and the BOM?
The tech pack says what the bag must be and how it will be judged, across twelve components including dimensions, tolerances and a test protocol. The BOM lists what goes into it, by fabric, component and trim, with consumption and waste per unit. One is the specification, the other is the cost.
How many fields does the RFQ template have?
Fifteen, ordered so the fields that move price come first: intended use, quantity per style and colourway, target delivery week, destination port, construction, print or embroidery method, hardware, testing requirement, packaging, labelling and the compliance standards that apply at the destination.
Do the templates assume a particular order size?
Yes, they are drawn against MOQ 500 pcs per style and colourway, with 300 pcs noted as discussable on a repeat. The schedule grid runs across 35-50 days from sample approval and the sampling references are set at AQL 2.5 under ISO 2859-1.
Can I use these templates with another supplier?
Yes, and that is part of the point of releasing them. A completed RFQ and tech pack will get a better first answer from any supplier, including one that has never seen these files. The templates make an enquiry legible, and legible enquiries get quoted properly whoever receives them.
How often are the templates revised?
When something external moves: a standard is revised, a compliance requirement changes, or a field that used to be optional turns out to decide the price. Editorial corrections are folded into the next revision rather than announced, so a version notice means something changed.
Which compliance standards do the files reference?
REACH, CA Prop 65, CPSIA, EN 71 and the GRS transaction certificate route where recycled content is claimed. Where a requirement depends on the destination market, the field says so rather than assuming one, because those standards move on their own revision rhythms.
Do the files work for all six bag categories?
Yes. The structure is category-neutral and the category-specific content sits in the construction and materials fields: foam and liner for cooler, padding and drop protocol for camera, colour matching for team kit, bottle geometry for wine, thickness for neoprene and grommet specification for drawstring.
What should I send back after downloading?
The RFQ answered in full and the tech pack with dimensions and the tolerance sheet completed. Those two together allow a quotation in one round, a sample judged against a number, and an inspection whose outcome was agreed before production started.
Is the production schedule template editable?
Yes, it is an XLSX grid with a row per milestone across the 35-50 day window, a weekly checkpoint column and a column for the evidence attached at each milestone. A buyer holding it can see a four-day slip in the week it happens rather than at packing.
People Also Ask
What documents do I need before ordering custom bags?
Three at minimum: an RFQ stating use, quantity and delivery week, a tech pack carrying dimensions, materials and tolerances, and a bill of materials costing every component. Add a graded defect dictionary before inspection and a milestone schedule once the sample is approved.
How do I write a tech pack for a bag?
Work through twelve components in order: cover sheet, dimensioned sketch, materials and hardware schedules, colourway breakdown, construction notes, stitch specification, artwork placement, packing instruction, test protocol, tolerance sheet and sign-off block.
What is a defect dictionary used for?
It gives the inspector and the production floor the same list of named faults, each with a definition, a measurement method and a grade. That removes the argument about whether a fault is major or minor, which is the disagreement that actually delays a shipment.
How should defects be graded before inspection?
Critical means unsafe or unsaleable and is never accepted; major means a customer would return it and counts against the AQL 2.5 accept number; minor means a customer would not notice it unaided. Anything inside the written tolerance is not a defect.
Why would a supplier give away its templates?
Because the templates are not where the value is. The value is knowing which fields move a price and which components get revised. A buyer using the same layout gets a first answer in one round, which is worth more than keeping the format private.
Sources and further reading
Every figure on this page is either our own programme data or attributed below. Open the originals before you write them into a specification.
- ISO 2859-1:1999 Sampling procedures for inspection by attributesInternational Organization for Standardization
- Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
- Proposition 65 in plain languageCalifornia Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
- Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH)European Chemicals Agency