To get a corporate gift order quoted in one reply, send four things: the quantity, the date you need them in hand, your logo file and its format, and a rough budget per item. Expect longer lead times than a single gift, because personalised items are made one at a time. For anything above roughly fifty pieces in Singapore, start the conversation six to eight weeks out.
What should a corporate gift brief include?
Most quoting delays are caused by a brief that is missing one number. These four cover it.
- Quantity, even roughly. Thirty and three hundred are different businesses. A range is fine.
- The date they need to be in your hands. Not the event date. Allow for internal distribution.
- Your artwork and its format. Say whether you have a vector file or only a PNG, and whether you have a version with a transparent background.
- A rough budget per item. This is the one people withhold, and it is the one that speeds everything up. It stops a supplier quoting flasks when you wanted keychains.
Two optional extras that help: whether every item needs a different name, and whether anything needs individual packing or shipping to separate addresses.
How far ahead should we order?
Work backwards, and remember that bulk needs more notice than a single gift, not less. Each item is made individually, so fifty items is fifty machine runs.
| Quantity | Start the conversation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 20 | 3 to 4 weeks ahead | Close to standard lead time plus slack |
| 20 to 100 | 6 to 8 weeks ahead | Enough machine time, plus room for artwork approval |
| 100 plus | 8 to 12 weeks ahead | Production is scheduled in batches, and a sample round is worth doing |
| Anything landing in December | Add a further 2 to 3 weeks | Every made-to-order workshop is at capacity |
These are guides rather than promises. Any supplier should confirm against their actual queue, and should tell you plainly if your date is not achievable rather than accept the order and miss it.
What makes a corporate gift actually get used?
The honest test is whether the recipient would have bought it themselves. A few patterns hold up.
- Useful beats memorable. A good bottle or notebook stays in circulation. A novelty item gets a photo and a drawer.
- Their name beats your logo. A gift carrying the recipient's name is kept. A gift carrying only a company logo is branded merchandise, and people can tell the difference.
- One good item beats three cheap ones. Budget per head goes further concentrated.
- Restraint on branding. A discreet logo reads as a gift. A large one reads as advertising, and gets used less.
If the budget allows only one of these, choose the recipient's name over your own logo.
Can every item carry a different name?
Yes, and it is the main advantage of made-to-order production over buying stock. Because each item is produced individually, fifty different names cost no more than fifty identical ones.
Send the list as a spreadsheet with one name per row, spelled exactly as you want it printed, and check it before sending. A name list is the single most common source of errors in a bulk order, and the supplier has no way of knowing that a colleague spells it Sim rather than Shim.
Include any accents or capitalisation you want preserved, and flag anything unusual so it does not look like a typo.
Do we get an invoice, and is GST included?
Ask for an invoice made out to the company and you should get one. In Singapore, a GST-registered supplier charges GST, and a clear supplier states whether displayed prices include it.
Every price on the Gift Lab site includes GST, and we issue a company invoice on request. Delivery is charged by the weight of the shipment and shown before payment.
Should we order a sample first?
For anything above about a hundred pieces, yes. A sample costs one item and a few days, and it catches the two things a screen preview cannot show you: how the brand colour actually prints on that material, and how large the logo really looks in the hand.
For small runs it is usually unnecessary, because the preview plus a stated print area is enough.
What goes wrong on bulk orders?
- The name list arrives late. Production cannot start without it, so the deadline moves even though the order was placed early.
- Artwork is a logo pasted into a slide deck. That copy is compressed. Get the original from whoever holds the brand files.
- Nobody owns the approval. Decide in advance who signs off the proof, or it sits waiting.
- Quantity creeps. Adding twenty items after production starts means a second run. Confirm headcount before you order.
- Ordering for December in December. The workshop is already full.
Key takeaways
- Send quantity, in-hand date, artwork format and budget per item to get quoted in one reply.
- Bulk needs more lead time than a single gift, not less.
- A different name on every item costs nothing extra when items are made individually.
- Sample anything above a hundred pieces.
- Lock the name list and the approver before production starts.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a minimum order for corporate gifts?
Not at Gift Lab. Because every item is made to order anyway, ten is a viable order. Larger runs usually improve the per-item price.
Is there a discount for quantity?
Usually, yes, and it is worth asking with your quantity attached rather than in the abstract. Bring the number and the date and you will get a real answer.
How long does a 100 piece corporate order take in Singapore?
Plan on six to eight weeks from approved artwork, and longer if it lands in December. The making is sequential, so quantity translates fairly directly into time.
Can you ship to individual staff addresses?
Ask when you brief. It changes the packing and the delivery cost, so it needs to be priced in rather than added later.
What artwork file should we send for a logo?
A vector file, so SVG, AI, EPS or PDF, because it prints at any size with no loss. Otherwise a PNG with a transparent background at the largest size you have.
Can you match our exact brand colour?
Very close, and a sample is how you confirm it. Printed ink and an on-screen brand colour are produced differently, so expect a close match rather than an identical one.
In short
Send quantity, the in-hand date, your artwork format and a budget per item, start six to eight weeks out for anything over fifty pieces, put the recipient's name on it rather than just your logo, and sample large runs.