Your Supplier Just Came Back from Golden Week: A 10-Point Restart Checklist
Key takeaways
Open does not mean fully staffed. A factory can be officially back and still be running well below its pre-holiday headcount, so ask for numbers, not reassurance.
Check your line, not just the factory. Whether the people who normally make your product are back matters more than the overall headcount.
Re-baseline the schedule and the materials together. Sub-suppliers were on holiday too, so confirm real delivery dates for anything still on order.
Pull inspection forward if the restart looks shaky. A mid-production check catches problems while there is still time to fix them.
Work backwards from Q4 and Chinese New Year now. Deciding this week whether to split, air freight or accept a later date costs far less than deciding in mid-November.
Golden Week started on October 1, and your supplier's factory has been quiet since. Most are now reopening or about to. Freight forwarders are already warning about production backlogs, slow cargo processing and schedule slips after the holiday.
That advice is useful for your shipping plan. But the bigger risk usually sits earlier, inside the factory. Who actually came back? Is there material on the shelf? Is your order still where you left it in the queue?
Here are 10 things to ask your supplier this week. None of them need a long call. Most can be answered in a single message.
The 10-point restart checklist
1. Ask how many workers have returned. Not "are you open?" Ask for a headcount: how many people are on the line today compared with before the holiday. Many workers travel home for the break, and some do not return straight away. Some switch jobs after the holiday. A factory can be officially open and still be running at 60% capacity.
2. Ask which lines are running your product. Headcount across the factory is one thing. Staffing on your line is another. Ask whether the people who normally make your product are back, or whether new hires and substitutes are filling in. New hands mean a slower start and a higher chance of quality drift.
3. Check raw material and component stock. Suppliers of the factory's suppliers have been on holiday too. Ask for a plain status on your materials: in stock, on order, or waiting on a delivery date. If anything is "on order", ask for the date the sub-supplier confirmed, not the date your supplier hopes for.
4. Re-baseline the production schedule. The schedule you agreed in September was built for a factory that did not close for a week or more. Ask for a fresh one with real dates for start, completion and ready-for-inspection. Keep the old one next to it so you can see exactly how far things have moved.
5. Look at where you sit in the queue. Every customer is asking the same questions this week. Ask where your order sits and whether anything has been pushed ahead of it. If a competing order has a firmer deadline, you want to know now, while there is still room to negotiate.
6. Decide whether to pull inspection forward. If the restart looks shaky, inspect earlier than planned. A mid-production check catches problems while there is still time to fix them. Finding a defect on the day of final inspection leaves you with two bad options: ship late or ship flawed. This matters most for first runs after the holiday, when new workers and rushed output are most likely to cause issues.
7. Confirm the packing and shipping plan. Backlogs build at ports and in freight handling too. Ask your supplier when they plan to book cargo and whether they have a booking in place. If your freight forwarder has a view on port congestion, share it with the factory so everyone plans against the same picture.
8. Work backwards from your Q4 deadlines. Take the date your goods must land, whether that is a Black Friday promotion, a holiday launch or a contract delivery. Subtract shipping time, then inspection, then production. If the numbers no longer fit, you have a decision to make this week: air freight part of the order, split the shipment, or accept a later date. It costs far less to decide now than in mid-November.
9. Plan for Chinese New Year now. Chinese New Year falls in early February 2027, and factories usually wind down well before the holiday itself. The same restart problems will show up again afterward. If you need stock to cover the gap, orders for it often need to be placed and in production soon after Golden Week ends. Ask your supplier for their holiday closure dates and, if possible, a firm cutoff for orders.
10. Get it all in writing. Verbal assurances are fine in the moment, but they do not help when a date moves. Ask for the revised schedule, the headcount update and the material status by message or email. A short written summary makes it easy to spot changes and keeps both sides honest.
A simple message you can send today
Hi [name], welcome back. To help us plan Q4, could you share: (1) how many workers have returned, (2) whether the team on our line is back, (3) status of our materials, and (4) an updated production schedule with new dates? Also, what are your closure dates for Chinese New Year? Thank you.
It is short, polite and covers the points that matter most.
Frequently asked questions
What should I ask my supplier after Golden Week?
Start with four things: how many workers have returned, whether the team on your line is back, the status of your materials, and an updated production schedule with new dates.
Why can a factory be open but still behind schedule?
Reopening only means the doors are open. Workers return at different times, and sub-suppliers who also took the holiday may still owe materials. Both can slow a restart even when the factory says it is back.
Should I move my inspection earlier after Golden Week?
If the restart looks shaky, yes. A mid-production check catches problems while there is still time to fix them, instead of on the day of final inspection when your only options are shipping late or shipping flawed goods.
How does Golden Week affect Chinese New Year orders?
The same restart problems can repeat after Chinese New Year in early February 2027. Ask your supplier for their closure dates and an order cutoff, and place any cover stock orders soon after Golden Week ends.
What if my Q4 deadline no longer fits the schedule?
Work backwards from the date your goods must land, subtracting shipping, inspection and production. If it no longer fits, decide this week whether to air freight part of the order, split the shipment, or accept a later date.
What this adds up to
Golden Week delays are normal, and good suppliers will tell you what to expect. The risk is the quiet kind, where nobody checks and a slipped date only shows up when it is too late to act. A handful of questions this week gives you time to adjust.
As a Hong Kong-based fractional sourcing team, we check in with factories directly, confirm the restart, and flag problems early, as part of our approach. If you would rather have someone on the ground do this for you, talk to our team.
