Production timing, lead times and rush orders
How production timing, lead times and rush orders work for corporate merch in Georgia: standard 5–12 business days textile, 3–7 hard goods, rush from 2 business days, and how to plan against an event date.
Context
The timing question for corporate merch in Georgia — how to plan a merch programme against an event, how to read our lead times, and what the rush options look like.
Corporate merch in Georgia is produced in Tbilisi — decoration in Saburtalo, Nadzaladevi and Gldani, dispatch across the country and abroad under DCFTA. The standard MOQ is 30 units; premium VIP programmes from 10 units; volume pricing above 500 units. Quotes are in GEL for Georgian-resident buyers (VAT 18% via RS.ge), EUR/USD for export.
Frequently asked questions
What are the standard lead times?
Textile decoration (silkscreen, embroidery, DTF, sublimation, DTG, heat transfer): 5–12 business days after artwork sign-off. Hard goods (laser engraving, UV print, pad printing, debossing, doming, 3D printing): 3–7 business days after artwork sign-off. Custom-mould hard goods (USB drives, plastic pens): 15–25 business days due to the supplier moulding lead time.
How do I plan against an event date?
Work backwards from the event date. (1) Subtract the delivery window — Tbilisi 1 day, regional Georgia 1–5 days, cross-border 3–10 days. (2) Subtract the production lead time — 5–12 business days for textile, 3–7 for hard goods. (3) Subtract the artwork sign-off buffer — 2–3 business days. (4) Subtract any contingency. For a Tbilisi event in 4 weeks the buyer should sign off the artwork no later than 14 business days before the event.
What is the rush premium?
For rush from 5 business days the premium is 15–25%; for rush from 3 business days the premium is 30–50%; for rush from 2 business days the premium is 50–80%. The exact premium depends on the product, the decoration method, and the run size. Rush is feasible for most categories except custom-mould hard goods (USB drives, plastic pens) which carry a longer supplier lead time.
What if my event date slips?
Tell us as soon as you know. We hold the production slot for up to 7 days at no cost; beyond 7 days we may release the slot to another buyer and re-book. If the artwork is signed off and production has started, we can hold the finished goods in our warehouse for up to 90 days at no cost for orders above 500 units.
Can we lock in a production slot in advance?
Yes. For repeat programmes (annual events, recurring onboarding kits) we offer a 6-month or 12-month production slot reservation. The slot is held with a 20% deposit; the remainder is invoiced on the order confirmation. The slot reservation protects the buyer from peak-season capacity squeeze (October Tbilisoba, December New Year, March 8, Easter).
How do you handle peak-season capacity?
Peak seasons are October (Tbilisoba), December (New Year), March 8 (International Women’s Day), and Easter. We book production slots 4–6 weeks in advance during peak season. For last-minute orders in peak season we may need to apply a peak-season premium of 10–30% to reflect the overtime and the expedited freight. We recommend buyers plan ahead.
Additional context
In Georgia the standard decoration method depends on run size and audience. For textile orders above 100 units we recommend silkscreen (cotton, polo) or embroidery (premium). For short runs and complex artwork we recommend DTF or DTG. For hard goods we recommend laser engraving, UV print, pad printing, and debossing.
For cross-border orders we prepare the EUR.1 movement certificate under DCFTA, the CMR consignment note for road freight, and the RS.ge e-invoice for Georgian-resident buyers. Banking partners are Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank; for export we use the BOG correspondent network (Commerzbank, Citi, Raiffeisen).
Corp-Merch is an independent corporate merchandise vendor. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any government body, regional administration, municipality, public-sector buyer, or any event referenced on this page. References to procurement.gov.ge, RS.ge, the Partnership Fund, GITA, GNTA, the Georgian National Tourism Administration, Bank of Georgia, TBC Bank and other institutions on this page are factual descriptions of the procurement and business environment in which we sell, not endorsements or affiliations.
Request a quote
We reply within one Tbilisi business day with pricing in GEL, lead time and options.