Products Engineered to Your Specification.
Manufactured Under Your Brand.
When private label isn’t enough. Custom moulds. Exclusive designs. Full IP transfer. This is how category leaders build products competitors can’t reverse-engineer from a 1688 search.
The Upgrade Trigger
Four Signs You’ve Outgrown Private Label.
Private label gets you a branded catalog fast. But these four situations demand the exclusivity only OEM / ODM delivers.
Your competitors source the same factory.
You’re doing $80K/month on a product — and your top competitor is selling an identical unit from the same factory for $2 less. Private label gave you a brand; it didn’t give you exclusivity.
Customers are requesting features that don’t exist.
Your reviews mention what’s missing — longer battery, wider fit, quieter motor, eco material. The factory’s catalog doesn’t offer it. OEM lets you build exactly what customers ask for.
You’re ready to defend a category position.
You’ve proven demand. You have 6+ months of data. Now you need a product moat that takes competitors 6+ months to copy — not 6 days. Custom moulds and patents build that moat.
Your margin floor is too low.
Private label unit cost is the factory’s catalog price. OEM products you design can be costed-down 20–40% vs retail equivalents because you own the engineering choices. Higher margin + higher AOV.
Know the Distinction
OEM vs. ODM — Same Outcome, Different Starting Point.
Both deliver exclusive products. The difference is who holds the design pen at the start of the project.
You design.
We manufacture.
You bring the product concept — spec sheet, engineering drawings, reference sample, or detailed brief. We match a factory capable of producing to your design, coordinate tooling, and run production.
- You own the design and all IP rights from day 1
- Factory is contractually prohibited from reselling your design
- Mould ownership documented in your name
- Utility / design patents can be filed in your target market
We design.
You brand.
You bring the market brief — target segment, price range, differentiating features. Our product engineering team (or a partner factory’s R&D) designs a product to match. You own the final design.
- Full design service included in your engagement
- Final design IP transferred to your brand on production
- Lower upfront engineering burden on your team
- Mould ownership documented in your name
Full-Stack Engineering Capability
What We Handle In-House.
Development Roadmap
Three Tracks. Pick Your Speed.
OEM doesn’t have to be 30–60 days. We’ve compressed the timeline into three honest tracks — depending on how much of your product needs to change. Dates committed in your contract before kickoff.
Quick Customization
Best for: Labelling, packaging change, logo, minor cosmetic tweaks. No tooling, no spec change.
→ Branded product live in your store within a week.
Standard OEM
Best for: Spec adjustment, material upgrade, small tooling, feature tweak. Sample with QC video.
→ Differentiated SKU in production, ready for stable scaling.
Deep ODM · Brand Co-Creation
Best for: Ground-up new product. CAD, prototyping, tooling, compliance, packaging design, hypercare launch.
→ A true brand product — IP transferred, mould owned, 7-day hypercare.
Cost Structure
Exactly What You’ll Pay — Itemized.
OEM and ODM have 4 cost buckets. Your contract lists every line item — factory quotes included. No hidden service margins.
Full new-product design & CAD: from $3,500. ODM adds full design service.
Simple single-cavity mould: $500–$1,500.
Multi-cavity / complex mould: $1,500–$3,000.
Mould ownership: 100% transferred to client — signed in contract.
Indicative unit price (consumer electronics):
Upfront figures cover engineering & (where applicable) tooling. Per-unit manufacturing billed separately at volume tier.
Real OEM Development
How James Built a Medical-Grade Compression Product from Scratch.
ProblemJames had a compression sock brand doing 80 orders/day. His previous supplier’s pressure values varied batch-to-batch — sometimes 18mmHg, sometimes 24mmHg, both sold as “20–30mmHg.” Medical customers noticed. Returns spiked. German competitors with certified documentation were closing in.
OEM SolutionWe built a formal product specification document from scratch: compression pressure tiers (15–20, 20–30, 30–40 mmHg) with ±1.5mmHg tolerance, length specs with 1.5cm max variance, material composition with specific yarn blend ratios, temperature testing at 3 ambient conditions. James owned this document. Every supplier’s name was in the appendix.
Outcome4 months in: a Birmingham physiotherapist ordered 40 pairs for her clinic. A Leeds hospital placed a trial order. A UK healthcare equipment distributor reached out for wholesale. Volume went from 80 to 900 orders/day in 18 months. Zero complaints in the preceding 6 months. The product standard is now James’s competitive moat.
IP Protection Framework
v. 2026Every OEM / ODM engagement is covered by the following framework. Clauses are standard; attach your specific commercial terms on top.
NDA at Discovery Stage
Before any product specification is shared, ASG and the client sign a mutual NDA. Discussion of the project with third parties (including our own factory network) requires written consent.
Factory Non-Compete
Each production factory signs a separate NDA and non-compete. Factories are contractually prohibited from manufacturing the client’s design for any other party in the client’s market territory.
Mould & Tooling Ownership
All custom moulds, tooling, and production jigs become the property of the client upon final payment. Mould location (factory name and address) is documented in the service agreement.
Design IP Transfer
All industrial design, CAD drawings, specification documents, and related IP created during the engagement are transferred to the client upon final payment. ASG retains no residual rights to the design.
Patent Filing Support
Where applicable (design patents, utility patents, or trademarks), ASG assists the client in filing in their target markets. Filing fees are separate; our service is to coordinate and document prior art.
Breach Remedy
If a factory breaches the non-compete (produces the client’s design for another party within the client’s territory), ASG covers legal pursuit costs and assists in migrating production to an alternate factory within 60 days.
Decision Framework
OEM, ODM, or Private Label?
Follow the flow. If you answer “no” to both in any row, the path right of that row is your fit.
Technical FAQ
Questions Engineering-Minded Founders Ask.
For OEM: engineering drawings or a reference sample with annotated changes. For ODM: market brief (target segment, price range, key differentiators, must-have features). We turn both into a formal spec sheet in the first week.
2–3 iteration rounds are budgeted into every engagement. First iteration typically catches 80% of issues. We only advance to tooling once the prototype passes your approval and factory QC benchmarks. You pay for tooling after approval, not before.
Yes. Factory name and address are in your contract. Most clients visit once during tooling validation and once during pilot run. We coordinate the visit, provide translators, and prepare factory staff to walk you through production.
The mould is your property. Options: (1) keep producing with the existing factory (most common), (2) move the mould to a different factory, (3) retire the mould and archive it. All three are covered in your service agreement from day 1.
Compliance requirements (CE, FCC, RoHS, FDA, CPSC, etc.) are flagged during spec definition. Testing is coordinated with certified third-party labs. Cost is itemized in your quote. Certificates are issued in your company’s name.
We help document the novel features, coordinate with patent attorneys in your target market, and provide CAD drawings required for filings. Utility patents and design patents are the most common. Filing fees vary ($300–$2,500 per market); our coordination is included in the engagement.
Ready to Engineer?
Every Month You Stay Off-the-Shelf,
A Competitor Is Designing Their Own.
Book a 30-minute engineering review. We’ll evaluate whether OEM, ODM, or staying on private label fits your current stage — no sales pressure, just an honest technical read.
Book Engineering Review30-min technical call · Feasibility read within 48h · No commitment