| Can-end format | Common aluminum easy-open ends include 202, 206, and 209 sizes. The correct specification depends on the can-body diameter, neck profile, beverage or food application, and seaming equipment. | End diameter, shell profile, tab style, score design, coating requirement, and compatibility with the existing seamer. | Approved technical drawing, physical samples, seaming trial report, and dimensional inspection record. | The trade term does not replace technical approval. Product specifications should be finalized before issuing the purchase order. |
| Minimum order quantity (MOQ) | A practical planning range for customized printed or color-coated ends is approximately 500,000–2,000,000 pieces per specification. Standard, unprinted sizes may be available at lower quantities. | Whether MOQ applies per size, tab color, artwork, coating, or total order; also confirm setup charges for small runs. | Written quotation showing MOQ, price breaks, tooling or plate charges, and permitted mixed-size quantities. | Under FCA, FOB, CFR, or CIF, freight efficiency may make a higher MOQ commercially preferable even when the supplier accepts a smaller order. |
| 20-foot container planning | For lightweight aluminum ends, a 20-foot load is commonly planned at roughly 4.5–7.0 million pieces, subject to end weight, carton design, palletization, and the shipping line's payload limit. | Pieces per carton, cartons per pallet, pallets per container, gross weight, net weight, and container cubic volume. | Container loading plan, carton dimensions, packing list template, and verified gross mass calculation. | The final quantity is limited by both container payload and the carrier's verified gross mass requirements; do not rely on piece count alone. |
| Packing configuration | Export packing typically uses moisture-resistant cartons, protective liners or bags, separators, and pallets where required. Packaging must prevent deformation, corrosion, dust, and tab damage. | Carton strength, pallet material, humidity protection, stacking limit, carton labels, and whether pallets are required by the destination market. | Packaging specification, carton drop or compression test, loading photographs, and approved artwork for labels. | Clarify who pays for pallets, export packing, fumigation or heat treatment, and destination handling under the selected term. |
| Lead time for standard items | Approximately 15–30 calendar days after order confirmation and receipt of the agreed deposit or payment instrument, subject to production capacity and raw-material availability. | Whether lead time starts after payment, artwork approval, sample approval, or production-slot confirmation. | Purchase-order acknowledgment with a dated production and dispatch schedule. | Lead time normally excludes ocean transit, customs clearance, port congestion, and inland delivery unless the contract expressly includes them. |
| Lead time for printed or customized items | Approximately 25–45 calendar days is a reasonable planning range when artwork, color matching, coating, tooling, or printing approval is required. | Number of artwork revisions, color standard, plate or tooling ownership, sample approval process, and change-control procedure. | Signed artwork approval, color sample, pre-production sample, and agreed tolerance sheet. | The delivery date should be linked to the date of final artwork approval, not only to the date of the initial order. |
| Quality and food-contact compliance | For food or beverage applications, the coating, sealant, inks, and aluminum substrate must comply with the applicable destination-market food-contact requirements. | Destination country, product type, applicable regulations, migration limits, declaration requirements, and traceability expectations. | Material declaration, food-contact compliance statement, certificate of analysis, migration test where applicable, and batch traceability records. | Import compliance remains the buyer's responsibility unless the sales contract clearly assigns a specific regulatory obligation to the seller. |
| Critical quality controls | Typical controls include dimensional inspection, score and tab checks, coating or varnish inspection, visual appearance, corrosion resistance, sealant coverage, and seaming performance. | Acceptable quality limit, inspection level, critical-defect definition, sampling plan, and responsibility for third-party inspection. | Pre-shipment inspection report, batch test results, retained samples, and a corrective-action procedure. | Inspection costs and the point at which risk transfers should be stated separately in the contract. |
| FCA — Free Carrier | Suitable for containerized shipments when the seller delivers the goods to the buyer-nominated carrier or agreed terminal and completes export clearance. | Named place, carrier appointment, terminal cut-off, export documentation, and who pays origin handling. | Sales contract naming the exact FCA place and the party responsible for booking the main carriage. | Often preferred to FOB for containerized cargo because delivery can occur at an inland facility or container terminal before loading on the vessel. |
| FOB — Free On Board | The seller delivers goods on board the vessel at the named port of shipment and completes export clearance. | Named port, vessel nomination, cut-off dates, port charges, and documentation responsibilities. | Contract and booking confirmation specifying the named port and risk-transfer point. | Use for sea or inland waterway transport. For most container shipments, FCA may provide a more accurate delivery point than FOB. |
| CFR / CIF — Cost and Freight / Cost, Insurance and Freight | The seller arranges and pays for carriage to the named destination port. Under CIF, the seller also arranges the minimum level of cargo insurance required by Incoterms 2020. | Destination port, freight validity, transshipment risk, insurance coverage, claims process, and destination charges excluded from the quote. | Freight quotation, commercial invoice, bill of lading, insurance certificate for CIF, and a clear destination-charge schedule. | Risk transfers to the buyer when goods are loaded on board at the shipment port, even though the seller pays freight to the destination port. |
| DAP / DDP — Delivered at Place / Delivered Duty Paid | DAP delivers to the named destination without import clearance or import duties paid by the seller. DDP places the maximum import responsibility on the seller. | Exact delivery address, unloading responsibility, importer of record, taxes, customs documents, and local compliance requirements. | All-in landed-cost quotation, customs responsibility matrix, tax assumptions, and written confirmation of delivery scope. | DDP should be used only when the seller can legally and operationally handle import clearance, duties, taxes, and local delivery in the destination country. |
| Payment and document package | Common arrangements include a deposit with balance before shipment, documentary collection, or a letter of credit, depending on transaction size and buyer risk policy. | Payment milestones, bank charges, document release conditions, currency, credit terms, and dispute-resolution process. | Signed sales contract, pro forma invoice, commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin where required, and transport document. | Payment terms and Incoterms are separate contract elements; both should be stated clearly to avoid ambiguity over cost, risk, and document release. |
