A first furniture order takes around twelve weeks from deposit to loading. Buyers who know what should be happening each month catch problems early; buyers who wait for a delivery date discover them at the end.
Weeks 1–2: Specification locked and materials selected
Your item list, sizes, finish and packing are confirmed in writing, and the workshop selects wood and begins cutting. Any change after this point costs time, so this is the moment to be certain.
Weeks 3–6: Production
Cutting, shaping, joining, sanding and finishing. Ask for progress photographs in this window. It is much easier to correct a finish mid-run than after packing.
Weeks 7–9: Finishing and quality checks
Pieces are finished, dried and checked. Any glass tops are cut and inspected. This is when buyers should inspect, or arrange for photos of finished goods before packing.
Weeks 10–11: Packing
Pieces are wrapped, cartoned and staged according to the load plan. A precise packing list is prepared piece by piece. If your market needs fumigation, it happens here.
Week 12: Loading and dispatch
The container is loaded to plan, photographs are taken, and the bill of lading is issued. Then the sea voyage begins — typically four to six weeks depending on destination.
What to ask for at each stage
- Week 1–2: written specification and confirmed schedule
- Week 3–6: progress photographs
- Week 7–9: photographs of finished goods
- Week 10–11: packing list and, if needed, certificates
- Week 12: container photographs and bill of lading
Working with us
CV. Nusantara Sourcing Agent manufactures and exports handcrafted teak root furniture from Jepara, Central Java, Indonesia. Minimum order is one 20-foot container, mixed items and pieces are welcome, prices are quoted FOB Semarang, capacity is four 40-foot containers per month, and we have shipped over 300 containers since 2016.
Why the twelve weeks matter before a single piece is cut
More than 80% of the world's merchandise trade moves by sea, and the 2025 Review of Maritime Transport published by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD, September 2025) describes global shipping as entering a period of fragile growth, rising costs and mounting uncertainty. For a furniture importer, that sentence translates into one practical rule: the production calendar and the sailing calendar have to be planned together, or the delivery date slips before the container is even booked.
A first teak root order runs about twelve weeks from deposit to loading. That figure covers production and export paperwork only. Ocean transit sits on top of it, which is why a European or North American buyer is really planning four to six months ahead, not three. When a hotel refurbishment, a showroom opening or a retail season has a fixed date written into a contract, those twelve weeks are not a detail — they are the whole plan. Importers who work backwards from the installation date and hold the factory to a week-by-week schedule catch a problem while it is still a phone call. Importers who wait for a promised delivery date usually discover the problem when the vessel has already sailed.
The same pressure applies to the container after this one. A single 40-foot shipment rarely fills a project on its own; it is usually the first of several. If the first container is three weeks late because a finishing stage overran, the second order is pushed back by the same three weeks, and the ripple reaches every subsequent delivery. Producing four 40-foot containers a month is only useful to a buyer if the first one leaves on the date that was agreed.
European buyers now have a regulatory reason to plan early as well. Under Regulation (EU) 2025/2650, the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) applies to large operators from 30 December 2026 and to small and micro enterprises from 30 June 2027. Timber legality and origin documentation — the SVLK and V-Legal paperwork that accompanies Indonesian wood products — is moving from a nice-to-have into a hard condition at the border. Building the document stage into the timeline from the start is cheaper than discovering, six weeks before sailing, that a certificate is missing.
The twelve weeks, stage by stage
Week 1 — Order confirmation and deposit
What happens: Your item list, dimensions, finish and packing are confirmed in writing, and the confirmed order becomes a production slot. Payment terms are set — 50% deposit, with the balance paid before shipment — and the deposit releases materials and workshop capacity. The factory should return a written schedule showing the major milestones against calendar dates, not just a total lead time.
What can go wrong: A specification that is still flexible when the deposit is paid. Every change after this point consumes production time, and a change made in week 5 can cost more than the same change made in week 1. Vague finishes ("natural", "light") are the most common source of disputes, because the buyer and the workshop are picturing different colours.
What to monitor: That the written order matches the quotation, including packing and the Incoterm (FOB Semarang for our shipments), and that the milestone dates are explicit. If a schedule arrives with no dates, ask for a dated one before the deposit clears.
Weeks 2–3 — Root selection and drying
What happens: Teak root is a natural material, so this stage is about selection and moisture, not assembly. The workshop selects roots of the right size and shape for each piece and begins cutting and preparation. Wood is dried so that it can be worked, finished and shipped without moving in transit.
What can go wrong: Undried or rushed material is the single biggest hidden risk in teak root furniture. Wood that still holds too much moisture can crack, twist or open a joint after it reaches a dry, centrally heated European or North American interior — a failure that shows up months after the container has been signed for. Rainy-season humidity in Central Java slows drying, which is exactly when a supplier is most tempted to shorten it.
What to monitor: Whether the factory measures and records moisture content rather than judging by feel, and whether it will state the tolerance it is working to for your destination climate. Ask directly how drying time is protected during the wet season.
Weeks 4–6 — Production: shaping and joinery
What happens: Cutting, shaping, joining, sanding and finishing. This is the longest block of work and the point at which the buyer has the most ability to influence the outcome, because a finish can still be corrected mid-run. Glass tops, where they are part of the order, are cut and prepared to match the finished bases.
What can go wrong: Details drift. A finish batch turns out slightly darker than the sample; a table base sits a few millimetres lower than the drawings; a stool's seat height varies across a run. None of these are visible if the buyer is watching only a delivery date. This is also the window in which an unreported shortage of a particular root size becomes a "we had to substitute" conversation at packing time.
What to monitor: Progress photographs of actual pieces in production, and a note of any substitutions before they are made, not after. Ask for a photo against the agreed finish sample.
Weeks 7–9 — Quality control and moisture content
What happens: Finished pieces are checked against the specification, joints and surfaces are inspected, and moisture is verified one more time before packing. Glass tops are inspected for edge quality and fit. This is the last realistic moment to correct a piece cheaply, because once it is wrapped and cartoned, every fix has to be opened, redone and repacked.
What can go wrong: Quality control that is really a visual glance. Missing checks at this stage are the reason buyers open a container and find a cracked top or a mismatched finish. If a buyer plans an inspection, this is the week to do it — visitors are welcome to inspect the factory in Jepara, and a finished-goods check here is far less expensive than a claim after discharge.
What to monitor: A written or photographed QC result for the run, and photographs of finished goods before they are packed. If your order includes glass, ask for a photo of the top seated on its base.
Weeks 10–11 — Packing: single-face carton and container photos
What happens: Pieces are wrapped, protected and packed in single-face carton, then staged according to a load plan so the container is filled efficiently and safely. A packing list is prepared piece by piece, and any fumigation or treatment required by the destination market is carried out here. The load plan is shared with the freight forwarder so the booking matches what is actually shipping.
What can go wrong: Corners are the weak point of any packed furniture shipment, and a carton that is fine in the workshop can arrive crushed if the stacking plan favours speed over stability. A packing list that does not match the cartons on the floor creates problems at customs that have nothing to do with the furniture.
What to monitor: Photographs of packed, labelled cartons and of the staged load, plus the written packing list. Check that the number of pieces in the list matches the order.
Week 12 — Export documents and loading FOB Semarang
What happens: The container is loaded to plan at the Jepara end and moved to the port of Semarang, about two hours away, where the goods are checked against the packing list and loaded onto the vessel. The export document set is issued: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, and the certificate of origin together with the SVLK / V-Legal timber-legality document. Photographs of the loaded container are taken, and the balance payment falls due before shipment, as agreed.
What can go wrong: Documents, far more often than cargo. A bill of lading with a spelling or quantity error, a certificate of origin that does not match the invoice, or a missing timber-legality document can hold a container at destination long after it has been discharged. Under the shipping conditions described in UNCTAD's 2025 report, a missed sailing can also mean waiting for the next available vessel rather than the next day.
What to monitor: Draft copies of every document before the originals are issued, so that errors are caught while they are still a line of text. Confirm the bill of lading details match the invoice and packing list, and keep the container photographs with the shipment file.
Red flags to watch during the twelve weeks
Most order problems are visible weeks before they become expensive. These are the signals worth acting on early rather than explaining later.
- No dated schedule after the deposit. A supplier who cannot put milestone dates against a calendar is not managing the order against a plan.
- Progress photos that stop. One or two photos at the start followed by silence until packing usually means the order sat still for weeks.
- Changes described after the fact. "We substituted a similar root" or "the finish came out a little darker" should be a question to you in week 5, not a note in the packing list.
- Moisture content never mentioned. If the words moisture or drying never appear in the supplier's updates, that check may not be happening in a measured way.
- Document set that arrives only at loading. If you first see the invoice, packing list and certificate of origin on loading day, you have lost the chance to correct them cheaply.
- A rush that appears in week 11. A sudden push to finish and pack everything in the last days is the classic cause of cracked, mismatched or poorly packed shipments.
What you should receive from your supplier
None of the items below is unusual to request, and a manufacturer that runs a real export process will already be producing them. Treat them as expected deliverables attached to each stage.
| Stage | What you should receive |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Written order confirmation matching the quotation, the agreed Incoterm and packing, plus a dated milestone schedule. |
| Weeks 2–3 | The moisture-content tolerance being applied, and an explanation of how drying is protected through the wet season. |
| Weeks 4–6 | Progress photographs of pieces in production, and notice of any substitution before it is made. |
| Weeks 7–9 | Photographs or a short report of finished goods and QC, including glass tops seated on their bases if applicable. |
| Weeks 10–11 | The written packing list, photographs of packed and labelled cartons, and the staging/load plan. |
| Week 12 | Draft copies of the commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading and certificate of origin, the SVLK / V-Legal document, and photographs of the loaded container. |
A supplier who sends these without being asked is demonstrating the one thing a catalogue cannot: that the order is being tracked, not just promised.
Frequently asked questions about the twelve-week timeline
Is twelve weeks the total time, or only production?
It is the production and export-document window, measured from deposit to loading at Semarang. Ocean transit is additional and typically runs four to six weeks depending on the destination port, so buyers planning a fixed installation date should allow for both. If you are working to a hotel or retail deadline, tell the factory the deadline at the quotation stage, not after the order is placed.
Why does a first order take twelve weeks when repeat orders can be faster?
The first order includes selection, drying and finish alignment — steps that are settled once and then reused. Repeat orders of the same items and finishes skip part of that alignment, which is why the first shipment is the slowest. It is one reason importers often keep a rolling order rather than ordering large and hoping the next one arrives in time.
What slows a teak root order down most often?
In practice, it is not the carving — it is drying and documentation. Drying cannot be safely compressed because the wood needs time to stabilise, and export documents have to be issued correctly before the vessel sails. Buyers who chase speed usually pay for it either in moisture-related failures after arrival or in document errors at destination.
Can I change my order after the deposit is paid?
Small adjustments are sometimes possible early, but every change made after the specification is locked consumes production time and can move the loading date. The safest approach is to finalise sizes, finishes and packing in writing before the deposit, and to confirm any change in writing with its effect on the schedule.
When should I plan an inspection, and can I come to the factory?
The most useful moment to inspect is the finished-goods stage in weeks 7–9, before packing, when a problem can still be corrected cheaply. Visitors are welcome to inspect the factory in Jepara, which sits in the woodworking centre of Central Java; if a visit is not practical, ask for photographed QC and finished-goods images at that stage instead.
WRITTEN BY
Mr. August Praymunor · Overseas Marketing Director
CV. Nusantara Sourcing Agent — manufacturer and exporter of teak root furniture in Jepara, Central Java, Indonesia. Over 300 containers shipped since 2016, loading 4 x 40 FCL per month.
export@teakrootfurniture.com · WhatsApp +62 812 283 3040 · LinkedIn · Jl. RA Rukmini KM.02 Pekalongan RT.02/V, Tahunan, Jepara 59428, Indonesia
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