An equipment maker needs a 48V lithium pack for a new truck platform. The engineering team has a compartment drawing and a duty cycle, and the project manager wants to know which stages come between the first drawing and series production, and which approvals sit with the buyer.
Expect six stages: requirements and RFQ, engineering proposal and drawing, sample build, lab and on-truck testing, a pilot batch, and series production with change control. The buyer signs off at four points: the specification, the drawing, the tested sample and the pilot batch. Keep each approval in writing with a revision number, so series packs can be traced back to what was approved.
The stages
- Requirements. Voltage, capacity, compartment drawing, minimum weight, connectors, communication (for example RS485 or CAN-bus), temperature range and duty cycle. Our tray-fit article lists the details.
- Proposal and drawing. The factory returns a cell layout, BMS concept and outline drawing. Buyer approval 1 and 2: specification and drawing.
- Sample build. One or a few packs built to the approved drawing. OEM custom orders have no MOQ by default (1 piece), although some specific products carry a 10-piece minimum, so confirm for your model.
- Testing. Factory tests plus your own trial on the truck: fit, charging, communication with the truck display, and a few weeks of real shifts. Buyer approval 3: tested sample.
- Pilot batch. A small batch built on the production line, checked against the sample. Buyer approval 4.
- Series production. Every pack passes a burn-in test before shipment, and any change to cells, BMS firmware or drawing goes through written change control.
What slows projects down
Most delays come from late changes: a new connector after the drawing, a different display protocol after the sample, or a missing truck for the trial. Freeze the specification before the sample, and book the trial truck early. Redway’s OEM services page and OEM cost and project management page describe the engineering side. Ask for the expected duration of each stage at quotation, as it depends on the design.
Documents to collect
Approved specification, drawing, sample test report, pilot inspection record, transport test summary (UN 38.3) and the user manual. Redway’s packs are designed and tested to UL-related standards; the test report is typically issued in the customer’s name, and the scope is confirmed at quotation. Ask for a report under your own company name.
After series start
Agree how often the factory reports on open issues in the first months of series production, and how field feedback from the first trucks reaches the design team. Plan a short review after the first few hundred hours of use. Problems found early can usually be fixed in the next batch without stopping deliveries.
Risk limits
Do not skip the on-truck trial to save time, because fit and communication problems are cheaper to fix on one sample than on a batch. Durations and test scope depend on the design; confirm them with Redway for your project.
Additional perspectives
Keep a single approval log with date, revision and signatory for each stage. When a question arises a year later, the log shows what was agreed and by whom.
Redway Tech Editorial Team – Project manager perspective
Send the truck’s CAN messages or display protocol with the RFQ, not after the sample. Communication is the item most often discovered late in forklift projects.
Redway Tech Editorial Team – Design engineer perspective
Price the sample, pilot and series separately in the quote, with the conditions for moving from one to the next. It prevents a dispute about who pays for a second sample.
Redway Tech Editorial Team – Purchasing perspective
Specifications are taken from Redway product pages as of October 2026. Where a figure isn’t published, this article says so. Confirm current specifications for your model with Redway before ordering. This article is general guidance, not a site-specific engineering assessment.
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