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For independent footwear brands making 500 to 10,000 pairs per run

Your factory makes your shoes. Make sure they make the right ones.

Most problems don't happen when you design. They happen after sample approval — when control quietly moves to the factory.

Free forever · Unlimited all features · No card

Floor brief

Live

Grading gate open, $363k at risk, 42d to FOB.

Lock Grading today to clear release path and unlock funds.

4/7 gates locked2 at risk90d lead · 42d runway

Cascade

marks at-risk

Landed

F+I+D by route

Liability

if you force go

If you've ever gotten this message, you know:

WhatsApp · Factory · Today 06:14
Bulk material unavailable. We have equivalent quality. Must start production Monday to meet your deadline.

Choice A

Say yes and hope it's okay.

Choice B

Say no and be late.

Now you have 2,500 wrong shoes. And no paper trail.

I built FactoryLogiq because I watched this happen for 15 years in Jinjiang and Xiamen — and because a spreadsheet can't model what happens when the spec moves after you said yes.

The gap

Where you actually lose money

Not at design. Not at sketch.

After you say “I like this sample.”

That's when control quietly moves from you to factory.

Three ways it happens:

  • 01

    Material swap without proof.

    "Similar quality." No photo. No list. Until $363k of inventory is already wrong.

  • 02

    Price goes up after you said yes.

    Quote locked. Then freight, trims, "market surcharge" shows up when you can't walk away.

  • 03

    They start making before you're finished.

    Line starts. Spec still open. Every change after becomes a fight or a write-off.

Your spreadsheet doesn't stop it. Your PLM is too big and too early.

Your factory isn't trying to cheat you. They're optimizing for their line.

You need a system that optimizes for your control — and shows when that control is broken.

The product

FactoryLogiq is sample-to-shipment control.

Not a to-do list. Seven linked release gates with evidence, status, money, and a forced paper trail when you override.

Cascade risk

Change materials after grading was locked? Downstream gates flip to At Risk with a reason and date. Spec drift is visible — not buried in chat.

Floor brief

Every style opens with a live brief: which gate is blocking, how many dollars of retail are at risk, days to FOB. Tells you what to lock today.

Landed + margin

Freight, insurance, duty by origin, destination, and HS code. When margin drops under target, it suggests route, MOQ, FOB, or wholesale moves.

Force-go liability

You can authorize with gates open. The system does not refuse silently — it writes who forced it, what was open or at risk, and that factory cover ends for those gates.

Release chain

Seven gates from sample to ship.

Each gate holds proof and status. Change an upstream gate and FactoryLogiq marks what it invalidated. You don't release blind — and if you do, the system records it.

Sample → Materials → Tooling → Grading → Inline QC → Quantity → Shipment
Linked · cascade-aware
  1. Sampling

    Seal the sample the factory must match.

    Photo + approver. So they can't swap it later.

  2. Materials

    Lock what the shoe is made of.

    BOM, swatches, origin. So "similar quality" has to match your list.

  3. Tooling

    Prove you own the molds.

    Ownership + location. So you own the shape, not them.

  4. Grading

    Lock the size set.

    Base size, range, grade rule. So they can't improvise grading.

  5. Inline QC

    Floor proof before ship.

    Factory photos + defects. Proof before they ship.

  6. Quantity

    Lock how many and what you pay.

    MOQ, wholesale, FOB. So your margin is real before release.

  7. Shipment

    Authorize with a paper trail.

    FOB date, route, liability log. Who said go — and with what still open.

You can still say “go” with gaps open — but FactoryLogiq will not pretend the gates were clean.

And if you say “go” anyway?

Most founders do. Deadline pressure is real.

FactoryLogiq doesn't silently block you. Force authorize writes a liability entry:

Timestamped. With your name. Open and at-risk gates listed. Factory cover ends for those gaps.

A spreadsheet holds data. This removes factory cover when you override. That's why it can't be cloned in a Sheet.

Authorization log
Production authorized by Andy on 07/24/2026 with open: 04 Grading, 05 Inline QC · at risk: 02 Materials — factory liability removed for open/at-risk gates.

Cascade example

Materials updated after grading was locked → Grading, Inline QC, Shipment marked At Risk with reason: “Invalidated by 02 Materials on 07/24/2026.”

Why other tools don't work here

PLM says

“Document everything perfectly from the beginning.”

  • That's before factory engagement.
  • Costs a lot. Takes months. Doesn't model release risk.

FactoryLogiq says

“You're already after sample. Here's how you keep control to shipment.”

  • Gates, cascade, brief, landed margin — works now.
  • Free. Full product. Built for the release window.

Who made this?

Andy · Founder · Berlin / Xiamen

“I spent 15 years developing footwear in China's manufacturing capital, Jinjiang and Xiamen. I've seen every way control transfers from brand to factory — and how to stop it.”
Free forever

What you get today

FactoryLogiq is free. Forever. Unlimited all features. No credit card.

Create a style. Run the release chain. See risk, margin, and liability in one place. Your data stays private.

  • Create a style
  • Lock gates · watch cascade
  • Read floor brief + margin
  • Authorize with a real log

Optional help

Want hands? You don't need them, but we have them.

You can run this yourself forever.

If you want me to check your project

Factory Control Assessment

€199

30 minute call. I look at your gates, cascade risk, and margin path. Tell you what's blocking, what's missing, what to lock next. You get a checklist of what to ask factory for.

If you want someone in Xiamen to run it

Operator

$3,000/month

Person in Xiamen runs the release chain, handles factory messages, holds the “go” button for you. Berlin / Xiamen coverage.

Questions