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Rush & Same-Day

Enterprise rush production: SLA-backed capacity

Rush production should be a documented capability, not a hero moment. Here's what the SLA should say.

·6 min

Most rush production runs on heroics — a Vegas shop sprinting overnight to save a launch. Enterprise procurement should not be relying on heroics. Rush should be a documented capability with a published SLA and credit structure for misses.

Published cutoffs with category specificity

Screen print: same-day cutoff at 9am for 144 garments by 5pm. DTF: same-day cutoff at 11am for 200 transfers by 5pm. Embroidery: same-day cutoff at 10am for 24 pieces by 5pm. Large-format: same-day cutoff at 10am. Cutoffs should be in the MSA, not promised verbally.

Capacity reserve for retained accounts

Enterprise accounts should hold a contractual capacity reserve — typically 4–8 hours of production capacity per business day, available without new PO. This is the difference between rush as a feature and rush as a hope.

Credit structure for SLA miss

Miss the cutoff: 100% credit on rush surcharge. Miss the delivery: tiered credit (25% / 50% / 100%) based on hours late. Repeated misses trigger account review. This is standard enterprise SLA structure that most print vendors won't sign.

Escalation and dispatch protocol

A single named account contact, a documented escalation chain, a 24/7 dispatch line for active activations. Not a generic info@ email.

FAQ

What rush surcharge is reasonable?+
0% for next-day with morning art approval. 15–25% for same-day with cutoff met. 50%+ for after-cutoff with cleared shop time. Anything over 50% on a job with normal lead is a vendor overcharging.
Can we reserve weekend production capacity?+
Yes through a retained-capacity agreement. Weekend production typically carries a 25–40% premium even under retainer.

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