If your packaging needs a new mould or die, somebody pays for it, and the question of who then owns it is the one that catches people out. Paying for tooling and owning tooling are different things, and the difference only becomes visible when you want to move production.
The two arrangements
Either the tooling cost is amortised into the unit price – in which case the supplier owns it and you are paying for access – or it is billed as a separate item, in which case ownership should be yours. Both are legitimate; confusion between them is not.
The arrangement to watch is the second one where ownership is not stated. You have paid a tooling invoice and the supplier considers the tool theirs, because you never agreed otherwise.
Clause one: ownership
State it: the tool is yours, paid for in full, and held by the supplier for production. Ask for it to be marked with your identification, which makes the conversation considerably simpler if it ever needs to be had.
Clause two: removal
If you move production, can the tool be released, and on what terms. A supplier may be willing to release it and may not – but finding out at the point you want to leave is the worst possible moment, and it is a fair question at the start.
Expect some conditions. What is not reasonable is discovering them after you have paid.
Two more worth including
Tool life and refurbishment. A mould has a finite number of shots before it needs work, and on a long-running item that cost will come round. Say who pays.
Exclusivity, if you want it. A tool you paid for may be used for other customers unless you say otherwise. If the design is yours and differentiation matters, say so in writing.
What to do if it is already ambiguous
Ask, plainly, before the next order. It is easier to resolve while the relationship is good than during a dispute. And keep the tooling invoice – it is the document that establishes you paid.
The same question in an OEM context is covered in OEM vs ODM: what packaging suppliers actually mean.
What to ask for on the invoice
A separate tooling invoice, describing the tool and stating that it is paid in full. Not a line on the production invoice – a separate document, because that is what establishes you paid for it and what the asset is.
Ask for the tool to be marked with your identification. It costs nothing, it makes ownership visible, and it removes an argument that is otherwise decided by whoever is holding the tool.
What a reasonable supplier will and will not agree
Ownership: yes, if you paid for it. Release on request: usually, sometimes with conditions and sometimes with a settlement for work in progress.
Free storage indefinitely: no, and it is not reasonable to ask. Storage has a cost and a tool sitting unused for years is occupying something. Ask instead how long it will be held without charge and what happens after that.
What we can do
We supply custom-size fiber optic cable drums and state tooling ownership and release terms in writing before any tooling invoice. Ask us early – we would rather answer it than have you discover it.