How an engagement runs

From a three-line brief to a container on your dock.

Sourcing is a sequence, not a magic trick. Below is the rhythm we use for the vast majority of clients. Some briefs collapse into five weeks; the very complex ones stretch to twelve. The artefacts we hand you at every step are the same.

Start a brief

1Week 0–1

Discovery

Call, written brief, feasibility note.

2Week 1–3

Sourcing

Scan, scorecard, three-finalist shortlist.

3Week 3–5

Negotiation

Samples, redlined PI, signed contract.

4Week 5–10

Production

30 / 70 / 100% inspection on the floor.

5Week 10–12

Freight

Consolidation, documents, customs handoff.

A procurement professional at a desk reviewing a printed sourcing brief and taking notes, a laptop open on a video call beside them

Phase 1 · Discovery

Before we touch a factory

The cheapest mistake to fix is the one you never make. Discovery is short, written, and ends with a yes or a no.

Intro call — 30 minutesYour industry, what you import today, the last three pain points and your destination port. We ask back: realistic monthly volume, certification needs, and what "good" looks like.
Written brief — 3 pagesA one-page summary plus two pages of open questions. You answer in writing, so anyone on your team can read it later. Locked before search begins.
Feasibility note — 48 hoursA yes / not yet / no, with reasons. We have turned briefs away — wrong product, region or moment — more than 30 times this year. It is part of the service.

A buyer with a tablet walking a clean modern Chinese factory floor with an engineer, scoring a candidate supplier

Phase 2 · Sourcing

Factory map, scorecard, shortlist

Two to three weeks of dense work. The goal is a written shortlist of three suppliers you can pick from with eyes open.

Wide scan — 5 to 8 candidatesAcross Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu depending on category. We start from our own ledger (240+ audited factories) and add new ones via on-site visits.
Scoring rubric — 12 pointsPrice, capacity, certifications, response time, sample quality, batch consistency, plant maintenance, payment terms, MOQ flexibility, English in the team, references, reservations.
Reference samples — 10 daysTwo samples per finalist, batch-tagged, on your desk, with the matching spec sheet so the comparison is honest.
Shortlist debrief — 1 hourA call where we walk you through the three finalists, our preferred pick and our reasons. You decide; we do not steer you.

A Latin American buyer and a Chinese factory manager negotiating over a proforma invoice and a product sample in a factory meeting room

Phase 3 · Negotiation & contract

Where the margin actually moves

Email negotiation leaves money on the table. We sit at the factory, in Mandarin, with a number in mind.

Pre-negotiation workupThe factory’s price card for comparable buyers, your last three quotes for the same SKU, and three market data points. We propose a target price range and a walk-away.
Face-to-face block — 2 hoursPrice, MOQ break, payment milestone (30/70 or 50/50), packaging spec, Incoterms, lead time and a rework clause that bites. We come out with a redlined PI.
Contract redline — 5 daysBilingual (EN-ZH) contract reviewed by our legal partner in Guangzhou. We flag any unusual clause and tell you whether it is normal for the category.

An Amity inspector measures a finished product with a digital caliper beside an open carton and a QC checklist on the factory floor

Phase 4 · Production & inspection

Three to seven weeks of floor presence

We do not trust photos the factory sends. We walk the line, run units and open boxes.

Kick-off & pilot — 30% pointThe first 30% of the order should reveal anything that will go wrong. We watch the line setup, the first batch and the QC log. Adjustments happen now, not at packing.
Mid-production audit — 70% pointA second visit: rate of defects, packaging readiness, materials match against the BOM and any deviation against the PI. Written report within 24 hours.
Final inspection — 100% pointRandom sampling per AQL 2.5, function-test where applicable, packaging integrity. The photo PDF is the gate before the balance payment goes out.

A shipping container lifted by a crane at a container port in southern China at golden hour, ready to ship to a Latin American port

Phase 5 · Freight & handoff

From the factory gate to your broker’s inbox

The last ten days are paperwork. Most late surprises happen here. We make them boring.

Consolidation & bookingWe book the container 14 days before the cargo-ready date. Mixed loads up to four factories in one container, with separated packing lists, are routine.
Document packCommercial invoice, packing list, B/L, certificate of origin, fumigation, insurance. Bilingual where customs requires it. We send the pack to your broker, not to a chat group.
Post-shipment review30 days after delivery we send a one-page review: what went well, what did not, what to do differently next round. Then we plan the next brief.

The next brief starts with one call.

Pick a 30-minute slot and we get to phase 1 the same day. No fee until the feasibility note returns a yes.