Project Delivery
How a sourcing project is organised once the requirement is approved: who is responsible at each handover, what is handed over, where a decision is required, and how a production, timing or quality issue is raised with the client before the order continues.
Sequence and responsibility only — delivery times are agreed per order and are not published on this page.
Six handovers, each with a named owner.
A project runs in one direction: an approved requirement, supplier coordination, sampling, production, quality control and shipment preparation. For the procurement programme stage by stage, read Our Process.
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01
Approved requirements
Sales — client side
Product, quantity, target price and target market, plus material, size, colour and custom packaging, are confirmed with the client before sourcing starts.
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02
Supplier coordination
Sales — sourcing
Suppliers able to meet the requirement are found and screened against product type, destination country, custom quantity, packaging, price, target market and brand premium.
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03
Samples
Merchandising — confirmed by the client
The supplier makes the sample; the client confirms material, size, colour and packaging before mass production starts.
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04
Production
Merchandising — follow-up
Materials are prepared, QC checks the pre-production materials, and production is followed up with the factory.
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05
Quality control
QC division
Products and packaging are checked against industry standards and the client requirements, with photos, video and an inspection report.
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06
Shipment preparation
Documentation — after client release
The client confirms the report or the bulk sample and agrees to ship; the shipping documents are prepared and dispatch is arranged under the agreed trade terms.
Sequence only. No lead time, response time or delivery window is fixed on this page; timing is agreed per order.
Client, company and supplier — who does what.
The same project, arranged by party. An em dash means that party has no role at that step. Team composition is confirmed per client workload and customisation difficulty; each internal department is typically three to five people.
| Project step | Client | Huntersourcing | Supplier / factory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requirements | Provides the inquiry with country, phone, email and the stated requirement: product, quantity, target price, target market, material, size, colour and custom packaging. | Sales clarifies the requirement, explains the trade process where the client is new to it, and records what was agreed. | — |
| Sourcing and supplier screening | Confirms the requirement the search is based on. | Finds and screens suppliers by product type, destination country, custom quantity, packaging, price, target market and brand premium. | — |
| Commercial terms | Signs the PI and pays the deposit; pays the balance before shipment. | Quotes under the agreed trade model, signs the purchase contract with the supplier, pays the factory deposit after the client payment and the balance before dispatch. | Signs the purchase contract. |
| Sampling | Confirms material, size, colour and packaging on the sample, and bears the courier cost. | Arranges sampling with the supplier; no sample charge is added when the factory provides the sample free of charge. | Makes the sample. |
| Production | — | Merchandising (follow-up) communicates with the factory, follows production and coordinates production issues; QC checks the pre-production materials. | Prepares materials, produces, and cooperates with checks. |
| Quality control | States specific requirements and points of concern to check against. | QC inspects products and packaging against industry standards and the client requirements, photographs and films them, and issues the inspection report; a factory audit report is issued where the order calls for one. | Cooperates with inspections and rectification. |
| Shipment preparation | Confirms the inspection report or the bulk sample in writing and agrees to ship. | Documentation handles the shipping documents and arranges dispatch under the agreed trade terms: FOB is the most common, and EXW, CIF and DDP are also used. | Packs and dispatches the goods. |
Who is who in the project team
- Sales (business)
- Requirement communication, quotations, building trust, closing the order, client-side issues and follow-up.
- Merchandising (follow-up)
- Communication with the factory, production follow-up and coordinating production issues.
- QC division
- Factory audit where the order calls for one, pre-production material check, pre-shipment inspection and reports.
- Documentation
- Shipping documents.
- Marketing
- Marketing and inquiries.
What each phase hands over.
Every phase leaves something specific behind: a note, a signed document, a sample confirmation, a report or a written release. The tags below describe the kind of record, not a promise of timing.
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01
Approved requirements
Owner: Sales, with the client
- Inquiry record with country, phone, email and the stated requirement.
- Requirement note: product, quantity, target price and target market.
- Customisation list: material, size, colour and packaging.
Confirmed with the client
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02
Supplier coordination
Owner: Sales, with supplier screening
- Screened supplier shortlist able to meet the requirement.
- Screening basis recorded: product type, destination country, custom quantity, packaging, price, target market and brand premium.
- Supplier audit notes where the order requires an audit.
Agreed per order
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03
Commercial terms
Owner: Sales
- Quotation issued under the trade model agreed with the client.
- PI signed by the client and the company.
- Purchase contract signed between the company and the supplier.
- Deposit received from the client and paid to the factory.
Signed record
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04
Samples
Owner: Merchandising, with the client
- Sample produced by the supplier.
- Client confirmation of material, size, colour and packaging.
- Sample charge: none is added when the factory provides the sample free of charge; the courier cost is borne by the client.
Confirmed with the client
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05
Production follow-up
Owner: Merchandising (follow-up), with QC
- Pre-production material check carried out by QC.
- Production followed up against the confirmed sample.
- Schedule, change or quality issues raised with the client, and agreed, before the order continues.
Client informed before continuing
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06
Quality control
Owner: QC division
- Pre-shipment inspection of products and packaging against industry standards and the client requirements.
- High-resolution photos, video and an inspection report.
- Bulk sample sent where the order requires one; factory audit report where the order calls for one.
Report issued
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07
Shipment preparation
Owner: Documentation, after client release
- Written client confirmation of the inspection report or the bulk sample.
- Balance payment received, then the factory balance paid.
- Shipping documents prepared and dispatch arranged under the agreed trade terms.
Written release
- Signed or written record
- Confirmed with the client
- Agreed per order, with the client
Nothing proceeds without the client's agreement.
Each checkpoint is a point where work waits for a decision rather than a date. The checkpoints are a sequence, not a schedule: no lead time is published here, and the timing of each gate is agreed per order.
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CP-01
Approved requirements
Before sourcing starts- Decision
- What is being sourced: product, quantity, target market, material, size, colour and packaging.
- Confirmed by
- Client, with Sales
- Record
- Requirement note held with the project records.
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CP-02
Commercial model and price
Before the deposit is paid- Decision
- Which trade model applies to this order, and the price the client approves.
- Confirmed by
- Client and Sales
- Record
- Signed PI, and the purchase contract with the supplier.
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CP-03
Sample approval
Before mass production- Decision
- Whether material, size, colour and packaging on the sample are approved.
- Confirmed by
- Client
- Record
- Sample approval noted with the project records; the written form is agreed per order.
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CP-04
Issue agreement
Before the order continues- Decision
- How a schedule, change or quality issue is handled.
- Confirmed by
- Client, with Merchandising and Sales
- Record
- The agreed position, held with the order records.
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CP-05
Inspection result
Before the balance payment and dispatch- Decision
- Whether the finished goods are accepted against the report, and whether a bulk sample is approved.
- Confirmed by
- Client, in writing
- Record
- Written confirmation of the inspection report or the bulk sample.
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CP-06
Trade terms and documents
Before dispatch- Decision
- Which trade term applies to the order, and where responsibility sits for carriage, customs, insurance and destination-market compliance.
- Confirmed by
- Client and company, per order
- Record
- The trade terms stated on the order documents.
Raised with the client before the order continues.
A production, schedule or quality issue follows one route: it is raised with the factory, brought to the client, agreed, and held with the project records. Production or dispatch continues only on the agreed position.
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01
Raised with the factory
Merchandising (follow-up) communicates with the factory as soon as a production, schedule or quality issue appears, and follows it through.
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02
Brought to the client
Sales, as the client-side owner, raises the issue with the client and explains what it means for the order.
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03
Agreed before the order continues
The company reaches agreement with the client first; production or dispatch continues only on that agreed position.
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04
Held with the project records
The agreed position stays with the order records. PI, sample, audit, inspection and release documents are issued on Huntersourcing letterhead from our own templates; the exact form of each document is confirmed per order.
What triggers an escalation
- Schedule The factory production timing changes and the order would be affected.
- Change A requirement or specification changes after the order has started.
- Quality Follow-up or inspection raises a quality issue on the goods, the materials or the packaging.
When the client's shipment is delayed
- 01 Establish the reason: whether the goods are out of season, sales are slow, or something else has changed.
- 02 Options can then be proposed — split shipments, packaging changes or appearance adjustments.
- 03 The aim is to move the goods and reduce the loss.
Not fixed in this document
The following are not rules of ours. They are agreed with the client and the supplier before the order continues, and they are listed here so nothing is assumed.
- Refund, compensation, rework, re-inspection and liability rules are agreed with the client and the supplier before the order continues.
- Claim, return, delayed-shipment and abandoned-goods terms are negotiated per order.
- Warehouse cost, modification cost, title and insurance scope are confirmed per order.
- Inspection and sampling standards, ratios, rectification and re-inspection rules are confirmed on the order.
- Re-sampling rules, and any sample charge beyond a free factory sample, are agreed per order.
- The written rule for choosing between the agency model and the resale model, and the written form of each project document, are still to be confirmed.
- Credit insurance cover, where it is used, is confirmed per order.
What a handover looks like on file.
Photography and documents carry the state of a project: what was confirmed, what was checked and what was agreed. Each figure below is a placeholder labelled with the size it should be replaced at.
Send the requirement — the sequence starts with it.
Product, quantity, target market and packaging requirements are enough for the first checkpoint. Supplier feasibility is assessed before quoting.