Supplier Sourcing
How a procurement brief becomes a supplier shortlist: the requirement is fixed in writing, matched to products and suppliers that can actually meet it, screened against the order, quoted under one agreed trade model, and proved on a sample before the order proceeds.
Nothing here is published as a supplier list. No supplier name, count, rating or price appears on this page — the comparison belongs to the order, and it is kept there.
Six steps from brief to shortlist.
Each step settles one thing and leaves one written record behind. The object is not the longest supplier list, but a shortlist where the reason each supplier is on it can be read back later.
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01
Requirement review
Fix what is being bought before any supplier is approached.
- Decided
- What the brief actually requires: the product, quantity, target price, target market and brand positioning, together with material, size, colour and custom packaging requirements. Clients who are new to importing are taken through the trade process at this point.
- Recorded
- A written requirement brief, held against the inquiry it came from. Anything still open is written down as open rather than assumed.
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02
Product matching
Match the requirement to products that can actually meet it.
- Decided
- Whether the item is bought as an existing product or made to a custom specification, and the specification the search will run against — material, size, colour and packaging included.
- Recorded
- The product and specification notes the search was run against.
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03
Supplier discovery
Build the candidate list from product sources, not from a directory.
- Decided
- Which product sources and suppliers can meet the confirmed requirement, including the customisation quantity, packaging, price, target market and brand premium the order involves.
- Recorded
- A candidate list recording what each candidate offers for this requirement.
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04
Capability screening
Screen each candidate against the requirement and the order.
- Decided
- How each candidate stands against the product type, the client country and the customisation involved, and whether a factory visit or audit is called for.
- Recorded
- Screening notes, plus a factory audit report where the order calls for one.
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05
Quotation comparison
Compare quotations under one agreed trade model.
- Decided
- Which trade model applies and what each quotation actually covers. Under commission agency the factory quotation is converted at the exchange rate and the service fee is charged separately; under resale the margin is included in the quotation.
- Recorded
- A quotation comparison in one format, and — once the terms are agreed — a signed PI.
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06
Sample selection
Prove the shortlisted supplier on a sample.
- Decided
- Which sample goes forward and which supplier the order proceeds with, with the client confirming material, size, colour and packaging on the sample.
- Recorded
- The confirmed sample, sample photography, and the client's written confirmation.
- Sales
- Clarify the requirement, screen candidates against it, compare quotations and agree the terms.
- QC Division
- Carry out a factory visit or audit where the order calls for one.
- Supplier / factory
- Make the sample, and stand behind the specification it was made to.
- Client
- Provide the requirement, confirm the sample, and sign the PI before the order moves on.
How suppliers and quotations are put side by side.
The same axes are used for every candidate, so a quotation can be read against the requirement rather than against an impression of the supplier. The sheet holds what each supplier actually quoted; it carries no score, no rating and no published price.
| Compared | Put side by side | What it rests on |
|---|---|---|
| Fit to the requirement | The product as offered against the requirement brief: material, size, colour, appearance and any customisation. | The confirmed requirement brief, and the specification agreed with the client. |
| Capability for this product | Whether the supplier makes this kind of product, the range it runs, and the sample it can produce to the specification. | The sample and the screening notes, including a factory visit where the order calls for one. |
| Price and what it covers | The factory quotation under the agreed trade model, and what the figure includes. Commission agency converts the factory quotation at the exchange rate and charges the service fee separately; resale quotes with the margin included. | The written quotation and the agreed trade model, kept on the order file. No price, fee band or exchange rate is published on this page. |
| Packaging and labelling | The packaging direction asked for — retail pack, carton and labelling — against what each supplier quotes for. | The packaging requirements confirmed with the client, and checked again on the packed goods before dispatch. |
| Target market and brand position | The market the goods are going to, and what the product is being bought as, including the brand premium the item carries. | The client's own statement of market and brand position, taken at requirement review. |
Fit first, price in its place.
Price is compared, and it is not the line the decision turns on. A supplier that does not fit the product, the customisation or the target market costs more than the difference it quotes: the cost moves into re-sampling, rework and delay.
What the comparison is meant to make visible is fit, what a quotation actually covers, and which decision was taken on what basis. Screening runs the checkpoints set out on the supplier verification page. The scope of the service as a whole is on the sourcing services page, and the end-to-end flow on the process page.
What a supplier file holds.
One file per order rather than one per conversation: the requirement, the candidates, the screening, the quotations and the sample stay together, so what was decided — and why — can be read back.
- Requirement brief
- What the client asked for, in writing, with anything still open marked as open.
- Product and specification
- What the search was run against: material, size, colour and custom packaging.
- Candidate list
- The product sources and suppliers found for this requirement, with what each one offers.
- Screening notes
- How each candidate was screened — product type, client country, customisation quantity, packaging, price, target market and brand premium.
- Factory audit report
- Issued where the order calls for a visit, and kept with the screening notes.
- Quotation record
- Each quotation as it was given under the agreed trade model, so the same points can be read across suppliers.
- Sample record
- The sample, the specification it was made against, and the client's written confirmation of material, size, colour and packaging.
- Issued documents
- The written pieces that carry a decision — the PI, the sample confirmation, the audit report — prepared from our own templates and issued under our own letterhead. The exact form of each is confirmed on the order.
What the search looks like on the ground.
Each figure below is a placeholder labelled with the size it should be replaced at, so real photography from requirement reviews and supplier visits can drop straight in.
Send the product, the quantity and the market you are buying for.
We will confirm the requirement in writing, then come back with the suppliers that fit it and the basis each one was screened on.