Eight steps, in order. Each one produces a document. The whole sequence from requirement sheet to shipment typically runs 8–14 weeks, dominated by sample rounds and production, not by sourcing.
Requirement sheet — week 0
Product, target landed cost, quantity, destination market, certification required. I send the sheet; you fill it. If it comes back vague, I return it rather than interpret it, because an interpreted brief is how wrong factories get picked.
Cost: none
Shortlist — week 1–2
3–5 factories that actually make the product, compared on quote, monthly capacity, certificates, and export record. Trading companies posing as factories get filtered here, before they reach your inbox.
Cost: covered by the project fee
Samples — week 2–5
You pay the factory for samples directly. I coordinate specification and comparison. Sample approval means the sample met the spec — it does not mean the bulk run will, and the report says so in those words.
Cost: sample and courier charges, paid to the factory
Audit — week 3–6
On site, one full day. Live video walkthrough of the workshop, dated photographs, 32 checkpoints, written findings including what could not be verified.
Cost: $399 per visit
Contract and terms — week 5–6
30/70 or letter of credit. I review the terms for the things that actually cause disputes: tolerance on quantity, AQL acceptance level, late-delivery remedy, and who owns the mould. Money never passes through my account.
Cost: covered by the 5% commission, on orders above $10,000
Production follow-up — week 6–10
One fixed update per week with current photographs from the line. Not daily messages, not silence followed by an apology.
Cost: covered by the 5% commission, on orders above $10,000
Inspection — week 10–11
Pre-shipment inspection to AQL 2.5 on a first order, always. Defect photographs, a count against the acceptance number, and a pass or hold recommendation.
Cost: $199 per inspection
Shipment — week 11–14
Booking, consolidation, export documentation. Handed to your forwarder, or to mine if you do not have one. Freight passed through at the carrier invoice.
Cost: flat consolidation fee + freight at cost
Where the time actually goes
Not in finding factories. Supplier discovery takes one to three weeks. Sampling takes another three to four, and it is the step buyers most often compress and most often regret compressing — a specification problem found at sample stage costs a courier fee, the same problem found at pre-shipment costs a rework cycle.
What you keep if you stop
Every document produced — shortlist, audit report, photographs, inspection report — is yours. If you decide to continue with the factory directly after the audit, that is a legitimate outcome and I will not withhold the report. The commission only applies to orders I manage.
Start at step one
A 15-minute call to see whether the requirement makes sense before anyone spends money.