Reading the specification before pricing it
A partner who prices without reading is transferring risk back to you. Specification review should produce a written list of what is priceable, what is indicative and what is missing.
Holding the factory relationship
If you are still chasing factories directly, you have bought a list of contacts rather than a service. The partner should place the orders, monitor production and escalate when a factory slips.
Quality before shipment
Inspection has to sit with the partner and it has to happen before goods leave. A supplier who inspects on arrival is asking the project to absorb the cost of failure.
Documentation that survives an audit
Packing lists tied to the buying schedule, certification for the destination market, test data where applicable and photographic inspection records. Owners and lenders ask for these long after handover.
What a partner should not promise
Be cautious of guaranteed savings percentages, guaranteed lead times before a factory is selected, or a firm price before the specification has been reviewed. These are the three commitments most often withdrawn later.
- A fixed price before scope review
- A guaranteed percentage saving
- A lead time given without a named manufacturing route