Insights

Practical notes on sourcing and quality from the buyer's side. No hype, no sales pitch.

The 15–20% hidden commission

How the standard agent model actually works, and the three questions that expose it in one meeting.

Coming soon

AQL sampling in plain English

ISO 2859-1 explained without statistics: how sample size and defect thresholds are chosen, and why “0 defects” is not how inspections work.

Coming soon

Factory or trader? Three-minute test

Licence, ownership, workshop — how to tell a real manufacturer from a reseller before you send money.

Coming soon

Why 8D reports fail in Chinese factories — and how to fix it

Root cause analysis that changes behaviour instead of filling a template.

Coming soon

Reading a quotation: what is actually inside your unit price

Material, process, tooling, packing, overhead, margin — and which lines are negotiable.

Coming soon

Supplier verification checklist (12 items)

The desk checks we run before anyone travels: entity, ownership, export rights, capability, references.

Coming soon

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