A US food packaging company had a production expansion plan scheduled be realized in 2025. The company needed to add in many types of equipment and among them were large dryers and humidifiers, the combo. Our task was to verify and audit the Chinese manufacturer that was contracted by a trading company that the client found at Alibaba.com. The other optional source was a Malaysian manufacturer. Our finding from the audit and the pricing of the trading company made the buyer give its final choice to the Chinese factory.
The client knew exactly what they wanted from the combo but the design relied totally on the Chinese supplier’s capability, so did the manufacturing and installation. One biggest challenge was the limited space for oversized equipment in the US factory site. There were also many open specs and items at the client side, which meant many changes during the process. Both factors called for a frequent discussion and checkup between both sides.
Viotech, as the sourcing and support services agent commissioned by the US client, coordinated both the buyer’s inputs and needs and the supplier’s realization of the order for the whole process. We did two things. One was to accompany the on-site discussion by the engineers from the buyer’s different factories with the manufacturer. And the other was to organize and lead weekly meetings attended by many people of different postions from the buyer side, the trading company, the manufacturer and the shipping company. We needed to make sure that
- Specs and technical requirement were well communicated and understood.
- Each item on the to-do-list prepared by Viotech was well discussed and carried out. Issues were solved or at least solutions were proposed for trial in the coming week.
- Manufacturing was on schedule.
This was a multi-million dollar and 9x40ft container purchase so things just could not go wrong. The client was also very demanding on ship dates to avoid the high tariff arising from the US-China tariff war. So making sure the supplier finished each part and each phase of the project on time became crucial. This called for a constant checkup and Chinese ways of communication know-how as we have learned over the years that “your priority on the supplier’s list really matters and it is not always decided by the purchase value”.
The design of this project required great professional knowledge and the total process from design to ship lasted 13 months. There were so many changes in design by the buyer and also quite a number of open issues due to the parts that were to be sourced from other parts of the world. Thanks to the effort by the Chinese manufacturer, its excellent capability in custom design, English communication, and great patience, both buyer and the seller/manufacturer smiled at the end of the project, a happy ending for everyone.
