Notes from the sourcing desk.
Practical guidance on procurement, supplier qualification, quality assurance, and building a supply chain that holds up — written by the people who run these programs.
How to vet an overseas supplier: a 7-point due-diligence checklist
Most sourcing failures trace back to a supplier that was never properly qualified. Here is the framework our sourcing leads use before a single purchase order is raised.
MOQ, lead time, and landed cost: the three numbers that decide a sourcing program
Unit price gets the attention, but three other numbers quietly determine whether a sourcing program is profitable. Here is how to read them together.
Quality assurance at origin: why pre-shipment inspection pays for itself
Catching a defect after a container lands is expensive, slow, and sometimes impossible to fix. Inspecting at origin changes the economics of quality entirely.
Nearshoring vs. offshoring in 2026: choosing the right sourcing region
Lower factory prices are no longer an automatic win. Here is how to weigh distance, lead time, tariffs, and resilience when you choose where to source.