Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Sourcing, production and logistics across Greater China and Southeast Asia — what a supplier actually costs, and whether it can deliver.
This is the sector where published information is least useful. Quoted prices, stated capacities and certification claims describe what a supplier would like to be true. What a line actually runs at, where the scrap goes and which certificate covers which shift are known to the people on the floor.
Assignments here divide roughly into two: understanding a supplier you already have, and finding one you do not. Both are answered the same way — by talking to people who have run comparable operations, and by verifying on the ground where the decision justifies it.
Where the question concerns a specific counterparty rather than the category, the work usually belongs in Due Diligence instead.
Typical questions
- What is a supplier's real cost base, and how much of the quoted price is margin
- Which factories in this category can hold the tolerance and the volume we need
- How exposed is our line to a single supplier, and what does moving it cost
- What has actually happened to lead times on this corridor over the past year
- How do comparable buyers structure their agreements, and what terms are achievable
Experts we engage
- Plant and production managers from contract manufacturers in the region
- Sourcing and category managers who have run supplier bases at scale
- Quality and compliance auditors with first-hand factory experience
- Freight and customs specialists working the relevant corridors
- Engineers who have transferred production between countries