SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT
Supplier management & production follow-up in China
Work with your chosen factory while TMD supports communication, production follow-up, quality arrangements, and shipment coordination.
Who we help: buyers who have a Chinese supplier and need local support during sampling, production, or shipping.
How we help
01
Understand the starting point
Review the supplier, agreed specifications, order status, approved samples, and open questions.
02
Set the milestones
Agree on reporting, production checkpoints, responsibilities, and decisions requiring your approval.
03
Follow up and resolve
Keep an issues log, seek supplier responses, and help coordinate agreed corrective actions.
04
Prepare the handover
Confirm outstanding work, inspection arrangements, packing details, and shipping documents.
What you receive
- An agreed project baseline
- Order progress updates
- An issue and action log
- Inspection and shipment coordination records
What to share with us
- Supplier details and communication authorization
- Purchase order and product requirements
- Current production status and any open issues
Begin with a clear handover, not a new set of assumptions.
For an order already underway, the starting point is the approved purchase order, product specification, sample record, payment status and current supplier commitment. Identify what is already agreed and what remains disputed. We review the documents and supplier access before confirming which tasks we can take on.
Make progress updates useful for decisions.
“Production is on schedule” is less useful than a milestone with a planned date, current status and supporting evidence. An effective update separates completed work, the next step and issues that could affect timing or quality. The reporting frequency and evidence required should be agreed for the project.
Keep changes connected to cost, quality and timing.
A material substitution or packaging change can affect more than appearance. Record the proposed change, the reason, the cost and timing impact, and who must approve it. Where problems arise, we seek the supplier’s response and coordinate the agreed next action; we do not treat silence as approval.
A practical project checklist
- Purchase order and latest approved specification
- Supplier contacts and authorization for TMD to communicate
- Production milestones and required update frequency
- Open issue, evidence, owner and target resolution date
- Buyer approval needed for changes or shipment
- Packing and shipment handover requirements
Supplier management questions
Can you take over an order already in production?
We can review it and confirm where we can help. Access to the supplier, the order documents, and clear requirements will determine the scope.
Does an existing supplier qualify for the repeat-order rate?
The repeat-order rate applies to unchanged products from the same supplier previously managed by TMD. A new handover is reviewed and quoted for its actual scope.
Can you guarantee an existing supplier will cooperate?
Supplier access and cooperation must be confirmed. We assess the handover before agreeing to work, especially where an order is disputed or already delayed.
Is supplier management the same as a factory audit?
No. Following an order and evaluating a factory are different scopes. Tell us whether you need production follow-up, supplier checks, product inspection or a combination.
LET’S MAKE YOUR NEXT MOVE
Your next sourcing project starts here.
Tell us what you need. We’ll help you work out the next step.