Duane Roberts 
We’ve put up this handy checklist to assist you in finding the best sourcing agency for your company:
- Determine what you need.
The first step is to determine what you want and desire from your sourcing agency and service provider. It’s advantageous to write a report that discusses what’s important to you. This includes the scope of services, language skills, location, level of experience, payment method, and other factors that you should address with your sourcing agency. Your requests to the manufacturer should also be well-defined: what working conditions should be utilized, what materials should be used, how long delivery times should be, and so on.
- Make a financial plan.
The next step is to think about your financial status. How many units do you want to make, how much money do you have to spend on your things, and how much does your sourcing agency be paid? Because unanticipated expenses will always happen, it’s best not to design a budget that’s 100 percent fixed, but rather a range.
- Choose the type of sourcing company you wish to deal with.
As we’ve seen before, there are many types of sourcing businesses. Each type of sourcing businesses has its own set of benefits. They have some drawbacks too. Choose between working with a single agent, a larger sourcing agency, or a full-service sourcing and logistics company.
- Make some comparisons and do some study.
Now that you know what you need and what kind of sourcing agency you want to work with, you can start your search. However, don’t just go with the first Google result.
- Request a number of offers and business licenses.
You may now receive proposals from the sourcing agents you’ve pre-selected. The offer should include the price for each service you want to use, as well as the pricing structure and how the price is calculated.
- Make a payment schedule.
You’ll need to figure out a payment plan with your sourcing agency when you’ve chosen one. While larger companies usually have a defined price structure, you may often find a better bargain with individual agents. Also, if you reorder, find out if the cost of sourcing services will decrease with time.
- Make a list of all the things you’ve agreed on.
Everything that was agreed upon in the previous step should be written down. Following that, both you and the sourcing business must agree. It must be clear who is responsible in the event of poor production quality or late delivery, for example. The manner of payment and the amount should be written down and confirmed by both parties. This way, if something goes wrong, you’ll have a document to fall back on.
