SOURCING INTELLIGENCE · USAAlbuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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A sourcing decision, structured

A good sourcing decision is not a quote. It is an answer to a precise question — "can this product be bought elsewhere, at what landed cost, with what risks?" — supported by documents and stated assumptions. Our method is built to produce that answer.

Illustration: stacked steel angle profiles with a single red profile
THE ANALYSIS PATH

Six steps

From question to recommendation

Six-step method: qualify the need, map current supply, search alternatives, compare on explicit criteria, verify documents, recommend. If an option fails a screen during comparison, the search resumes; if verification brings new information, the comparison is updated.

  1. 01QualifyScope and decision criteria
  2. 02MapCurrent supply and exposure
  3. 03SearchShort list of origins and suppliers
  4. 04CompareCriteria grid and landed-cost structure
  5. 05VerifyDocuments reviewed, open points listed
  6. 06RecommendPreferred option, alternative, next steps
  1. 01

    Qualify the need

    We start from your product, not from our network: specification, annual volumes and order pattern, target delivery points, quality and compliance requirements, current cost structure, and the decision deadline. We also ask what would make you say no — the deal-breakers are often more useful than the wish list.

  2. 02

    Map the current supply

    We document where the product comes from today, how it is classified and shipped, and where the exposure sits: duty treatment, supplier concentration, lead time, quality history.

  3. 03

    Search for alternatives

    We identify the origins and suppliers that can realistically make the product, screen out those that fail a basic test (sanctions, applicable antidumping or countervailing duty orders, missing capability), and keep a short list worth examining.

  4. 04

    Compare on explicit criteria

    Each option is assessed on the same grid: landed cost structure, duty exposure, compliance requirements, quality capability, capacity, lead time and logistics, and supply risk. Where a criterion cannot be assessed yet, we say so.

  5. 05

    Review the documents

    We review what suppliers provide — company information, product specifications, test reports, certificates where they exist — and list the documents still missing.

  6. 06

    Recommend

    You receive a written recommendation: the preferred option and the alternative, the reasons, the assumptions used, and the points that must be confirmed before ordering — typically samples, a pilot order and a customs broker's confirmation of classification.

WHAT YOU RECEIVE

The Sourcing Analysis

A written file containing:

SCOPE
product, volumes, delivery points, decision criteria.
CURRENT SUPPLY
origin, structure, exposure.
OPTIONS
short-listed origins and suppliers.
COMPARISON
criteria grid, landed-cost structure per option.
DOCUMENTS
reviewed and missing.
ASSUMPTIONS
what was assumed and why.
TO CONFIRM
open points, with who confirms them.
RECOMMENDATION
preferred option, alternative, next steps.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE

What a comparison looks like

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE — NOT A CLIENT CASE

A distributor buys a laminate flooring line from a single origin and asks whether two alternative origins are worth testing. The analysis lists, for each option: the duty measures that may apply, the compliance documents required for US sale, the supplier's documented capability, the transit route and lead time, and the landed-cost components — without concluding until the classification is confirmed by a customs broker and samples are approved. The recommendation is a sequence: samples from the preferred origin, a pilot container, then a volume decision.

Comparing origins on explicit criteria
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE — NOT A CLIENT CASE, NOT A RANKING

Illustrative comparison of a current origin and two alternatives on seven criteria rated favorable, neutral, unfavorable or to confirm. In this example, alternative A becomes a candidate for samples; alternative B is excluded until its trade-remedy status is cleared.

CriterionCurrent originAlternative AAlternative B
DUTY TREATMENTUnfavorableFavorableTo confirm
TRADE REMEDIESNeutralFavorableUnfavorable
RULES OF ORIGINFavorableFavorableTo confirm
COMPLIANCE DOCUMENTATIONFavorableTo confirmNeutral

Current origin

  • DUTY TREATMENTUnfavorable
  • TRADE REMEDIESNeutral
  • RULES OF ORIGINFavorable
  • COMPLIANCE DOCUMENTATIONFavorable

Alternative A

  • DUTY TREATMENTFavorable
  • TRADE REMEDIESFavorable
  • RULES OF ORIGINFavorable
  • COMPLIANCE DOCUMENTATIONTo confirm

Alternative B

  • DUTY TREATMENTTo confirm
  • TRADE REMEDIESUnfavorable
  • RULES OF ORIGINTo confirm
  • COMPLIANCE DOCUMENTATIONNeutral
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Have a product line to re-source?

Send us what you buy today and what matters in the decision. We come back with the questions that change the answer.

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