Advisory Supply-Chain Service
Your part, your factory. We take the technical layer: material, process, supplier screening and follow-up.
Your part is made by a factory you choose; we take the technical layer — material selection, process route, whether a supplier can actually hold it, and who judges the problems that show up during sampling and volume. The service is optional and never bundled with purchasing.
1. What it is for
- You have suppliers, but process problems repeat and it is unclear whether the cause is the drawing, the material or the machine;
- You need capacity across several sites and want one process route and one acceptance basis;
- You have no silicone process engineer in house and cannot tell whether a supplier's proposed route holds up;
- As an overseas buyer you are building a local supply chain and need technical gatekeeping and follow-up.
If what you need is stable delivery under one responsible party, direct purchase is the better fit — that is contract manufacturing, with no advisory fee.
2. Deliverables
| Service item | Deliverable | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Material selection justification | Comparison of material directions (hardness, temperature, media, certification) with a recommendation | 3–5 working days after kick-off |
| Process route planning | Moulding method, tool type, downstream finishing, key parameter window | With the material conclusion |
| Process risk assessment | Risk list with mitigations, including the three structures most likely to fail | Before sampling |
| Supplier background checks and recommendation | Shortlist, capability verification records and reasons for exclusions | After the route is agreed |
| Sample follow-up | Issue list and change recommendations per sampling round | Each round |
| Trial production control | Trial condition confirmation sheet and first-article record | Before and after trial |
| First-article coordination | Inspection item list and acceptance conclusion | Volume start |
| Volume order follow-up | Batch progress and exception log | Each batch |
| Quality issue coordination and delivery follow-up | Analysis record, responsibility recommendation and corrective tracking | When an issue occurs |
3. Fees and settlement
- Technical start-up fee: charged at signing for drawing review, preliminary technical study and supplier screening; fully creditable against later advisory fees. The amount is assessed per project.
- Advisory rate: 10% of the ex-tax value of each batch accepted by the customer.
- Fee base: excludes mould cost, freight, third-party testing and duties.
- Settlement: calculated after each acceptance, offsetting the start-up balance first; once exhausted, each batch is invoiced separately.
- No volume: if the project never reaches volume, the start-up fee is non-refundable as preliminary technical input.
- Samples: sample orders carry no advisory fee; the fee applies to accepted volume orders only.
- Sourcing traceability: where we issue the process route and recommend a supplier, orders placed directly or indirectly with that supplier within the agreed period carry the advisory fee.
4. Boundary of responsibility
We own the technical route, supplier screening and coordination; final quality and delivery responsibility rest with the manufacturing party. We do not replace the manufacturer's quality responsibility, and we do not guarantee its capacity or lead time. Paying an advisory fee does not transfer quality liability to the adviser.
5. How it starts
- Send the context: structure or sample, duty condition, expected volume, current supplier situation;
- Technical call: 30 minutes to identify where the project is stuck;
- Written assessment: feasibility and recommended route, with scope and fee basis;
- Kick-off: technical service agreement signed, work starts when the start-up fee arrives.
6. Fit and no fit
Good fit
- An existing supplier base that needs technical gatekeeping
- Multi-site capacity needing one route and one acceptance basis
- No in-house silicone process role
- Overseas buyer building a local supply chain
Poor fit
- Stable supply with responsibility concentrated in one party
- Requiring the adviser to guarantee finished-part quality
- Expecting the adviser to replace in-house 100% inspection
- Not accepting a per-batch technical service fee
7. Send an advisory inquiry
Describe where the project stands; a complete drawing is not needed. We reply within one working day and say whether more material is required.
Submitting means you agree to our use of this information for the assessment. If an NDA is required, say so at the first contact — see confidentiality and NDA.
8. Questions
Can we buy a preliminary study only, without going to volume?
Yes. A preliminary study is priced as a one-off assessment with a written report. If it later moves into the standard advisory model, the study fee can be credited as agreed in the contract.
Does the advisory fee affect our factory's price?
No. Manufacturing prices come from the manufacturing party; we take no part in setting them. The advisory fee is a per-batch technical service fee.
Can we use direct purchase and advisory at the same time?
On different projects or part numbers, yes. The same part in the same batch is not charged twice; the arrangement is agreed in the contract.