Sourcing And Supplier Management
EVT's own profile describes years of working with Chinese supplier factories and building a group of them that can be relied on. The value of that to a buyer is not the list of factories. It is that the buyer deals with one company instead of four.
Four suppliers means four sets of documents, four quality standards and four chances to miss the vessel.
- Factory Base MappingThe catalogue sits across three unrelated manufacturing bases: textiles, bamboo and metal housewares, and nonwovens. Each enquiry goes to the base that runs that product. You do not get a bedding mill quoting on cookware because it wants the order.
- QualificationThe factories behind this catalogue include plants registered to ISO 9001 and, in one case, certified to ISO/TS 16949 for automotive components. That TS certification matters less for what it covers than for what it implies: a plant running automotive documentation discipline applies it to everything on the floor.
- Single Point Of ContactThe London company is the buyer's counterparty. The Hong Kong office works the factory side in the same time zone as the mills. A question raised at the factory in the morning is answered that day rather than waiting for a European office to open.
- ConsolidationGoods from different factories are brought together before shipping rather than moving as separate consignments. One shipment, one set of documents, one arrival date. This is the main reason importers use a company like EVT rather than buying direct.
- Reference Sample ControlA retained reference sample is held against every product code, at the factory and at EVT. It is what makes a reorder reproducible. Without it, the second order is whatever the factory reaches for.
- ContinuityProduct codes stay stable across reorders, and so do the specifications attached to them. A buyer should be able to reorder a code two years later and get the same product. That is only true if somebody kept the paperwork.
Products This Applies To
Hard Anodised Aluminium Cookware Set
Charcoal grey hard anodised bodies: casserole, saucepan and frypan in one set.
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TW-584 Ribbed Cotton Towel Set
White ribbed towelling in a graduated set, supplied with a matching bath mat.
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Nonwoven Surgical Cap
Bouffant nonwoven cap in blue, photographed with a white nonwoven strip cap.
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Bamboo End Grain Round Board
A thick round chopping block in end grain bamboo, with the block pattern visible on the face.
View productSourcing And Supplier Management Questions
Do you own the factories?
No. EVT is a supplier and export company working with Chinese manufacturing partners. That is what the company has always described itself as.
Why not buy direct from the factory?
Some buyers should. If you have the volume, the language, the time zone and somebody to inspect before shipping, direct can be cheaper. If you do not, those four things are exactly what you are buying here.
Which certifications do the factories hold?
Registration to ISO 9001 and, in one case, ISO/TS 16949 certification. Current certificates are confirmed per order, because a certificate from a previous year proves nothing.
Can you source a product that is not in this catalogue?
Ask. The catalogue reflects what was published, not the limit of what the factory bases can run.
Start With A Specification
A drawing, a spec sheet or a competitor sample is enough to begin. A photograph on its own is the weakest starting point.