NAVIGATING THE
UNDERWORLD OF SOURCING

SUPPLY SIDE SUPPORT
The LITAO approach
to Quality Control.

An individual businessman sought to launch a private-label insulated coffee thermos to be sold on Amazon, with all production taking place in China. He had the brand, but needed quality manufacturing at European standards, not something China is known for.

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Client’s Challenge
  • - Needed to fulfill small order of bespoke thermos cups.
  • - As client’s business integrates with Amazon, required precision and consistency.
  • - No prior or current presence in China.
Litao’s Solution
  • - Identified suitable manufacturer willing to take a small-batch order at a good price.
  • - Created strong personal relationship with manufacturing facility to ensure timely delivery of products.
  • - Supervised quality control at each step of production.
The Outcomes
  • - Quality control identified 2% of goods with imperfections and removed before shipment.
  • - Entire process took place without client’s supervision and presence in China.
  • - Client, who continued to work with us, expanded portfolio and added two more thermos models.
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*We cannot disclose company names here,
but please ask us if you wish for more details.

Rigorous and systematic quality control was the biggest focus. We provided three best options of known direct suppliers; working with the manufacturers themselves—not resellers—allowed us to control production outcomes. In Europe, manufacturers are expected to comply with 100% of company requests, but in China, standards are often relaxed and products turn out in slightly different colors or even sizes; factories sometimes even start using different materials without informing the client. This might be okay for Chinese wholesalers, but not for us. Even after ordering samples and choosing a manufacturer, we hired a QC supervisor from Shanghai to go personally to the factories each week. Check-in points were implemented in all stages of production: samples during manufacturing, full QC pre-shipment, and supervision while loading—all while keeping to production schedule.

Key Takeaways:

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For this product, we filtered up to 2% of goods produced with quality issues—including a batch with a misprinted logo—and pressured the factory into producing proper ones in only a few hours to make a shipment dead-line. Only careful vetting would ensure such fast and accurate turnaround. The client continues to order new batches, with sales profitable from the 3rd quarter and increasing. His line of production now includes not just a coffee thermos in various colors but also a glass bottle and a flask, all thoroughly QC-ed; other products are in development.

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