Many importers struggle with project and supplier management when producing goods abroad in Asia.
There are many issues to contend with, all of which can cost you time and money caused by quality issues and project overruns, such as the language barrier, your lack of personnel on the ground, local partners being unreliable or over-promising, and more!
To help you to avoid these pitfalls, Sofeast’s project managers use their experience in project and supply chain management to assist you on the ground wherever your suppliers are to run your supply chain and cooperate with us smoothly and efficiently.
Sofeast offers this great solution to these management issues where our experienced, English-speaking supply chain project managers work directly with you and your suppliers to make sure that the project runs smoothly and as expected.
Most commonly we help importers with these types of projects:
The main benefits we offer are strong planning (based on our experience), a state-of-the-art process for organizing your supply chain, good communication, close follow-up, and quick reporting.
All this helps you, as the buyer, get what you need: Faster project completion at the expected quality and cost.
If you don’t have a local office in China, Vietnam, or India, and you need to fly back to Asia very often (or follow unhealthy sleep patterns), these are the signs that you need a team on the ground you can rely on.
Many of our clients already work with an ‘agent’, a partner, or freelancer(s) on the ground. They work with Sofeast because they value some of our in-house competencies and processes.
The very first step is setting up a plan that addresses your objectives and considers the realities of your supply chain. Your suppliers get into “just do it” mode at the snap of a finger. However, has anyone stopped to pause and consider what is in your long-term interest?
We listen to you, see what has worked and not worked, and suggest an action plan as well as realistic objectives.
Then, based on your needs, we propose the profile (bios) of a project manager that would best fit them. This project manager, together with his/her team, starts implementing the plan.
- Our project managers are in close contact with your suppliers, using their language as well as their preferred communication tools (Wechat, QQ, etc.), in order to keep your projects moving.
- We also have a support team with individuals who specialize in laboratory testing, sourcing, procurement, and in export & logistics.
We go to the factory when needed. Our project management team is located in 4 different areas, and our inspection & audit team is nearly all along the coasts of China and Vietnam.
One of our project managers is in frequent contact with you and updates you all along (as your single point of contact). If you already use a kind of project management or collaborative software, such as Trello or Asana, we will adjust to using it in order to make communication with you as fluid as possible and work in your preferred method.
You also get a weekly summary of the work done.
For example, here’s an excerpt from one of our ‘sourcing to order’ reports which you would receive as part of your regular reporting:
Yes, we can.
Many customers request this for Chinese suppliers, but we also provide localized support to manage suppliers in Vietnam, India, and South-East Asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, and Bangladesh, too.
If you’re unsure whether we can manage your chosen supplier due to their location, ask us! You can also check our main operating areas.
What does it cost?
We bill 38 USD an hour* for project management and supply chain-related work. As a guide, it is not uncommon for us to quote 10 hours for the first block of work.
Expenses, if any, are charged separately.
*(Hourly cost can be lower for a consistent number of hours every month, paid upon receipt of your weekly statement on a contracted agreement.)
