Sourcing knowledge base

Everything here is written for the same reader: someone buying handmade goods in quantity, from a workshop they have not met, in a country whose paperwork habits they do not know. That reader needs three separate things at three separate moments, and the knowledge base is split accordingly rather than being one undifferentiated blog.

How it is organised

Sourcing guides deal with the period before a purchase order exists — finding candidates, testing whether they can make your product, sampling, and agreeing terms. Import guides pick up once the goods exist and cover classification, documents, freight and clearance. Regulations cover the product rules that decide whether the item is saleable at all, which is a different question from whether it can be shipped. Glossary articles take one term that keeps costing people money and explain it properly, and the A–Z glossary defines the rest of the working vocabulary in a line each.

Two further sets are organised by subject rather than by stage. Origin guides are country files — which regions make what, and how production is organised there. Craft guides go material by material: how the object is actually made, which flaws are inherent to the process and which are defects, and what to write into a specification.

Where to start

• First import. Read a sourcing guide on vetting suppliers, then the import guide for your destination market, then the documentation checklist. The Incoterm you agree in the first decides how much of the second is your responsibility.
• Already have a supplier, quality is the problem. Go straight to the quality-control cluster in sourcing guides: defect classification, tolerance specifications, the golden sample, and inspection timing.
• Evaluating a new material or craft. Read the craft guide, then the regulation guide its material points you at — compliance obligations usually attach to what the object is made of.
• Opening a new country. Read the origin guide, then the matching origin hub, which lists the clusters we hold supplier records for and marks the evidence state of each.

How these are written

Guides that touch customs, product safety or trade law state general principles and name the authority that owns the answer. They do not print duty rates, composition limits, tax rates, de minimis values or filing deadlines, because those change, differ by tariff line and jurisdiction, and cause real damage when they are stale. Where a number would help but cannot be given responsibly, the guide explains the mechanism and tells you who to ask for the current figure. Nothing here is legal, customs or financial advice for your transaction.