Sourcing9 min read
Should-cost modelling for custom parts
A should-cost model builds the price from the process before the quote arrives. It gives a buyer a defensible range and a list of questions, not a single number to argue about.
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Sourcing notes for custom parts
Drawings, tooling, quality and landed cost, from the team that runs the programmes.
All guides, page 6
Browse the full library.
Sourcing8 min read
Commercial invoice and packing list: the fields customs checks
How to prepare the two documents that decide whether a shipment clears, and the mismatches that cause the most delays.
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Sourcing9 min read
HS code 7326 for iron and steel articles
Heading 7326 is the residual steel article heading. It is useful, but only after every more specific heading has been ruled out.
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Sourcing9 min read
RFQ templates for custom parts
A section by section request that gives a supplier enough information to quote the real part, and gives you quotes you can actually compare.
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Sourcing9 min read
RoHS and REACH obligations for importers
Who carries which duty when a metal or plastic part crosses the border, what evidence to ask for, and where the two regimes overlap.
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Sourcing9 min read
Tooling ownership and tooling transfer
Who owns the tool decides who can move it, who pays to maintain it and what happens when the supplier changes. The answer should be in writing before the first part is made.
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Sourcing8 min read
Cargo insurance: what to cover and what the policy excludes
A buyer's guide to the Institute Cargo Clauses, insurable value and the claim evidence that decides whether a loss is paid.
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Sourcing9 min read
EU CBAM and carbon reporting for metal parts
Scope, embedded emissions data and the supplier questions that decide whether a steel or aluminium part can be declared without a scramble.
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Sourcing9 min read
HS code 8536 for connectors and terminals
Heading 8536 covers low voltage switching and connecting apparatus. The hard part is separating a connector from a copper article, a part or a cable assembly.
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Sourcing9 min read
Payment terms: TT, LC and open account
The payment term decides who funds the order and who carries the risk of non payment. The cheapest option is not always the one with the lowest bank charge.
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Sourcing9 min read
Supplier scorecards: cost, quality, delivery, service
How to define the metrics, set the weights and run a review that changes supplier behaviour instead of producing a chart nobody uses.
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India9 min read
Supplier onboarding checklist for a new Indian factory
The entity records, commercial terms, quality controls and contacts to settle before the first purchase order, so the first shipment is not the first test.
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Go from reading to checking
The guides are built around the same questions as the free tools. Size a busbar, check an ISO 2768 callout, build a first article report or compare landed cost.
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