About
US furniture brand, factory-direct
Furniture · Foshan
A US furniture brand sent photos, specs and current purchase prices. Goal: skip traders and cut landed cost, not just the unit price.
The brief
A batch of product photos, specifications and the prices the buyer was already paying through a trading company. Volume was a first container, not a programme yet.
What we did
- Screened 1688 and Alibaba suppliers on price pattern, MOQ and factory-versus-trader signals, then shortlisted the strongest candidates.
- Visited the shortlist in person. Two quotes that looked too cheap were confirmed as trading companies on site and dropped before sampling started.
- Negotiated unit cost, packing specification, quality standard and lead time face to face — not only by chat.
- Redesigned outer cartons to cut dimensional weight on the international leg, which is where a lot of the landed-cost leak sat.
What changed
- Selected items sourced factory-direct at up to 40% below the original purchase price.
- Average reduction around 15% across the batch — unit price plus packing, not packing ignored.
- All quality checks passed against the approved sample; delivery dates held.
- International freight cost came down because the carton cube was smaller, not because a cheaper carrier was found.
What this taught. A suspiciously low quote is usually a trader, not a factory. The visit is the filter. Packaging is a cost line, not a afterthought.
Method, not a guarantee. See how we work and what the reports look like.
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