WORK TEMPLATE
Work Template
Before we begin, you can see how we organize facts, questions, evidence, risks, and items that still need to be confirmed.
SOURCE WITH AN · CHINA
On the ground in China, I look at the facts from your side — and help move things forward in your interest.
I don't speak for suppliers. I speak from the facts I can verify.
I use a clear working process to ask, check, compare, negotiate and follow through — so that decisions and execution stay aligned with your interests.
Facts before the deal
Independent buyer-side position
Transparent service fees
Work is verifiable wherever possible
No reliance on hidden supplier kickbacks
WHY SOURCE WITH AN
Why Source with An
Source with An was created from years of observing the market and from real business experience.
We have seen that many overseas clients encounter problems when doing business with China. These problems do not come only from unfamiliarity with Chinese culture, but also from being unfamiliar with China's business environment, supply chains, and the way things are actually done here.
Even if you are already an experienced businessperson, there will still be things that are difficult to judge in a market you do not know well, and you may have run into problems along the way.
So the original idea behind Source with An is actually very simple:
We want to become a reliable execution point for you in China.
Someone on the China side who can look at problems from your perspective, help solve them, and look, ask, and judge on your behalf; and when necessary, actually investigate, communicate, follow through, and get things done.
We speak from facts and examine problems carefully.
We believe openness, transparency, honesty, and keeping our word are the foundation of long-term business. We want you to genuinely feel our integrity, professionalism, and the care we put into every matter when you work with us.
We work from your side. Based on facts we can verify and the actual situation, we help you understand the risks, advantages, and what should happen next, and we help move the things that need to be done forward.
You can now begin without the pressure of committing to a formal engagement, starting with your first free consultation or one of the free services we make available.
What we want to give you is not a piece of marketing, but real professional investigation, factual evidence, and practical deliverables.
We also hope this can be the beginning of getting to know and trust each other.
We hope that through our first piece of work together, you can understand more about how we work. When you need support on the China side again, if you are still willing to come back to us, that is the kind of relationship we truly hope to build.
HOW WE EARN OUR INCOME
Our income comes from the service itself.
Before any formal work begins, we will first discuss with you the scope of the service, the fees, any possible third-party costs, the work that needs to be completed, and the expected deliverables. We begin only after both sides understand and agree.
We provide China-side services and earn reasonable income from the service itself.
As a principle, we are not a party to the product transaction.
For factory information, quotations, and other important commercial information, we will help you understand the actual source as directly as possible and, where appropriate, assist you in dealing directly with factories, trading companies, or other parties.
We do not collect customer payments for goods, and we do not rely on factory kickbacks as a source of income.
Our work is to provide you with clear, verifiable supplier and commercial investigation results and, depending on the specific project, help you manage and assess pricing, quality, lead time, production, and problems that arise during execution in China.
From beginning to end, we work from the client's interests, make judgments based on facts, and explain our work, fees, and deliverables as clearly as possible.
We earn our income from the service itself, and we want our clients to understand clearly why they are paying, what we will do for that fee, and what they will receive in the end.
ABOUT AN
About An
An
China-side investigation & execution
Much of my judgment does not come from websites or supplier lists. It comes from more than 20 years of experience in business, sourcing, factory negotiation, product development, and project execution.
- 20+ YEARS
- Business, sourcing, negotiation, product development and project execution
- CHINA-BASED
- Direct Chinese communication with factories and supply-chain participants
- FACTS FIRST
- Confirmed, unverified and judgment are kept separate
- REAL EXECUTION
- Investigation, comparison, negotiation, verification and project follow-through
PRODUCT & MANUFACTURING CONTROL
Some work does not end when you find a factory.
Sometimes you already have a product concept, a drawing, a sample, a formula, or even a supplier. Or you may be preparing to put your own product, design, or formula into production in China.
The real questions are:
How do you get it made, how do you make it consistently and repeatedly, and once the product enters the supply chain, do you still retain the control you need?
This goes far beyond simply finding a few factories.
It requires a deep enough understanding of the product itself, the supply chain around it, and how the entire production structure works.
And our involvement does not stop at supplier sourcing.
What we care about more is maintaining judgment and control throughout the production process — overcost, quality, production status, and the uncertainties that can arise at any time.
We want your product to be properly understood within China's manufacturing system, the production process to be continuously adjusted and optimized, and the product to be integrated step by step into the real manufacturing ecosystem until production becomes stable and repeatable.
Depending on the project, we may be involved in product development, sample iteration, manufacturing planning, pilot-batch validation, mass-production execution, and controlling how sensitive designs, formulas, and technical information are handled during production.
And just like the working rules we have always followed, this work remains transparent and, wherever possible, verifiable.
This is the balance we want to maintain:
On one side, we can become deeply involved in the product and production process and do the work at the level it actually requires.
On the other side, through facts, evidence, and a working process that can be checked, we want clients to be able to see as clearly as possible that:
our judgment and execution are not influenced by supplier-side interests, product trading margins, or other hidden financial incentives in the transaction chain.
We do not want clients to believe that we are on the buyer's side simply because we say so.
We would rather let the way we work make that visible.
Getting the product made is one thing;getting it made under controlled conditions is another.
You can contact us if:
01
You have a factory quotation or product photo, but you are not sure whether the information is accurate or who the actual manufacturer is.
02
You need to verify a supplier, or an order in China has stalled and no one is giving you a clear answer.
03
You have drawings, samples, or a product concept, but you do not know how to turn it into actual production in China.
04
You already have a large amount of information, but cannot tell what is reliable or what you should do next.
05
You have been searching for the same product, but after passing through more and more intermediaries, the real factory, actual production situation, and pricing have become increasingly unclear.
06
You want low MOQ, direct factory supply, good workmanship, and a low price at the same time, but you are not sure what risks that combination may create or how those trade-offs should be judged.
I am not an intermediary who simply searches 1688 for a few supplier links and forwards them to you.
I am based in China and have long-term exposure to several major manufacturing regions. My work is to investigate supply chains, verify suppliers, compare information based on your actual needs, and, when necessary, help you connect with and move things forward on the China side.
Not everything in a supply chain can be verified at once.
A lot of information in Chinese supply chains cannot be fully verified in a single step.
If something can be confirmed, I will tell you how I confirmed it.
If it cannot yet be confirmed, I will clearly mark it as “Unverified” and continue checking through different information sources, direct factory communication, and practical investigation.
Some questions genuinely require looking at the problem from a different angle before the truth becomes clear.
If something still cannot be fully confirmed, I will not fill the gap with a polished answer just to make the result look complete.
- Confirmed
- What has been verified.
- Still possible
- What remains plausible but has not been established as fact.
- Unverified
- What we still do not have sufficient evidence to confirm.
- Recommended next step
- What I believe should be checked or done next.
I have always worked this way because, in real sourcing, production, and project execution, a wrong judgment can be more dangerous than temporarily not having an answer.
Whenever something is important, we try to keep it in writing.
When communicating with factories, we use Chinese directly for questions, verification, and negotiation.
For quotations, supplier identities, and other important commercial information, we also try to keep the source of the information clear and verifiable.
I do not speak for suppliers. I make judgments based on the facts I can verify and work from the client's side to move things forward.
WHY SOME SERVICES ARE FREE
Why We Make Some Services Free
We know that facts speak more clearly than self-promotion. The best way for you to understand how carefully we work is to experience the work itself, without feeling pressured to commit.
We make some services available for free even though this kind of work would normally be charged for.
We do not lower our standards simply because a service is free. Everything we do still follows our internal working process and delivery standards.
This does take a considerable amount of our time and effort, but we want to keep the first step low-pressure and reduce your risk as much as possible while still doing the work properly.
If you are satisfied with our service, you are welcome to support us with any amount you feel is appropriate. Your support helps us continue operating and makes it possible for us to offer the same kind of help to the next person who needs it.
And when you have a similar need again, you can simply come back to us.
Start with one specific question.
You do not need to prepare a complete project brief, and you do not need to decide in advance whether you want to enter a formal engagement.
Find the question that is closest to your situation, then tell us what is actually happening.
WHEN THE PROBLEM NEEDS MORE
When Your Problem Needs More
We work from the buyer's perspective and stand on your side.
When your problem requires deeper investigation, communication, judgment, or hands-on execution, we will first agree with you on a price that works for both sides based on the actual situation, and then move into the next stage of service.
We work according to the process below. Before deciding whether to continue, you can first see what we will do, what we will deliver, and how the result will be handed back to you.
01
Clarify the problem first
Confirm what actually needs to be solved instead of trying to sell a fixed package first.
02
Define what this step covers
Clarify the scope, boundaries, third-party costs, and what information or materials each side needs to provide.
03
Begin investigation or execution
Supplier contact, verification, comparison, negotiation, samples, production, or on-site actions are carried out according to the actual need.
04
Deliver the result
Separate facts, judgments, unknowns, and next steps so that you can see why we reached the conclusion.
REAL DELIVERABLES
Real Deliverables
Not simply a message saying “completed,” but supplier, quotation, communication, verification, and execution information that you can continue to use.
STRUCTURED RESULT
Structured Result
Confirmed facts, supplier statements, our judgment, what remains uncertain, and what should be done next.
CHINA-SIDE NETWORK
We Are in China's Supply Chain
Our work does not begin by searching online for a few suppliers.
We have long-term exposure to major industrial regions in China, including Guangdong, Zhejiang, Henan, Hebei, Shandong, and Jiangsu. Our work has involved industrial equipment, light industry, cleaning and personal-care products, chemicals, metal processing, electronics, toys, industrial components, automotive parts, pet products and supplements, and other fields.
Our service coverage extends across major industrial clusters and concentrated supply-chain regions in China. We have accumulated information on nearly one thousand factories and upstream and downstream companies, together with supply-chain resources and working connections in logistics, freight forwarding, and international transportation.
We understand that what clients really need is a process that helps them quickly understand where they stand — what risks they face and what advantages they have. We are here on the China side to help you see these issues more clearly and provide practical support.
Start with one specific question.
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