
How a Sourcing Agent Works: Full SOP
15-step process from inquiry to delivery. Watch the full walkthrough.
Read guideFrom finding the right factory to quality inspection and door-to-door shipping — we manage your entire supply chain in China so you can focus on selling. Low, transparent commission. No hidden fees. Quotes within 48 hours — product cost, service fee and freight listed separately.
The AQL sampling table, the 51-point inspection checklist and the China–Europe shipping calculator our own inspectors use. Open them in your browser or download them — no signup, no email wall, no sales call.
A 3,200–10,000 piece order is inspected on a sample of 200: Accept 10 / Reject 11 at AQL 2.5. Full table and 4 inspection stages in a free Excel.
Open the free AQL sampling tableThe order our inspectors walk a factory floor: preparation, production, cartons, appearance, function, labels, then sampling. Tick it online or print it.
Open the 51-point inspection checklistDoor-to-door DDP/DAP prices taken from a forwarder rate card dated 9 September 2026: postcode zone, weight band, surcharges and remote-area fees.
Price a shipment to EuropeOne partner, one contract, one report — we manage every step so nothing falls between the cracks.
Find the right factory, verify it's real, then negotiate price and MOQ so you get a fair deal from day one.
Raw-material, in-line and pre-shipment AQL inspections, with photo and video reports before anything ships.
Sea, air or express freight, customs clearance and door-to-door delivery to your door, worldwide.
Find factories, compare prices and MOQs, shortlist 3-5 qualified suppliers for your needs.
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On-site factory inspection, license and capacity checks - real factories, not traders.
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Raw material, in-line and pre-shipment inspections with photo and video reports.
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Custom products, logo printing and bespoke packaging from prototype to production.
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Free storage, order consolidation and fulfillment to ship leaner and faster.
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Sea, air and express freight with customs clearance and door-to-door delivery worldwide.
Learn moreWe work alongside our clients at every step of the sourcing journey — from first meeting to final delivery.
A battle-tested process refined 12 years. From your first inquiry to door-to-door delivery 鈥?we handle every detail so you can focus on selling.
Send product details. Our specialist confirms specs, budget and timeline.
Search factory network, collect quotes, shortlist 3-5 best-match manufacturers.
On-site tours, business negotiation, sample review until 100% satisfied.
Contract signing, production monitoring, in-line and pre-shipment inspections.
Warehouse consolidation, freight negotiation, door-to-door delivery worldwide.
Click each phase to expand the full step-by-step details
We don't just claim quality — we prove it with audited suppliers, recognised sampling standards and a real team in Guangzhou.
We inspect to the internationally recognised AQL 2.5 (Level II) sampling standard — tightening to AQL 1.0 for safety-critical and children's products.
Every QC report comes with high-resolution photos and narrated video, so you see exactly what we checked — the good, the bad and the borderline.
You see every factory invoice. No hidden markups disguised as service charges — just honest, verifiable pricing.
Local staff in the Pearl River Delta, with 2,000+ verified suppliers in our network and factories within a 2-hour drive of our office.
Mahdi, IT manager of a luxury safari lodge in remote Tanzania, flew to Guangzhou after battling $500+/month internet bills, frequent thunderstorm blackouts that killed TV systems, and zero local network engineers. We sourced 5 integrated systems from 12+ specialized factories, pre-configured and burn-in tested every device in our Guangzhou lab, then shipped door-to-door to Dar es Salaam.
"Cantonmade's products, from the integrated gateway to the room set-top boxes, run very stably. This complete system not only solved our network and maintenance challenges in the wild environment, but the multi-language interface, digital ordering, and thoughtful privacy protection design made our guests truly feel the sophistication of our service."
"A complete 15-floor CCTV design with AI coverage from the basement to the rooftop revolving restaurant — every zone, every floor, planned properly."
12 AI camera models across basement to rooftop
No order too small. Low MOQs - we help startups import from China with confidence.
Private label, custom packaging, FNSKU labeling and FBA prep for your storefront.
Multi-SKU sourcing from factories with consolidated shipping to cut landed cost.
Reliable lead times, strict QC and dedicated project management for complex orders.

15-step process from inquiry to delivery. Watch the full walkthrough.
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How we stress-test hardware to catch defects before they leave China.
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What auditors check, what it costs, and the red flags that catch fake suppliers.
Read guideThe complete 2026 guide to what a sourcing agent does, how they charge, and whether you need one.
Sourcing vs buying agent, and how to pick the right one for your product, budget and volume.
9 vetted agents compared, ranked by services, pricing and reliability — to help you shortlist fast.
The exact criteria to weigh before signing with any sourcing agent — and the red flags to avoid.
The full 2026 process — finding factories, negotiating, quality control and shipping.
Understand the full-service sourcing company model and how it differs from a solo agent.
See how we inspect factories, test products, and deliver projects --unfiltered, on camera.
Straight answers with real numbers - commission, MOQ, QC standard, lead times and payment safety.
We charge a transparent 5-8% commission on the factory invoice. You see every factory invoice, so there is no hidden markup and no service fee disguised as a price increase. Quotes are free and non-binding, and our standard turnaround for a supplier shortlist with prices is 48 hours.
MOQ is set by each factory, not by the agent. For most consumer products in China it is 500-1,000 units; for private label or custom tooling it is usually higher. We negotiate MOQ down as part of the quotation, and we tell you the real MOQ before you commit.
Every order follows a 15-step sourcing SOP and is inspected with AQL 2.5 sampling per ISO 2859-1 at three stages: pre-production, during production and pre-shipment. Deliverables are photo and video inspection reports showing units, defects and the Accept/Reject result.
Yes. Our head office is in Guangzhou, two hours from the Pearl River Delta factories, and we run sourcing projects nationwide - Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Hebei and the Chongqing region. Tell us the product and destination market and we confirm factory availability, sampling and inspection arrangements before you commit.
Typical timeline: supplier shortlist and quotes in 48 hours, samples in 7-15 days, mass production 20-45 days depending on the product, then shipping. Inspection is scheduled inside the production window, so QC does not add extra weeks.
Payments go directly to the factory against a signed proforma invoice - never to a personal account. Before any deposit we verify the business licence, legal representative and factory address, and we audit the site for trading companies pretending to be manufacturers.
A Zhongshan light and a Nanjing machine tool do not come from the same supply chain. Each page below covers what that city really produces, how it ships and where the quality risks sit - and every one of them reaches the same sourcing desk on WhatsApp or phone. We are a sourcing agent based in Guangzhou ourselves, so the Pearl River Delta — Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Zhongshan — is the belt we audit in person every week.
Product made somewhere not on this list? Send a photo or a supplier link and we will tell you which belt it comes from.
Contact a China sourcing agentLooking for the phone number or a direct line? All contact details and city desks are on one page — or message WhatsApp +86 139 2270 2227 (Mon–Sat 09:00–19:00 GMT+8).
Tell us what you need and get a free, no-obligation quote within 48 hours.