Hey there,

There's a moment I've seen play out dozens of times.

It usually happens about six months into a new supplier relationship. Sometimes sooner. The founder is staring at a shipment that just arrived. Something's wrong. The stitching is off. The material feels cheaper. The color doesn't match the sample they approved.

And then comes the question I hear every time:

"How did I miss this?"

Here's the thing: you didn't miss it. You never had the chance to catch it. Because somewhere along the way, you skipped a step. Or you trusted the wrong signal. Or you assumed that finding a supplier was the same as vetting a supplier.

It's not.

And the belief that you need to fly halfway around the world to find a good supplier? That's the myth that keeps founders either overspending on factory visits they can't afford, or settling for suppliers they've never properly evaluated.

You don't need a passport to vet suppliers. You need a process.

Let me show you what actually works.

Before diving in, this is exactly the kind of work we do in The Hidden Margin Killers: A Cost Engineering Workshop.

If you’ve been thinking, “I need to actually implement this,” this is your next step. Because making the right sourcing decision at the SKU level isn’t just about choosing a supplier. It’s about understanding the full cost structure behind each product.

COGS is just the starting point. Beyond it are the costs that should influence whether you move, stay, or dual source, packaging, labeling, prep, DIM surcharges, returns, quality issues, and even customer service load per SKU.

Inside the workshop, we break this down line by line across your SKUs, from 3PL invoices to packaging specs to freight bills, so you can see which costs actually move the needle and make sourcing decisions that protect your margins.

This is why I’m co-hosting this workshop with Alex Greifeld, who has spent 15 years scaling brands like Coach, Bonobos, and Larroude.

And if you want to go deeper on the marketing side of fashion eCommerce, she writes DTC Fashion Decoded, a newsletter built specifically for fashion brands dealing with seasonal drops, SKU complexity, and performance marketing that actually reflects how the category works.

If you’re tired of generic Meta ads advice that doesn’t account for how fashion really operates, get on her list.

Here's what I see constantly:

A founder needs a supplier. They go to Alibaba. They message 10 factories. Three respond quickly. One has good prices. They order samples. Samples look fine. They place an order.

Six months later, they're dealing with quality issues, missed deadlines, or a factory that ghosted them mid-production.

What went wrong?

They found a supplier. They never vetted one.

Finding is easy. Alibaba has millions of listings. You can find a supplier in 20 minutes.

Vetting is the work that happens after you find them. It's the process that separates the factories that will scale with you from the ones that will sink you.

Most founders skip this because it feels like extra work. It feels slow. And when you're trying to launch a product or restock before you sell out, slow feels expensive.

But here's what's actually expensive: a $40,000 order that arrives defective. A launch that gets pushed because your supplier missed their deadline. A product recall because the materials weren't what you specified.

I've seen all of these. Multiple times. And in almost every case, the founder skipped the vetting process because they were in a hurry.

The irony? Proper vetting takes maybe 4-6 weeks. Recovering from a bad supplier takes 6-12 months. Sometimes longer.

Before we talk about vetting, let's talk about sourcing. Because where you find suppliers affects the quality of what you're starting with.

Most founders start and stop at Alibaba. That's like dating exclusively on one app and wondering why you keep meeting the same people.

Here's where the best suppliers actually come from:

1. Alibaba — It's fine for initial research. You can see who's out there, get a sense of pricing, understand what's possible. But treat it as a starting point, not the finish line. The best factories often aren't even on Alibaba. They don't need to be. They're busy fulfilling orders from brands who found them through other channels.

2. Trade shows — Canton Fair, Magic, ASD Market Week. These are where real relationships start. You can see products in person, have actual conversations, read body language. A 10-minute booth conversation tells you more than 50 Alibaba messages. Even if you can't attend in person, many trade shows now have virtual options and exhibitor directories you can work through.

3. Sourcing agents — Good ones have factory relationships you can't Google. They've spent years building networks, visiting facilities, understanding which factories actually deliver. The key word is "good." A bad sourcing agent is just a middleman adding cost. A good one is a partner who protects you from mistakes you don't even know you're about to make. Ask for references. Talk to brands they've worked with.

4. Referrals — Hands down the most reliable. Other founders know who delivers and who ghosts. They know which factories are responsive and which ones disappear when there's a problem. The DTC founder community is surprisingly generous with this information if you just ask. One caveat: make sure their product category and order volumes are similar to yours. A factory that's great for a brand doing $10M might not prioritize your $200K in annual orders.

5. LinkedIn direct outreach — Underrated. Factory owners and production managers are on LinkedIn. They want to be found. A thoughtful, specific message about your product and needs can start conversations that Alibaba never would. Search for job titles like "Export Manager" or "Business Development" at manufacturing companies in your category.

The point isn't to use all five channels. It's to not limit yourself to one. Cast a wider net, and you'll have better options to vet.

Here's the process I've used and taught for years. It doesn't require a plane ticket. It requires discipline.

Step 1: Initial Screening (Eliminate 80%)

Most suppliers won't make it past this step. That's the point.

You're looking for basic signals:

Response time. How quickly do they reply? A factory that takes a week to respond to your inquiry will take a month to respond when you have a production issue.

Communication quality. Can they answer your questions clearly? Do they understand what you're asking? Language barriers are real, but a good factory will have someone who can communicate effectively. If every email feels like a struggle, imagine what happens when you need to explain a quality defect.

Basic capability questions. Have they made products like yours before? What's their MOQ? What's their typical lead time? Do they have experience exporting to your country? These aren't trick questions. They're baseline qualifications.

Documentation. Can they provide business licenses, export licenses, and certifications relevant to your product? A legitimate factory will have these ready. Hesitation here is a red flag.

At this stage, you're not trying to find the perfect supplier. You're trying to eliminate the obviously wrong ones. Be ruthless. If something feels off, move on. There are plenty of other options.

Step 2: Capability Assessment (The Video Call)

This is where most founders make their biggest mistake. They schedule a call with the sales team, have a pleasant conversation, and think they've done their due diligence.

Sales will tell you what you want to hear. That's their job. They're incentivized to close you, not to tell you about their limitations.

Here's the move: Ask for the production manager.

Request a video call with someone who actually runs the factory floor. Not the salesperson. Not the account manager. The person who oversees manufacturing.

And on that call, ask to see the floor.

A good factory will pivot their camera without hesitation. They'll walk you through workstations. They'll show you quality checkpoints. They'll introduce you to team leads. They're proud of what they've built, and they want you to see it.

A hesitant factory? They'll have "technical difficulties." They'll promise to send photos later. They'll keep the camera pointed at a conference room wall.

That hesitation tells you everything.

What to look for during the video walkthrough:

Questions to ask the production manager:

That last question is gold. Every factory has problems. The good ones will tell you about them and explain how they solved them. The bad ones will pretend nothing ever goes wrong.

Step 3: Sample Evaluation (Pay for Real Samples)

Samples are not optional. But not all samples are created equal.

Many factories have "hero samples" sitting on a shelf. These are the best examples of their work, polished and perfected for exactly this purpose. They'll send you these for free, and they'll look great.

The problem? Your actual production might look nothing like them.

Here's what to do instead:

Request samples made to YOUR specifications. Your materials. Your colors. Your finishes. Your packaging. Yes, this costs money. Pay for it.

If a factory won't make custom samples, or wants to charge you an unreasonable amount, that's information. They're either not interested in your business or not capable of customization.

What to evaluate:

Order samples from your top 2-3 candidates. Compare them side by side. The differences will be obvious.

And here's a pro tip: order a second round of samples from your top choice before placing a production order. See if they can replicate the quality consistently. One good sample might be luck. Two good samples is a pattern.

Step 4: Test Order (Small Run as Paid Trial)

Before you place a full production order, place a test order. A small run, fully paid, treated as a real order.

This is your final exam for the supplier.

Why paid? Because free or heavily discounted test runs don't show you how they'll treat your real orders. You want to see how they perform when it's an actual business transaction.

What you're evaluating:

A test order should be big enough to be meaningful but small enough that you can absorb the loss if it goes wrong. For most products, this is somewhere between 100-500 units, depending on your product cost.

Yes, this costs money. Think of it as insurance. A $2,000 test order that reveals problems is infinitely cheaper than a $40,000 production order that reveals the same problems.

In 17 years of supply chain work, I've learned that certain behaviors are almost always predictive of problems. When you see these, walk away. Don't convince yourself it'll be different with you.

🚩 No transparency. If they won't answer basic questions about their factory, their processes, or their capabilities, what are they hiding? Legitimate factories have nothing to hide. They want you to understand how they work.

🚩 Too good to be true. Pricing that's 40% below everyone else? Impossible lead times that no one else can match? They're cutting corners somewhere. You just don't know where yet. You'll find out when your order arrives.

🚩 Barrier to factory access. "The factory doesn't do video calls." "We can't show you the floor for confidentiality reasons." "Our production manager doesn't speak English." These are excuses. Good factories find ways to give you visibility. Bad factories find reasons not to.

🚩 Money pressure. Pushing for large deposits upfront. Wanting full payment before samples. Offering big discounts if you commit now without seeing samples. These are tactics, not standard business practices. A confident factory doesn't need to pressure you.

🚩 Vague on quality. "We have very good quality." "Our customers are satisfied." When you ask about specific QC processes, defect rates, or quality standards, and you get generic answers, that's a problem. Good factories can explain exactly how they ensure quality because they've built systems for it.

🚩 Inconsistent information. Lead times that change between conversations. Pricing that doesn't add up. Details that shift. If they're inconsistent before you've placed an order, imagine what happens after.

One red flag might be explainable. Two is a pattern. Three? You're ignoring signals that are trying to protect you.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: good supplier vetting costs money.

Samples aren't free. Test orders aren't free. If you're working with a sourcing agent, they're not free. Time spent on video calls and evaluating options isn't free.

Budget $5,000-$10,000 for proper sourcing exploration.

That covers samples from multiple suppliers. A test order from your top choice. Maybe a sourcing agent if you need help navigating a new region. Time for proper evaluation.

I know that feels like a lot, especially for early-stage founders. But compare it to the alternative:

A bad supplier costs you $20,000-$50,000 in defective inventory. A missed launch costs you your holiday selling season. A quality issue costs you customer trust that takes years to rebuild. A supplier that ghosts you mid-production costs you months of scrambling to find an alternative.

I've seen all of these. The founders who skipped vetting to save a few thousand dollars ended up spending ten times that fixing the problems.

This isn't an expense. It's an investment in not making expensive mistakes later.

Here's something concrete you can do this week:

If you're actively looking for a supplier:

If you already have suppliers:

I break down how to properly vet suppliers within this SKU-level framework, so you’re not just deciding when to move, but who to move to, including what strong vs. risky suppliers look like on calls and the exact questions to ask before committing.

If you're actively sourcing right now, or planning to in the next few months, this one's a must-watch.

There's a thread going in the MOVE Community right now where founders are sharing their supplier red flag stories and wins. Some of the best supplier referrals happen in these discussions—founders sharing who actually delivers (and who to avoid).

Not a member yet? The MOVE Community is where DTC founders share what's actually working in supply chain. Real talk, no fluff, and people who get what you're going through.

Until next time,

— Lara

P.S. If you've been burned by a supplier you didn't properly vet, you're not alone. Almost every founder I work with has that story. The goal isn't to feel bad about past mistakes—it's to not repeat them. The process above works. I've seen it save founders hundreds of thousands of dollars in avoided disasters. Trust the process, even when you're in a hurry. Especially when you're in a hurry.