How to compare sourcing agent work proposals

Give every agent the same assignment

Send the same specification revision, intended market, required capability and decision you need to make. State whether the assignment ends at supplier research, verified capability, an approved sample or production readiness. Use the sourcing brief guide to define the requirement; this comparison starts with what agents propose to do against it.

Ask each agent to return a scope with named outputs, evidence, buyer inputs, exclusions and acceptance conditions. Keep optional work separate. If an agent proposes a different specification or endpoint, record it as an alternative rather than comparing it directly with the original assignment.

Compare the search method and its limits

Ask which routes they will use: platform listings, existing contacts, industry directories, referrals or direct factory enquiries. Ask how they will find candidates outside their existing network, distinguish manufacturers from intermediaries and investigate your required process. An existing contact can be useful, but it still needs checking against this assignment.

Require a search record showing routes used, candidates contacted, responses, rejection reasons and unresolved enquiries. Agree when the search stops and what happens if no suitable factory is found. Assess coverage and reasoning rather than the length of the supplier list.

Turn service labels into named deliverables

Replace phrases such as “supplier sourcing” or “quality support” with files you can review. Ask for an anonymised example in the proposed format and confirm who produces each output. Use this comparison sheet to expose differences in scope before choosing an agent.

Agree evidence standards before work starts

Separate supplier statements, document review, direct observation and testing in the proposal. For each critical claim, specify the evidence source, product or site identity, date, reviewer and limitation. A photograph can show equipment; it does not establish that your sample was made on it. See the factory audit checklist for the visit scope.

For consumer products you make or import, you must be able to demonstrate compliance with relevant regulations and safety requirements before placing them on the market. Ask whether the proposal includes collecting documents, checking their scope or arranging testing, and name the reviewer for each task. Use the test report guide for report checks; do not accept “compliance support” as a deliverable.

Make buyer workload and exclusions visible

Ask for a responsibility schedule covering specification questions, translation, factory follow-up, sample review, technical decisions and document approval. Name the buyer contact and agent contact for each task. Identify decisions that pause the work, how questions will be grouped and what happens when information arrives late. Include your own remaining work when judging value.

Require explicit exclusions for visits, laboratory work, sample transport, tooling development, negotiation, rechecks and production follow-up. Confirm who authorises extra work and how changes are quoted before they begin. Compare commercial charges separately using the sourcing agent cost guide.

Define completion and choose against the evidence

Agree that completion means the named outputs have been delivered and reviewed against the brief, with unsupported claims and outstanding actions identified. State who accepts the work, how omissions are corrected and which issues trigger a scope change. A substantiated finding that no candidate meets the requirement can complete a search assignment; it does not complete supplier qualification.

Mark each proposal as meeting, partly meeting or not addressing each requirement. Ask agents to clarify gaps in writing before selection. Choose the proposal whose method, evidence and buyer workload support your decision, then attach the agreed scope to the engagement. Keep supplier approval and shipment release as separate decisions when they fall outside the assignment.