Recent sourcing projects: who asked, what we did

What buyers brought us in September 2026

These are real enquiries, anonymised: no client or company names, and nothing that identifies who they are. Each row says what the buyer needed, what we did and where the project stands, and none of them is described as finished before it is.

Checking a CNC router quote before payment

A UK workshop in the East of England had a quote from a machinery maker in Shandong for one CNC router: CIF Felixstowe or Southampton, about €9,200, with a 30% deposit and the 70% balance before shipping, packed at about 13 cubic metres and 900 kg. We are carrying out a free preliminary review of the quote. It is in progress, and nothing here is a result or a saving.

What the review has raised so far: the sea-freight line looked unusually low for 13 cubic metres, so the UK destination agent and its charges need confirming before payment, and a shared container should be compared with a 20ft container. The seller on the proforma and the bank beneficiary differed from the company name on the published export licence, so we advised asking for the current business licence and a written explanation before the balance.

On the UK side, commodity code 8465 carries 2% duty, with the classification to confirm from the specification, including whether 8465 20 00 00 for machining centres applies, also 2%. We advised asking for the declaration of conformity for the exact configuration, the English manual, the electrical schematic and nameplate details, not only a CE certificate, and for an inspection of the actual machine before the balance: power-up, controller, XYZ and rotary axes, spindle, tool-changer cycle, limits, emergency stop, a test cut, accessories, documents and packing.

China's export declaration rules for machine tools from 30 June 2026 can add review time on the China side, and installation and commissioning support should be agreed with the supplier before ordering. Next steps offered: the UK-side costs, the inspection, and like-for-like quotes from other CNC router makers on the same specification.

The guides written from this enquiry: what to check before paying the balance, how to read a Chinese proforma invoice, why a cheap CIF quote can cost more at the UK port, China's export rules for machine tools, sourcing CNC routers and installing and commissioning Chinese machinery. If you have a quote of your own, we can check it before you pay.

What these projects have in common

Every buyer already knew what they wanted. What they lacked was the China side: finding a factory that makes the exact part, verifying a manufacturer they had found themselves, getting a real price and minimum, and having someone check the goods before they ship. That is the work Cambridge China Bridge's own staff in China do.

The orders are small to start, and that is fine: we add no minimum of our own. The craft-supplies quotation went out two days after the enquiry arrived. For a multi-line range such as the gift packaging, we confirm quantities and sizes first, so the factories quote the same thing and the prices can be compared.

Guides behind each project

Each project has a guide covering what to specify and check: craft components and jewellery findings, bicycle parts and tyres, phone repair parts, importing to Jersey and the Channel Islands, custom printed retail packaging and verifying what a factory can actually make.

Completed projects with results, including a 70% unit-cost reduction for a UK EV charging operator and a 50% packaging saving for a multi-site Cambridge café chain, are on the case studies page. To start a project, send the product, quantity and destination.

For the gift and hamper range, our hamper baskets, boxes and ribbon guide sets out the duty on each line and why the pieces are quoted together.