Sourcing handover when a buyer or supplier leaves
Keep sourcing knowledge in company-controlled records, with named owners, verified supplier contacts and an open commitments register. Test whether the replacement can recover an order and explain its next approval without the departing person's help. China-side checks can be coordinated by Cambridge China Bridge.
Give the handover an owner and a boundary
Name the incoming buyer, their deputy and the person accepting the handover. Identify affected suppliers, products and live orders. If the supplier's account manager leaves, ask its established management contact to confirm the replacement and who handles quality, production and commercial escalations.
Separate responsibilities for maintaining records, approving changes and releasing payments. Record unresolved gaps with an owner and next action. The existing order and payment approval guide covers approval authority; this handover should show whether the replacement can actually use it.
Build a controlled record of decisions
Keep an indexed supplier file in company-controlled storage. Give each current document a revision, approval status and owner; mark superseded copies clearly. Include approved specifications, sample locations, tooling records, agreed terms, inspection evidence and relevant product documents. Link to the product specification guide for what to specify.
Preserve why decisions were made: rejected materials, failed trials, agreed exceptions and the conditions attached to each approval. Extract decisions from chats into the register while retaining the original message and attachments as evidence. Label verbal promises as unconfirmed. Give incoming staff their own access and have your administrator remove departing staff's access at departure.
Verify contacts before accepting new instructions
Confirm the replacement through a previously verified company contact, rather than relying on the introduction message. Record their role, work address, verified telephone number and confirmation source. Ask who can approve technical changes, agree commercial matters and resolve a blocked shipment. A new account manager should not silently become the authority for every decision.
Keep bank changes separate from contact changes. UK government fraud guidance advises confirming old and new account details using a known telephone number, rather than a number in the change message. Record the check and route any change through your payment approval process before paying.
Reconcile every open commitment
Create an open commitments register against each order: deposits paid, balances awaiting approval, production status, promised shipment dates, rework, credits, replacement goods, tooling access and missing documents. For each entry, record the supporting evidence, responsible person, agreed due date, next action and closure evidence.
Ask the incoming buyer and supplier contact to review the same register. Preserve disagreements as disputed entries rather than replacing the history with a fresh promise. Keep shipment holds visible. For unresolved quality work, use the corrective action closure guide to decide what evidence is needed before closing the entry.
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Test the handover on a live order
Ask the replacement to retrieve the approved specification, locate the sample, explain an outstanding commitment and identify the next release decision without help from the departing person. Then rehearse a supplier contact change and a failed inspection. Check that they can find the escalation contact and keep the order on hold pending approval.
Accept the handover only after access works, records can be retrieved and gaps have named owners. Record who tested it, what failed and how the failures were resolved. If someone has already left, rebuild from company records and verified supplier evidence; mark uncertainty and hold affected approvals. A staffing change alone is not a reason to switch factories; use the second supplier qualification guide if a replacement factory is needed.
Frequently asked questions
What should a sourcing handover include?
Include approved records, decision history, verified contacts, access ownership and an open commitments register. The incoming buyer should demonstrate that they can retrieve and use them.
What if my supplier's account manager leaves?
Confirm the replacement through an established company contact. Reconcile live orders and outstanding promises, then confirm who handles technical approvals, commercial matters and escalations.
Are email and chat histories enough for a handover?
Keep them as evidence, but extract decisions and open actions into controlled records. A replacement needs to distinguish an approved instruction from a proposal or an unconfirmed promise.
How do I test a sourcing handover?
Ask the replacement to recover a live order's approved records, explain its next approval and handle a simulated contact change or failed inspection. Fix retrieval and authority gaps before accepting the handover.