Assess a supplier when its fair engineer is absent

Establish who the representative can speak for

Ask for the exhibitor's company name, the proposed manufacturing site, the representative's role and the relationship between exhibitor and factory. Ask which displayed model matches your enquiry and whether the stand sample represents the proposed production version. Record answers against the supplier contact and product photograph, with permission.

The representative can give catalogue information, explain the enquiry process and identify the people responsible for engineering, quality and commercial approval. Ask whether quoted terms are indicative or authorised. An absent engineer is a gap to resolve; assess the supplier's willingness to arrange access rather than treating absence alone as a reason to reject it.

Separate recorded answers from technical confirmation

Keep a meeting record with fields for the question, answer, person answering, supporting document and unresolved point. Distinguish information read from a document, a sales claim awaiting confirmation and an answer confirmed by the responsible person. If the representative cannot answer, record the question without prompting a guess.

Request evidence against your actual enquiry

Send the supplier a concise brief identifying intended use, destination market, critical features and unresolved questions. Attach the current specification and annotate the relevant sample photographs. Ask the engineer to state exceptions and proposed changes explicitly. Use the product specification guide to prepare the brief and the factory capability guide for detailed process checks.

For consumer products imported into the UK, the importer is responsible for ensuring safety and following legal labelling requirements. A stand assurance does not resolve your evidence review. Request complete reports for the proposed model and configuration, then use the test report verification guide to assess their relevance.

Book a technical meeting before leaving

Agree a calendar date, time, time zone, meeting channel and named attendees. Include your technical reviewer, the supplier's relevant engineer and the person who can approve commercial changes. If that person cannot attend, agree how decisions will reach them and how written approval will return. Ask for acceptance of the invitation rather than relying on a promise to contact you later.

Send an agenda listing each unresolved question, the document needed and the person responsible for answering. Agree when the documents will arrive before the meeting. Ask the engineer to prepare a marked drawing, process explanation or relevant demonstration. If language support is needed, arrange it and circulate the technical terms beforehand.

Close the follow-up with a recorded decision

During the meeting, work through the unresolved points against the same specification. When sales and engineering answers differ, ask the responsible people to reconcile them in writing. Afterwards, circulate agreed answers, deviations, evidence received, remaining gaps and named owners with agreed deadlines. Silence should leave a point open.

Decide whether to proceed to sampling, hold for further evidence or stop the enquiry. A booked call keeps the candidate under review; it does not approve the supplier. Where site evidence remains material, consider a factory audit. Cambridge China Bridge can coordinate factory-side follow-up through its staff in China, while your team retains its approval decision.