Where an agent program meets the desk
A sourcing agent in intimates usually arrives with a client brief and a stack of plant introductions that all look similar on paper. What the agent actually needs is downstream of the introduction: a plant that survives an audit, a lot that passes a written inspection plan, a container that consolidates against a manifest, and a document pack the client can read without a translator of goodwill. The desk is that downstream layer - a sourcing desk coordinating partner plants across the Shantou, Puning, Yiwu and Foshan clusters, not a factory and not a competitor for the client relationship. Where the agent prefers to stay the only face, the desk stays unnamed; where visibility helps, the desk appears as what it is.
Audits before orders
The audit file is the first deliverable, and it is deliberately plain: capability per line, machinery relevant to the styles in the brief, working conditions as observed, certificate history, and the references a client would want to see. Partner plants are shortlisted per line, because a plant that sews excellent briefs can still be the wrong address for a molded-cup balconette. The audit route and what it contains sit on the factory audit page. In sequence:
- Match the client brief to plant profiles per line - machinery, certificates, capacity window.
- Walk the shortlist against the audit checklist; write down what was seen, not what was claimed.
- Score capability honestly, including the gaps, and put the gaps in front of the client with options.
- Confirm the audit file in writing before any sample or deposit moves.
Inspection plans that hold
An inspection plan agreed before production is the difference between a record and an argument. The plan names the checks, the sample depth and the acceptance bar per lot: measurements against the grade file, elastic recovery after stretch cycles, color fastness to washing and rubbing, pH against the certificate, seam strength at stress points, and the gusset construction on panties. Records travel with the lot. The testing and inspection page lists the standard checks, and the quality control page describes how a plan becomes a per-lot record an agent can hand to a client without commentary.
Consolidation and manifests
Agents juggle several clients and several lots at once, and freight is where programs leak time. The desk consolidates lots into containers against a manifest - style, color, size split, count per carton - with carton faces marked in text and barcode so a receiving team routes without opening. Sea freight runs roughly 15-25 days to a US West Coast port and 30-45 to Europe; express at 5-8 days covers samples and urgent top-ups. Where a client program is small, less-than-container loads consolidate the same way with the same documents, and a mixed manifest keeps small programs from paying full-container prices for half-empty cartons. The logistics page carries the container detail.
The document pack
Everything an agent's client eventually asks for exists already, if the program was run on paper from the start:
| Document | What it shows | When issued |
|---|---|---|
| Audit file | Plant capability, conditions, certificate history | Before sampling |
| Program sheet | Lines, specs, reference ranges, responsibilities | Before first batch |
| Inspection record | Checks and results per lot | With each lot |
| Certificate pack | OEKO-TEX and label or care proofs per lot | With each lot, verified per project |
| Manifest | Carton-level contents per container | Before loading |
Working unnamed, and working long
Two arrangements cover most agent relationships. In the first, the desk works visibly as a sourcing desk alongside the agent, which suits agents whose clients already buy through China and want a second pair of hands on intimates. In the second, the desk stays unnamed: the agent fronts the program, the desk runs audits, inspections, consolidation and the document pack in the background, and client-facing documents carry the agent's identity. Either way the desk holds none of the certificates itself - the partner plants do, per lot - and reference MOQ and lead ranges sit on the MOQ and lead time page, confirmed in writing per program. The sourcing process page describes the full sequence end to end.
To test the arrangement on a live program, the quote form accepts briefs written from the agent's side, in whatever shape the client left them.