US-BASED CHINA SOURCING & PROCUREMENT
A US-Based China Sourcing Agency With One All-In Price
From supplier search and product development to inspections and shipping coordination, Lightsail manages sourcing from China end to end — through one accountable US-based partner.
- No percentage sourcing fee.
- No surprise agency add-ons.
- No undisclosed supplier commissions.
30% deposit to begin • 70% before dispatch
- US Buyer
- Lightsail
- Factories
- Inspection
- Freight
- US-Based & Registered
- No % Sourcing Fee
- Supplier Due Diligence
- Quality Control
- Freight Coordination
The factory quote is the easy part. Everything around it is the hard part.
Finding a listing is not the same as building a reliable supply chain. Someone still has to verify the supplier, lock the specification, negotiate the commercial terms, chase production, inspect the goods and coordinate the journey to the US.
DO IT YOURSELF
- 1
Find Supplier
Factory or trading company?
- 2
Verify
Does the material match?
- 3
Sample
Will bulk match the sample?
- 4
Negotiate
Why did the MOQ change?
- 5
Production
Is production really on schedule?
- 6
Inspect
Who catches defects before payment?
- 7
Ship
Who owns the freight hand-off?
WITH LIGHTSAIL
- Send Brief
- Approve Supplier
- Approve Sample
- Approve Dispatch
- Receive Goods
LIGHTSAIL MANAGES THE WORK BETWEEN
Sourcing • Verification • Negotiation • Development • Production • QC • Freight Coordination
One process. One accountable partner.
You make the key decisions. Lightsail handles the work between them.
- 1
DEFINE
Product, specification, quantity, target and destination.
- 2
FIND
Shortlist factories that fit the requirement.
- 3
VERIFY
Supplier checks, capability review and factory audit where needed.
Your approval
- 4
DEVELOP
Samples, materials, packaging and revisions.
Your approval
- 5
PRODUCE
Commercial terms, production scheduling and factory follow-up.
- 6
INSPECT
Quality checks before goods are released.
- 7
DELIVER
Consolidation, shipping documents, freight and broker coordination.
Your approval
Your China procurement team, without building one in-house.
Use Lightsail for the whole process or bring us in around suppliers you already have.
Supplier Sourcing
Find and shortlist manufacturers against your product, volume and commercial requirements.
Supplier Verification
Business checks, capability assessment and factory audits where the project calls for them.
Product Development
Coordinate samples, materials, packaging, revisions and manufacturing feedback.
RFQs & Negotiation
Manage quotations, MOQs, unit pricing, payment terms and lead times.
Production Management
Track milestones, manage factory communication and escalate issues before they become surprises.
Quality Control
Coordinate the right inspection points for the product and production run.
Compliance Coordination
Coordinate testing, documentation and specialist partners according to the product and destination.
Freight & Delivery
Coordinate consolidation, international freight, shipping documents and customs-broker hand-off.
A DIFFERENT FEE MODEL
Our fee doesn't grow because your PO does.
Traditional percentage-based sourcing fees rise with order value. Lightsail prices the agreed scope instead. So our agency fee is not automatically tied to making your factory invoice bigger.
Price tied to scope, not spend
Know how Lightsail gets paid before production begins.
No percentage sourcing commission
Increasing your purchase order does not automatically increase our sourcing fee.
No undisclosed supplier payments
Our commercial relationship is with you, not hidden inside factory-side compensation.
Changes stay explicit
If the specification, quantity, route or project scope changes, we agree the impact before proceeding.
Pricing
- Do It Yourself
- Internal time and resources
- Traditional % Agent
- Often tied to PO value
- Lightsail Sourcing
- Agreed scope-based price
Supplier search
- Do It Yourself
- You
- Traditional % Agent
- Agent
- Lightsail Sourcing
- Included
Supplier verification
- Do It Yourself
- You arrange
- Traditional % Agent
- Varies
- Lightsail Sourcing
- Defined in scope
Product development
- Do It Yourself
- You coordinate
- Traditional % Agent
- Varies
- Lightsail Sourcing
- Included when required
Production follow-up
- Do It Yourself
- You
- Traditional % Agent
- Usually
- Lightsail Sourcing
- Included
Quality control
- Do It Yourself
- Arrange separately
- Traditional % Agent
- Included or extra
- Lightsail Sourcing
- Defined upfront
Freight coordination
- Do It Yourself
- You / forwarder
- Traditional % Agent
- Varies
- Lightsail Sourcing
- Coordinated end to end
US-based point of contact
- Do It Yourself
- —
- Traditional % Agent
- Varies
- Lightsail Sourcing
- Yes
Agency fee automatically rises with PO value
- Do It Yourself
- —
- Traditional % Agent
- Often
- Lightsail Sourcing
- No
Straightforward payment terms
- 30%Deposit to beginthen
- Productionthen
- Inspection / QC where includedthen
- 70%Before goods are dispatchedthen
- Dispatch
Every proposal defines the agreed scope, inclusions and assumptions before the project begins.
Built for teams that need China sourcing to work like an operation — not a side project.
“We were managing five suppliers ourselves. Lightsail gave us one workflow, caught a packaging issue before dispatch and made the total cost far easier to plan.”
Linda, COO
Consumer Products
“The biggest difference was accountability. We stopped chasing factories at night and had one US-based team owning the project from brief through shipment.”
Kevin, Founder
DTC Brand
“We expected help finding a factory. The real value was everything afterwards — samples, production follow-up, inspection and freight stayed in one workflow.”
Bruce, VP Operations
Industrial Distributor
2 days
Median time to qualified supplier shortlist
98.9%
Production milestones completed on schedule
11%
Average landed-cost improvement
93%
Client satisfaction
Frequently asked questions
Tell us what you need sourced. We'll map the route from brief to delivery.
Send us a product, drawing, BOM, reference link or even an early idea. We'll review the requirement and outline the next steps.
Already have a factory? We can manage the rest.