Tool
Score every factory the same way.
The failure mode in a multi-factory trip is that each visit gets remembered differently. Six dimensions, scored pass / flag / fail, turns impressions into a comparison you can act on.
How to score
Three levels, not a number out of ten.
A numeric score implies precision the visit does not have. Pass / flag / fail is enough to make the decision, and harder to game.
Pass means the evidence is there and you saw it. Flag means something is missing or conditional and needs a follow-up. Fail means the evidence contradicts what you were told. Most factories land somewhere in the middle — the scorecard's job is to make the pattern visible, not to produce a single comforting number.
It is the same distinction as a factory visit, an audit and an inspection — three different questions, and only one of them is what we run.
The six dimensions
What to check, and what counts as each level.
- Licence and scopeDoes the registered business actually make this product? Pass: the licence lists manufacturing and the scope matches. Flag: the scope is broad but not specific to your category. Fail: the licence says wholesale or retail, or belongs to a different entity.
- Floor and equipmentCan the line hold your volume, and is it theirs? Pass: the line for your product exists and is running. Flag: the right equipment is present but not running your product. Fail: no equipment — a showroom, a catalogue and a sample table. See the on-the-floor checklist.
- Quality controlHow are failures caught, and what happens to them? Pass: a real QC bench, in-line checks and a record of defects. Flag: QC exists but nothing is written down. Fail: no QC, or "we never have defects", which is the same thing.
- Decision-makerIs someone in the room who can agree terms? Pass: the production manager or owner answers directly. Flag: a sales rep answers but defers on numbers. Fail: "the boss is travelling", which we record as a failed visit.
- SubcontractingWhich steps are outsourced, and to whom? Pass: key processes are in-house and stated. Flag: some steps outsourced but disclosed. Fail: a step you were told is in-house turns out to be subcontracted — the classic trading-company tell.
- Commercial fitMOQ, lead time and tooling ownership in writing? Pass: all three stated, with the tooling ownership explicit. Flag: agreed verbally only. Fail: evasive on MOQ, or the payment entity does not match the licence.
This is the same scoring we run on an existing-supplier visit — the six dimensions travel with you, so every factory gets measured the same way.
Reading the result
What the scores actually mean.
How to read it
- Any fail means fix it before you commit — a licence fail or a decision-maker fail is not a negotiation problem, it is a walk-away.
- Flags are follow-up questions, not rejections. One flag is normal; three flags is a pattern.
- Score all six for every factory, even the one you already like — the point is the comparison, not the favourite.
The licence and scope dimensions mirror the five checks we run before a factory stays on an itinerary, so the scorecard and the vetting method agree rather than duplicate.
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