Global Sourcing and Procurement Services
ET2C provides outsourced sourcing and procurement services for brands and manufacturers in the UK, US and Europe. Our teams in China, India, Vietnam and Turkey find and validate suppliers, manage product development and production, inspect quality and arrange shipping, so you get the right product at the agreed cost and standard without building your own overseas team.
- Validated supplier options matched to your product, volumes and target cost
- Production, quality and delivery managed by local teams
- Lower supplier risk, while you keep commercial control
7 Major Sourcing Markets
British Owned Company
Over 200+ Colleagues
25 Year of
Experience
Sourcing and procurement services: quick answers
What our sourcing and procurement services cover
Our international sourcing and procurement services run as one managed process, from strategy to delivery. Each stage can be scoped around what your team already does in-house.
Sourcing strategy and consultancy:
A strategic sourcing plan that sets which markets and suppliers fit your product, volumes, cost targets and risk appetite.
Supplier identification and validation:
Shortlists of factories checked for capability, capacity, certifications and compliance. See our guide to supplier selection and due diligence
Quotations and commercial comparison:
Quotations from at least three suppliers, so you can compare cost, capacity, lead time and quality.
Product development and sampling:
Managed through to pre-production (PP) sample sign-off.
Production follow-up:
In-country teams track your order against the critical path and keep you updated.
Quality and compliance control:
Inspections during production and before shipment. More on our quality and compliance services
Shipping and logistics:
Production timed to shipping deadlines, on terms from Free On Board (FOB) to Delivered Duty Paid (DDP).
Product Sourcing Services
Product sourcing starts with your brief: specification, target price, quantities, materials, compliance requirements and packaging. We use it to search our supplier network and beyond, validate the factories that fit, and manage sampling and production until the goods ship.
As a product sourcing company with in-country teams, we work for buyers in the UK, US and Europe across consumer goods and engineered industrial components.
When outsourced Sourcing and Procurement makes sense
Outsourcing sourcing and procurement works best when you need control over overseas suppliers without the cost of your own overseas office. It is usually the right fit when:
- you buy from overseas factories but have no team in the producing country
- you are adding a second sourcing market, for example as part of a China+1 strategy (try the China+1 Market Selector)
- quality or delivery problems with current suppliers are eroding your margin
- your procurement team needs visibility of production and quality without travelling to every factory
It may not be the right fit if you already have an experienced in-market team and stable suppliers. In that case you may only need quality and compliance support, such as inspections and audits. If you want a dedicated team working only on your account, our buying office model may suit you better.
About ET2C
ET2C International is a British-owned sourcing and procurement company founded in 2001, with around 200 colleagues working in-country. We manage the full sourcing lifecycle from source to shelf and work as an extension of our clients’ procurement teams, from growing SMEs to global enterprises.
How We Work
In order to align ourselves with the needs of our partners, we adhere to eight clear steps each helping to identify the goals and requirements of your work, as well as providing us with the information needed to evaluate the most suitable suppliers from our wide network.
1. Assess your needs
We begin by understanding your sourcing strategy. Your business, wider industry, and supplier requirements to begin setting up the most suitable and efficient pathway. Ensuring that we build a focused and efficient sourcing critical path from day one.
2. Understand the Product
Using ISO 9001 guidelines, we develop an understanding of your product specification to make sure we have a detailed knowledge of your product to assess potential suppliers.
3. Source
Contacting our wide-ranging supplier base and beyond, we seek to compile the breakdown of most suitable partners to manufacture your products, covering all relevant factors such as product expertise, market knowledge, capacity, price points, and quality. Building a short list of validated candidate supply partners for you to review.
4. Quotation
We provide you with relevant quotations from several suppliers, allowing you to evaluate the most suitable supplier for your needs.
5. Sampling & Development
An important stage of the sourcing process, we manage the development critical path leading to PR sample sign offs prior to production starting. Ensuring that you and your supplier have approved reference sample before production begins.
6. Production
Liasing with the selected supply partner, we ensure that all processes are moving forward according to plan and provide updates to you regarding production schedules. Giving you clear sight of your order progress
7. Quality & Compliance control
Our quality control inspections cover essential visibility of your products through production and prior to shipping, ensuring any potential quality issues are resolved rapidly.
8. Shipping and Logistics
As we have teams on the ground we can ensure that product timings and shipping deadlines are both aligned. Our logistics team can support you with shipping under a range of terms from FOB to DDP. Just ask for more details.
How we work: eight steps from brief to delivery
Every project follows the same eight steps, so you always know what happens next and who is responsible.
1. Assess your needs
We review your sourcing strategy, business and supplier requirements, and set a critical path from day one.
2. Understand the Product
Using ISO 9001 guidelines, we build a detailed understanding of your specification before approaching suppliers.
3. Source
We search our supplier base and beyond, and shortlist validated suppliers on product expertise, capacity, price and quality.
4. Quotation
You receive comparable quotations from several suppliers.
5. Sampling & Development
We manage development through to PP sample sign-off, so you and the supplier agree on a reference sample before production.
6. Production
We follow production with the supplier and keep you updated on progress against the schedule.
7. Quality and compliance control
Inspections during production and before shipment catch issues while they can still be fixed.
8. Shipping and logistics
Our teams align production with shipping deadlines and support terms from FOB to DDP.
Direct sourcing, a sourcing agent or an end-to-end partner?
The right model depends on your in-house procurement resource, how much local oversight you need and your tolerance for supply chain risk.
Decision factor
Direct factory sourcing
Sourcing agent or trader
ET2C end-to-end sourcing
Supplier access
The buyer identifies and manages factories.
Access is usually based on the intermediary’s network.
Supplier options are sourced and validated against the brief.
Commercial visibility
Direct quotations, but the buyer must benchmark cost and terms.
Margin may be included within the product price.
Multiple quotations support structured commercial comparison.
Local oversight
Requires the buyer’s own local resource or remote management.
Depends on the agent’s scope and reporting.
In-country teams manage development, production and escalation.
Quality and compliance
The buyer appoints and coordinates separate controls.
Coverage varies by provider and arrangement.
Quality, compliance and inspection support are integrated.
Scalability
Additional suppliers and markets increase internal workload.
Can be constrained by the intermediary’s network.
The model can support China, India, Vietnam and Turkey.
Best suited to
Experienced procurement teams with reliable local capability.
More transactional or narrowly defined requirements.
Businesses needing visibility and control without their own local team.
Working with a sourcing partner: four tips
Where We Source
We have in-country teams in China, India, Vietnam and Turkey. The right market depends on your product, the capability you need, lead times, quality expectations, capacity and risk, and many buyers use more than one. For a wider view of the region, including how China’s role is changing, read our guide to Asia sourcing.
Sourcing and procurement: key points
- Supplier decisions should balance capability, quality, compliance, capacity, lead time and total landed cost, not unit price alone.
- On-the-ground oversight keeps supplier selection, sampling, production, inspection and shipment connected.
- The right sourcing model depends on your in-house resource and how much visibility and control you need.
- ET2C manages sourcing and procurement from source to shelf, as an extension of your procurement team.
Interested in our sourcing and procurement services?
Tell us what you need to source and we will come back with a recommended approach and a free quotation.
Frequent Asked Questions
We usually ship Free On Board (FOB) and can also support Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF), Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU) and Delivered Duty Paid (DDP), depending on the order. Our logistics team will advise on the best option for your market.
Visibility of specifications, timelines, quality checkpoints and production progress lets you make decisions before goods ship, while problems are still cheap to fix.
Raw material checks, in-line inspections during production, a final inspection before shipment and a loading inspection to confirm the right goods are shipped.
At least three, so you can compare price, capacity, lead time and quality, and choose on overall fit rather than price alone.
Free On Board means the supplier delivers the goods to the port and loads them onto the vessel. Responsibility and risk usually pass to the buyer once the goods are on board.
A critical path is the step-by-step plan and timeline from the brief through sampling, approvals, production, inspection and shipment. It shows which dates depend on each other, so delays are spotted early.
Pre-production (PP) sample sign-off is approval of the final sample before bulk production starts. It confirms the specification and gives you and the factory a fixed reference to inspect against.
Often, yes, if your team isn’t based in the producing country. ET2C works as an extension of in-house procurement: your team sets strategy and makes the commercial decisions, and ours manages suppliers, production and quality on the ground.