Technology sourcing has a low barrier to entry and a high barrier to competence. Anyone can forward a factory quotation; the value of a partner only becomes visible when a shipment is held at customs, a batch fails testing, or a product needs UK support two years after the invoice was paid. If you are evaluating sourcing partners, these are the questions that sort the genuine ones from the intermediaries.
The seven questions
One: who actually holds the factory relationship — you, or a trading company you've never met? Ask how long they have worked with the specific factory quoting your product, and whether they have visited it.
Two: who is the importer of record, and whose name is on the compliance declarations? If the answer is vague, the liability is yours by default.
Three: what happens when a batch fails inspection? A real partner describes their QC process and rejection procedure without hesitating, because they have used it.
Four: where does warranty liability sit, and where is the stock of spares? 'Send it back to the factory' is not an answer a UK business can operate on.
Five: can they show you a comparable project — same category, same certification requirements, similar volume?
Six: how do they price — transparent margin on a visible factory price, or a single opaque number? Both models can be legitimate, but you should know which you are buying.
Seven: what happens if they disappear? Insist on knowing the factory identity for any tooling or custom product you fund.
Why we publish this list
Take 2 Technology answers all seven happily — thirty years of direct factory relationships, UK importer-of-record experience, on-the-ground QC, UK-held stock and named factories on funded tooling. If you are comparing us against another route, use the list on both of us. That is what it is for.
Talk to the team at sales@take2technology.com about your next sourcing project.