Questions to Ask Manufacturers
Questions for a first serious conversation with a contract manufacturer or supplier. They cover what the factory actually does in house, minimums and pricing at volume, tooling ownership, inspection and defects, lead times, and what happens when a batch is wrong.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What do you make in house, and what do you subcontract?
Why ask it
Many suppliers present themselves as manufacturers when part of the work goes elsewhere. Knowing which steps leave the building tells you where quality and delay will come from, and who you cannot inspect.
Which products like mine have you built before? Can I see one?
Why ask it
A physical sample from a comparable product is worth more than a capability list. If nothing similar exists, you are paying for their learning curve, which shows up as revisions and scrap.
What is your minimum order quantity, and what does the unit price do at twice and ten times that?
Why ask it
The price curve tells you where this supplier is comfortable. A flat curve suggests hand assembly; a steep drop suggests tooling and setup costs you will be carrying at low volume.
What is the lead time for a first production run, and for repeat orders?
Why ask it
These are different numbers and suppliers often quote only the second. Ask what the first number includes: tooling, material procurement, sampling, and which parts of it have historically slipped.
What tooling is needed, who pays for it, and who owns it afterwards?
Why ask it
Tooling ownership decides whether you can ever move suppliers. If they own the mould you paid for, changing factory means paying again, and that leverage will surface in your next price negotiation.
What does the quote include, and what is billed separately?
Why ask it
Samples, tooling, testing, certification, packaging, pallets and freight are the usual exclusions. Getting the line items now avoids the common experience of a landed cost well above the quoted unit price.
What are your payment terms, and what do you need up front?
Why ask it
Terms reveal how they see your risk and their own cash position. A demand for full payment before production, or an unusual route for the money, is worth investigating rather than accepting.
How do you inspect finished goods, and what defect rate do you consider acceptable?
Why ask it
You want a stated number and a method: sampling plan, tolerances, who signs off. A supplier who says they have no defects is either not measuring or not telling you.
Can I send my own inspector, or a third party, before you ship?
Why ask it
Willingness to be inspected before payment is one of the clearest signals in sourcing. Reluctance, or conditions that make it impractical, tends to correlate with what turns up in the container.
What certifications do you hold, and can you send current certificates?
Why ask it
Ask for the documents with numbers and dates rather than a claim, then check one with the issuing body. Expired or borrowed certificates are common enough that verification is routine, not rude.
Where do your raw materials come from, and what happens if that supplier fails?
Why ask it
Your lead time is only as reliable as their weakest input. A factory that can name its material sources and a second option has thought about this; one that waves it away will pass the delay to you.
What happens if a batch is out of specification after it reaches me?
Why ask it
You are testing whether remedy is defined before there is a dispute: rework, replacement, credit, and who pays the freight. Vague goodwill answers are worth converting into contract language.
How much of your capacity is committed, and who are your largest customers?
Why ask it
A factory running near full for one dominant customer will deprioritise you when that customer pushes. It also tells you where you sit in the queue during their busy season.
How long does a sample take, and how many revisions are included?
Why ask it
Sampling speed is a preview of how they will handle production. Count the rounds in the quote too, since each unbudgeted revision adds both cost and weeks to your launch.
Who is my day to day contact, and in which time zone?
Why ask it
Projects fail on communication more often than on capability. Ask whether that person speaks your language, whether they are in the factory or in a sales office, and what happens when they are on holiday.
Will you sign a confidentiality agreement, and agree not to sell my design to anyone else?
Why ask it
The reaction matters as much as the signature. Ask what protection is actually enforceable where they operate, because a signed document in a distant jurisdiction may be worth less than you assume.
Who handles export paperwork, freight and customs, and on what terms?
Why ask it
Getting the shipping term named explicitly decides who carries the cost and the risk at each stage. Confusion here is where first-time importers lose money and time at the border.
What are your busiest weeks of the year, and when do you shut down?
Why ask it
Factory holidays and peak season can add weeks with no warning to anyone who did not ask. Put those dates in your own plan rather than discovering them when your order stops moving.
What most often goes wrong with a customer like me?
Why ask it
Experienced suppliers answer this candidly, and the answer is usually about incomplete drawings, late approvals or unrealistic timelines on the customer side. It tells you what they need from you to succeed.
Which customer have you lost recently, and why?
Why ask it
An uncomfortable closing question that separates the candid from the polished. Any answer beyond a denial gives you something to check, and a flat claim of never losing anyone is not credible.
Assessing a manufacturer
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Sequence the conversation
Start with capability and scope, because if the work is subcontracted or the product is unlike anything they have built, the rest of the discussion is academic. Move to minimums, tooling and price only once you know who is actually making the item. Leave payment terms, defect remedies and confidentiality to the point where both sides are serious, and expect to renegotiate them after the first sample round.
Verify rather than trust
- Ask for certificate numbers and check one directly with the issuing body.
- Ask for a physical sample of a comparable product, not photographs of the factory floor.
- Ask for two customer references in your own market and contact them.
- Confirm the legal entity name on the quote matches the one on the bank details before paying anything.
- Where possible, visit or send someone. An hour on the floor answers questions no email will.
Put the answers in the agreement
- Specification and tolerances, with a named standard rather than a description.
- Inspection method, acceptable defect rate, and the right to inspect before shipment.
- Tooling ownership and what happens to it if the relationship ends.
- Remedy for out-of-spec goods, including who pays return freight.
- Lead times with a stated consequence for delay, and the shipping term in full.
Signals that should slow you down
Prices well below every other quote, pressure to pay a large deposit quickly, reluctance to allow inspection, and answers that change between emails are the common pattern in sourcing that goes wrong. A supplier who explains a constraint honestly, even when it is bad news, is usually a better bet than one who agrees to everything.