Rely less on one supplier
Qualify another source before one factory has all the leverage—or one delay stops production.
Industrial sourcing across Asia and Latin America
Build a stronger supply base.
Tandom helps US industrial buyers find and qualify new manufacturers, compare credible options, and move the right one toward first-order readiness—while you retain final approval and the supplier relationship.
Trusted by users at:
- ArcelorMittal
- Robco
- CINCOL
- Lyle London / Art in Metal USA
- Nutriplan
- Mettler Toledo
When Tandom helps
When you need another supplier, a list of names isn't enough.
We help industrial buyers develop credible alternatives when cost, continuity, lead time, or supplier performance needs to improve.
Improve cost, lead time, or terms
See whether another manufacturer can improve the commercial offer without lowering the technical bar.
Replace a supplier that isn't working
Find a credible alternative when quality, delivery, communication, or commercial terms keep falling short.
What your team receives
Compare suppliers. Choose confidently. Move to the first order.
Every candidate is worked against one quote-ready requirement and returned with documented manufacturer evidence, comparable economics, open questions, and a path to first-order readiness.
Example supplier decision package
- Record 01
Quote-ready requirement
Part, revision, technical baseline, demand scenarios, and required evidence in one controlled issue.
- Record 02
Manufacturer evidence record
Legal entity, production site, process evidence, certifications, contacts, and unresolved questions.
- Record 03
Normalized quote comparison
Price, MOQ, tooling, lead time, payment terms, deviations, and preliminary landed-cost assumptions on the same basis.
- Record 04
First-order readiness record
Sample evidence, approvals, remaining risks, and the actions required before purchase-order release.
Buyer alignment
You hire Tandom. The supplier decision stays yours.
Buyer-funded engagement
You hire Tandom and authorize outreach against your sourcing brief.
Fixed fee upfront
Scope and completion point are agreed before work begins.
Visible supplier quotes
You see the quoted terms; Tandom adds no hidden markup.
Relationships disclosed
Any relevant Tandom relationship with a candidate is surfaced.
Buyer-owned outcome
You select and contract directly with the manufacturer. The contacts, evidence, and records remain yours.
Anonymized customer case study
A documented customer result: one approved second source, 16% lower landed cost.
US industrial-equipment manufacturer
Facing single-source risk and a 14-week lead time, the manufacturer asked Tandom to qualify another source without changing the specification. We compared manufacturers in China and Brazil, moved three through sampling, and supported the selected supplier through its first purchase order.
- 46
- manufacturers screened
- 3
- suppliers sampled
- 11 weeks
- brief to first PO
- 14 → 9 weeks
- lead time
Customer identity withheld for confidentiality.
Who we work with
Built for recurring, spec-driven industrial products.
Tandom works best with specifiable industrial products, repeat purchasing needs, and requirements that can be compared on technical fit, capacity, price, lead time, and import risk.
Best fit: recurring purchases where another qualified manufacturer can materially improve continuity, cost, lead time, or quality.
Not designed for: consumer goods, one-off spot buys, retail purchasing, or urgent freight requests.
Examples include the categories below; this is not a closed catalog.
Discuss a sourcing project
Automotive and vehicle components
Machinery, equipment, and replacement parts
Metals and fabricated components
Plastics, rubber, and engineered materials
Electrical and electronic components
Industrial chemicals, glass, and minerals
Source markets
Source across Asia and Latin America.
We search across both regions, with our deepest current operating coverage in China and Brazil. For projects elsewhere, we confirm credible coverage before proposing an engagement.
Asia
Deepest coverage: China
Search established industrial supply chains across the region, beginning with our strongest operating coverage in China.
Latin America
Deepest coverage: Brazil
Evaluate regional alternatives for selected industrial products, beginning with our strongest operating coverage in Brazil.
How Tandom works
Here's how we move a new supplier toward the first order.
Send the files your team already uses. We'll organize the requirement, compare every candidate on the same basis, and keep the strongest option moving toward a first order.
Show us what you buy
Send a drawing, datasheet, sample, quote, purchase order, or whatever your team already uses. Tell us why you're looking for another option.
We screen named manufacturers
We distinguish manufacturers from traders, confirm the legal entity, review product and process evidence, check relevant certifications, and ask the strongest candidates to quote the same requirement.
We manage samples and technical follow-up
We organize samples, clarify exceptions, and keep technical questions and quote revisions moving with your team and the manufacturer.
We prepare the first order
We help negotiate terms, confirm first-order readiness, and coordinate import planning with your broker or forwarder. Your team retains final supplier approval.
How engagements work
Know what we'll do, what it costs, and where the project ends.
We start with a complimentary 30-minute fit call and reply within two business days. Most paid engagements are scoped for 8–12 weeks, depending on product complexity, supplier response, and sample requirements. The scope, fixed fee, and completion point are agreed before paid work begins.
Set the scope and finish line upfront
We define the product family, work plan, timeline, deliverables, and completion point before starting. The agreed scope can run from supplier search through samples and first-order readiness.
Agree on a fixed fee upfront
The fee reflects product complexity, target markets, required evidence, candidate volume, and whether sample coordination is included. We keep supplier quotes visible and add no hidden markup.
Keep the relationships and records
The contacts, quotes, evidence, correspondence, and project record remain yours. Your company selects and contracts with the manufacturer.
Close the search honestly if no source qualifies
If no candidate clears the agreed qualification gates, we close with the search record, disqualification reasons, unresolved risks, and recommended next step. We do not manufacture a supplier recommendation.
Tandom runs
Supplier search, screening, RFQ management, sample coordination, technical and commercial follow-up, preliminary landed-cost review, and first-order planning.
Your team retains
Final technical approval, the manufacturer contract, and importer-of-record responsibility. Audits, laboratory testing, inspections, freight, and customs execution are scoped separately or handled by your existing partners.
Who contracts with the manufacturer?
Your company selects, contracts with, and pays the manufacturer directly. Tandom does not take ownership of the supplier relationship.
What does Tandom's screening prove?
We document the legal entity, manufacturer status, product and process evidence, relevant certifications, and open questions. Your formal engineering and quality approval still depends on the samples, audits, or testing your team requires.
Are audits, freight, and customs included?
Audits, laboratory testing, inspections, freight execution, customs entry, and importer-of-record services are separately scoped or handled by your existing partners.
When does paid work begin?
Only after we review the requirement and both sides agree on the scope, timeline, completion point, and fixed fee.
About Tandom
Work with founders experienced in supply chain, AI, and enterprise automation.
The people leading your engagement have built and scaled logistics, software, and automation businesses. They combine that operating experience with Tandom's structured supplier evidence and import-decision systems.
Backed by leaders from
Technology programs
Microsoft for Startups
NVIDIAInception
Discuss a sourcing project
Working on a sourcing project?
Share one product family, why you're looking for another supplier, and what needs to improve. We'll review the requirement and contact you to discuss fit, scope, fee, and timing.
Tell us what you need to source
Complimentary 30-minute fit call. We reply within two business days. Submitting the form does not start paid work.
Free import tools
Not ready to start a project?
Check duties, tariff layers, and potential AD/CVD exposure for free.
Tariff calculator
Calculate US import duties
See each duty and tariff layer by HTS code, origin, value, and entry date.
Calculate duties
AD/CVD lookup
Check trade-remedy exposure
Search product, origin, HTS, manufacturer, and active case data.
Check AD/CVD
HTS reference
Browse the HTS catalog
Review US tariff classifications and related reference material.
Browse the catalog