Field notes
Short notes from real sourcing work: client problems, supplier conversations, Chinese robotics observations, and the small details that decide whether an automation project survives contact with the factory floor.
All field notes
Short, practical posts from real sourcing work. Client details stay anonymized; the technical decision logic stays useful.
These notes sit alongside our buyer guides for automation suppliers in China, robot integrators, custom automation equipment, and supplier visits. The field notes show how those sourcing decisions look in live projects: unclear scope, supplier evidence, factory visit planning, component tradeoffs, FAT risk, and the practical questions buyers need answered before they commit.
Latest field note
An anonymized sourcing case: a German manufacturer, small precision assemblies, manual visual checks, tray handling, label verification, and the supplier conversations that shaped the automation route.
Read the German manufacturer noteField note
A product-manager view of an anonymized robotics sourcing case: dexterous manipulation hardware, actuator suppliers, cobot-compatible components, humanoid platforms, and a tight visit window.
Read the robotics noteField note
A first-person view of an anonymized client project: aluminum tube bending, an existing cobot, supplier proposals, and the tradeoff between retrofit reuse and new-line integration.
Read the grab-bar noteStart with a guide
If you are comparing suppliers now, these guides turn the lessons into RFQ questions, validation checks, and acceptance criteria.
Define the process, supplier category, RFQ scope, proposal review, and FAT plan before supplier selection.
Source camera inspection, OCR, barcode verification, measurement, lighting, reject handling, and QA systems.
Compare robot brands, integrators, applications, process packages, service models, and cell-level risks.