The Andrew Faris Podcast She Visited 28 Chinese Manufacturers For 15 DTC Brands In One Trip. Here's What Changed In A Year.
Dec 1, 2025
Lara Guevara, CEO of Move Supply Chain, shares her insights after visiting 28 manufacturers for 15 brands in China. She highlights the importance of building relationships and negotiating favorable payment terms, revealing how in-person meetings unlock new product opportunities. Lara discusses the rapid changes in Chinese manufacturing over the past year, including technology improvements and efficient sourcing strategies. With upcoming partnerships and resources for DTC brands, she emphasizes how her agency simplifies the supply chain process.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Team Sourcing Immersion Trip
- Lara flew 10 sourcing specialists to China and visited 28 vendors across three teams for 15 brands.
- She wanted the team to learn by seeing factories in person and share those lessons back home.
Leverage Multi-Client Positioning
- Introduce your agency as the sourcing arm for multiple brands to vendors when remote, and as a multi-brand firm when meeting in person.
- Leverage that multi-client relationship to negotiate better terms and volume support from manufacturers.
First Orders Unlock Vendor Attention
- Chinese vendors value first orders from brands because they earn incentives and hope for long-term partnerships.
- Even small initial orders can be prioritized if vendors see potential for scale and relationship.