Production Liaison & Factory Monitoring
What Vietnam Production Liaison Includes
Production Liaison is a monthly retainer service where Vietnam Factory Sourcing acts as the buyer's permanent representative at their Vietnamese factories. Unlike one-time services such as factory verification or pre-shipment QC inspection, this service covers the full production cycle — from purchase order confirmation through to container loading — on an ongoing basis.
Weekly Deliverables
Every Friday, the client receives a structured production report containing: factory floor photos showing current production status against the order schedule; a production tracking spreadsheet updated with units completed, units pending, and projected completion date; any quality flags identified during the week's factory check with photos and recommended corrective action; and a shipment timeline update confirmed with the factory and freight forwarder. All reports are delivered in English via email or shared Google Drive folder, formatted for direct use in the client's internal reporting.
Additional Scope Covered
Beyond weekly reporting, the service includes bilingual communication between the client's US or EU team and the Vietnamese factory — handling production queries, specification clarifications, and timeline negotiations in Vietnamese on the client's behalf. Shipment coordination covers booking confirmation with the freight forwarder, container stuffing supervision, and Bill of Lading document review before the client releases payment. For urgent issues — factory delays, material shortages, or quality rejections — the liaison responds within 4 business hours and escalates with a written summary and proposed resolution.
Who Needs This Service
This service is built for four types of buyers. US or EU brands that have already placed orders with Vietnamese factories but have no one on the ground to monitor progress — relying entirely on the factory's own updates, which are often delayed or incomplete. Importers who have experienced a production problem in a previous order — late shipments, wrong specifications, or quality issues discovered only at destination — and need active oversight to prevent recurrence. Sourcing managers at mid-size retailers who manage 3–10 active production orders simultaneously across Vietnam and need consolidated weekly reporting without flying out each quarter. And e-commerce sellers with tight inventory timelines where a 2-week production delay translates directly into lost sales and out-of-stock penalties on Amazon or similar platforms.
The Production Liaison Process
The engagement begins with an onboarding call in week one, where Vietnam Factory Sourcing reviews the client's active purchase orders, factory contacts, product specifications, and quality standards. By end of week one, the liaison makes the first factory visit, introduces themselves to the factory production manager, and establishes the weekly check-in schedule. From week two onward, the standard weekly cycle runs: factory visit or video-verified production check on Wednesday or Thursday; photo and spreadsheet report compiled and sent to the client by Friday 5pm HCMC time; client reviews and responds with any queries by Monday; liaison addresses queries with the factory by Tuesday. For shipment weeks, the liaison attends container stuffing, verifies carton count and labeling against the packing list, and sends a final pre-shipment photo report before the client releases the balance payment.
Products We Monitor
Production Liaison is available for all three product categories. For wholesale candles, weekly checks cover wax pour consistency, fragrance accuracy, label placement, and jar fill weight against specification. For ceramic planters, checks cover glaze color consistency across the production batch, dimensional accuracy, and kiln crack rejection rate. For woven baskets, checks cover weave density, color consistency for dyed finishes, liner installation quality, and moisture content for water hyacinth material before packing. Clients sourcing multiple product categories from different factories can consolidate all monitoring under a single retainer — consolidated reports cover all active factories in one weekly document.
Ready to Put Someone on the Ground in Vietnam?
Vietnam Factory Sourcing acts as your permanent factory representative — monitoring production weekly, coordinating shipments, and communicating with your factories in Vietnamese — so you stay informed without flying to Vietnam every quarter.
✓ Factory Verification & Sourcing — Find and verify the right factory before you order
✓ Factory Visits — One-time in-person factory inspection on your behalf
✓ Quality Control — Pre-shipment AQL inspection before your container loads
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the Production Liaison service cost?
Production Liaison is priced as a monthly retainer. The fee depends on the number of active factories being monitored and the frequency of visits required — standard engagements covering 1–2 factories with weekly reporting start from a flat monthly fee disclosed before commitment. There are no per-visit charges within the agreed scope. Contact us via the quote form for a specific proposal based on your active order volume and factory locations in Vietnam.
How quickly can the Production Liaison service start after I sign up?
Onboarding takes 5–7 business days from agreement. Week one covers the onboarding call, review of your purchase orders and factory contacts, and the first factory visit. Weekly reporting begins in week two. For urgent situations — where production is already underway and the client needs immediate oversight — an expedited start within 2–3 business days is available at a one-time setup fee. Contact us to discuss your timeline.
Can the liaison handle communication with the factory directly in Vietnamese?
Yes. All factory communication — production queries, specification clarifications, delay escalations, and shipment coordination — is handled in Vietnamese by the liaison. The client receives all updates in English. For video calls where the client wants to participate directly, the liaison provides real-time English interpretation. Written factory correspondence is summarized in English in the weekly report. No Vietnamese language skills are required from the client's side.
What happens if a quality problem or production delay is found during a weekly check?
The liaison flags the issue in a same-day alert to the client — within 4 business hours of identification — including photos, a written description of the problem, the factory's explanation, and a proposed corrective action with revised timeline. For quality defects, the liaison confirms the factory's rework plan and re-checks the corrected units before the next weekly report. The client is never informed of a problem without a proposed resolution included in the same message.
