Ask a 25-year sourcing operator.
For procurement managers and anyone sourcing from China. Type your question — supplier checks, contracts, payment, quality, tariffs — and get a straight, operator-grade answer. It replies in your language, built on 25 years in international trade and sourcing — now on the ground in Shanghai.
What you can ask the desk
- Is this supplier a real factory or a trading company posing as one?
- How do I verify a supplier's business license and bank account before I pay?
- What contracts protect me — NNN, OEM, and mold & tooling ownership?
- What payment terms are safe with a factory I have never used?
- How do I run quality control (AQL, DUPRO, pre-shipment inspection)?
- What is my true landed cost once tariffs and freight are in?
In one line: The Factory Floor Sourcing Desk is a labelled AI assistant for buyers importing from China and Asia. You type any sourcing question — is this a real factory, what contract do I need, are these payment terms safe, what is my landed cost — and it answers with the method of an operator with 25 years in global trade, now on the ground in Shanghai, in your language, any hour. It is built for procurement managers, importers, and sourcing companies, and it hands you to Cengiz directly when a deal is high-stakes. Your first question is free to try; unlimited access comes with The Factory Floor PRO membership.
Everything the desk covers
Not another generic chatbot
ChatGPT and Claude answer sourcing questions in general terms. The Sourcing Desk answers them the way Cengiz does with his own clients — the specific documents to demand, the fields to check, the numbers that are normal, and the exact next move. It works for buyers only, never the factory, so there is no vendor agenda. That method, not the model, is what you are getting.
See how it answers
Ask them to video-call you live from the production line right now — a real factory walks you down it, a trader suddenly has a meeting. Then read their business license: the “business scope” must include manufacturing your product, not just “trading.” Ask who makes each main component and for the last three shipments. A factory knows; a trader gets vague.
Never 100% up front. Split it — a deposit, and the balance due only after a passed pre-shipment inspection. Lock the wire to one verified account name that matches the business license exactly. If they email a “new bank account” the day of the wire, stop and re-verify by phone — that switch is the classic fraud.
Your monthly edge from inside Shanghai.
One free question shows you the quality. PRO members get the full toolkit — and unlimited Sourcing Desk access is rolling out to members next.
- ✓ The full Tariff & Landed-Cost Calculator (print / PDF)
- ✓ The Monday PRO annex — what moved and what to do about it
- ✓ Priority Ask the Floor, answered within 5 business days
- ✓ The monthly live Floor Call from Shanghai, plus recordings
- ✓ 20% off every one-time product
- ✓ Unlimited Sourcing Desk access (rolling out to members)
Why trust the answers
This is not a generic chatbot. It runs on the method Cengiz Gündüz uses with his own clients after 25 years in industrial trade and years embedded in Chinese factories in Shanghai. It works for buyers only — never the factory — so there is no vendor agenda. When a question is high-stakes, it hands you to Cengiz directly.
Want the human? Message Cengiz on WhatsApp or get the free weekly briefing at thefactoryfloorhq.com/subscribe.
The Sourcing Desk is a labelled AI assistant. It gives general guidance from Cengiz's experience, not legal advice. Have a qualified lawyer review any contract, and verify high-stakes suppliers on the ground before you wire funds.