China Supply Chain Coordinator

Role

China-based Supply Chain Coordinator working with an 8-figure DTC brand scaling aggressively into Q4 2026. Reports to our Supply Chain Lead (based in Europe). This person is our on-the-ground representative in China — the bridge between our business and our factories.

This is not a QC inspector role. QC can be outsourced through agencies as volume requires. This role is about supply chain coordination, factory relationship management, production oversight, and quality standard enforcement — not daily inspection of every drum.

About the Company

We are a fast-growing consumer hardware brand selling musical instruments globally, operating primarily through DTC (Shopify) and Amazon. Q4 represents the majority of our annual revenue. We're a 4 year old company, the biggest seller in the world of steel tongue drums, growing at a 3-5x year-over-year pace.

Current production scale:

• 4 active factories in China producing steel tongue drums in 3 sizes (6", 10", 14")

• Year-round production cycle with heavy ramp April–October for Q4 holiday

Factory network:

• Factory 1 (Guangdong) — main factory, best quality, only factory approved for Amazon

• Factory 2 (Wenzhou) — secondary factory, operational, expanding allocation

• Factory 3 (Guangdong) — newer factory, quality ramp-up in progress

• Factory 4 (Shandong) — newest factory, molds completed, ramping

What This Person Actually Does

1. Factory relationship management

• Primary point of contact for all factories on day-to-day execution

• Conducts regular factory visits (physical presence on factory floors)

• Builds direct relationships with factory production leads and owners

• Translates operational requirements between our Supply Chain Lead and Chinese factories

2. Production oversight and quality standard enforcement

• Monitors production progress against agreed timelines

• Enforces our quality standards — doesn't do inspection themselves (that's outsourced to QC agencies when needed), but defines what QC agencies should check for, reviews their reports, and escalates issues

• Investigates quality incidents, identifies root causes, drives corrective action plans with factories

• Maintains and evolves our quality acceptance criteria across sound quality, paint/finish, packaging, and accessories

3. Supply chain coordination

• Tracks PO status from factories through shipping to intermediary warehouse

• Coordinates container loading and inbound logistics

• Manages accessory sourcing logistics (drum bags, mallets, music books, etc.)

• Flags delays, capacity constraints, or supply issues before they become crises

4. Commercial discipline and cost validation

• Validates pricing on POs against contracted rates

• Supports negotiation of new pricing, payment terms, MOQs with factory owners

• Flags anomalies in invoicing proactively — not reactively

5. New product development support

• Coordinates sample requests, prototype iterations, and new SKU launches across factories

• Works with our product team on packaging, accessory specifications, and product improvements

Talent Profile We're Looking For

Industry background:

• Consumer hardware manufacturing experience is essential — Anker, DJI, JBL, Sonos, Bose, Harman, Xiaomi hardware ecosystem, Yamaha/Roland/similar musical instrument brands, or similar consumer goods with physical product QC depth

Experience level:

• 5–8 years in factory-facing roles: supply chain, vendor management, supplier quality, sourcing, or procurement

• Has personally spent significant time on factory floors (not exclusively office-based)

• Has managed multiple factory relationships simultaneously (not single-factory specialist)

• Has dealt with production ramps, quality escalations, capacity constraints in past roles

Location:

• Guangdong province preferred (Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou)

• Must be willing and able to travel regularly across factories

• Not based outside China

Language:

• Native Mandarin

• Working professional English (written and spoken) — can handle email, Slack, and video calls with our international team independently

• English proficiency is non-negotiable — this role is the communication bridge between our factories and our HQ

Skills and mindset:

• Commercial awareness — understands that our factories have profit motives that don't always align with ours, and can spot it

• Systems thinking — can see the end-to-end supply chain, not just task-level execution

• Logical problem-solving — can trace issues to root cause, not just report symptoms

• Direct communicator — comfortable pushing back on factories when needed, but diplomatic

• Pattern recognition — spots anomalies in data, pricing, or communication that others miss

• Execution orientation — moves fast on factory issues, doesn't wait for permission on routine problems

Cultural/fit signals we prioritize:

• Proactive rather than reactive — flags problems before being asked

• Writes and communicates with clarity and brevity

• Strong professional reputation (we'll verify references)

Significant factory travel, fully paid (flights + hotels). You'll be on the road regularly during peak

• You'll also organize and host visits for our team in China, 2-4 times a year

• Flexible schedule and work-from-home base between trips — how and when you work is up to you, as long as it ships

Who you'll work with:

• A young, hungry team building the category leader

• Colleagues from all over the world — you'll meet and work with people across the globe