Outsauced! Hiring a Sourcing Manager in China for a Spanish Food and Beverage Company

How a nutrition-focused Food & Beverage company leveraged The China Desk, Kinyu's supply chain–focused Employer of Record service, to hire and manage their team on the ground in China — resulting in faster lead times, better supplier relations, and complete visibility into their ingredient supply chain.

$8-10M

Annual Spend from China

Faster

Lead Times

Upstream

Supply Chain Visibility

Pre-Ship

Quality Assurance

The Challenge

Before partnering with The China Desk, our client faced significant obstacles in managing their China-based supply chain from Spain. With an annual procurement volume of $8-10 million in food ingredients and nutritional products, effective quality control and supplier oversight were critical — yet difficult to achieve from thousands of miles away.

No Coherent Quality Control Strategy

Without a structured approach to quality assurance in China, the client struggled to maintain consistent product standards and catch defects before shipment.

Remote Supplier Management

Managing supplier relationships from Spain created communication delays, misunderstandings, and an inability to build the trust necessary for long-term partnerships.

Cultural & Language Barriers

Miscommunication with Chinese suppliers led to errors, delays, and frustration on both sides, hampering negotiations and operational efficiency.

Limited Supply Chain Visibility

The client lacked clarity on their upstream supply chain, making it difficult to verify ingredient origins and ensure compliance with nutritional standards.

Positions Hired

Sourcing Specialist

Guangzhou

Responsible for managing suppliers across China and Southeast Asia, leading cost negotiations, securing optimal purchase conditions and terms, and ensuring quality standards are met throughout the supply chain.

Bespoke Support from Kinyu

Beyond recruitment and payroll, Kinyu’s General Manager function provided comprehensive, tailored support to ensure operational excellence:

Sample Logistics Setup

The Sourcing Specialist uses Kinyu’s office facilities to review samples before sending them to head office in Spain — eliminating reliance on suppliers for small parcel shipments.

China Vendor Payments

Kinyu manages payments to the client’s smaller vendors, consolidating them into a single invoice for a smoother, more efficient finance operation.

Quality Control Process Development

Kinyu connected the client with multiple inspection agencies and coordinates the inspection plan on their behalf, ensuring consistent quality standards.

Office Infrastructure

Fully equipped workspace with facilities for sample storage, review, and coordination.

Results & Impact

Reduced Sourcing Costs

Strategic negotiations and on-the-ground market knowledge have driven significant cost savings across the supplier base.

Faster Lead Times

Proactive vendor management and direct communication have cut lead times, enabling more responsive supply chain operations.

Quality Assurance

Defects are now caught in China before shipment to Europe, dramatically reducing costly returns and customer complaints.

Supply Chain Visibility

The client now has complete transparency into their upstream supply chain, with confidence in ingredient origins and supplier compliance.

Ben and his team are very professional and also really close to us, which means a smooth relationship.

Client Testimonial

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