Exceptions

Agreed before anything goes wrong, not during.

Every one of these is a normal week in purchasing. The difference between a manageable week and an expensive one is whether the response was decided in advance.

Ref

When this happens

What we do

Who decides

EX-01

Supplier misses the ship date

We get the revised date in writing with the reason, and check it against the booking. If the new date breaks your season, we say so the same day rather than at the next weekly update.

You decide: wait, part-ship, or cancel

EX-02

Inspection finds defects above the agreed limit

Shipment holds. You get the findings, the photographs, and the supplier’s explanation, unedited — including when the explanation is unconvincing.

You decide: rework, discount, or reject

EX-03

Supplier asks for a price increase mid-order

We ask what changed and check it against the original quote and the raw material trend. Sometimes it is legitimate. Often it is not, and we say which we think it is.

You decide: absorb, renegotiate, or move

EX-04

Quantity delivered does not match the invoice

Reconciled against packing lists and inspection counts before payment is released, not after. Discrepancies go back to the supplier with the count evidence attached.

We resolve; you see the trail

EX-05

Supplier stops responding

Escalation path agreed at onboarding, so there is a second contact and a deadline rather than a week of unanswered emails. If it stays silent, we tell you it is silent.

You decide when to switch

The last column is the one that matters. Most purchasing disputes are not about what went wrong — they are about nobody having agreed who gets to decide what happens next.

Why the "who decides" column exists

Most purchasing disputes are not really about the defect or the delay. They are about someone having made a call they were not authorised to make, or nobody having made one at all while the container sat.

Things we decide

Operational calls with no commercial consequence to you: which day the inspection happens, how a count discrepancy is evidenced, when to escalate to a second contact.

Things you decide

Anything that costs money or changes what you receive: accepting a revised date, approving a discount instead of rework, absorbing a price increase, switching supplier. We give you a recommendation and the reasoning. The call is yours.

Things nobody should decide alone

Quality limits and payment terms belong in writing before the first order. If they are still being negotiated when a problem appears, the problem gets solved by whoever is more stubborn rather than by what was agreed.

None of this is a promise that nothing will go wrong. Ship dates slip and batches fail at every supplier, including good ones. What we commit to is that you find out quickly, with evidence, and with a clear decision in front of you.