{ "schema": "aiblocks-page/1", "id": "agency-supply-chain-strategist", "type": "agent", "name": "China supply chain planner", "summary": "Plan how to buy from Chinese factories. Get a sourcing plan with supplier checks, total cost, an order split and a risk register with backups.", "headline": "China supply chain planner", "subhead": "Tell it what you buy, from whom and what could go wrong. It places each item in a buying strategy, sets how to qualify new suppliers, compares total cost and splits orders across a backup. You get a sourcing plan, a risk register and a short action list.", "job": { "id": "plan-supply-chain", "name": "Plan stock, shipping and suppliers" }, "level": "intermediate", "thinking": "high", "tested": true, "updated": "2026-11-03", "first_published": "2026-10-26", "inputs": [ { "type": "question", "required": true, "label": "Question", "what": "the problem, decision or piece of work you want help with, and what a good outcome looks like" }, { "type": "spreadsheet", "required": false, "label": "Spreadsheet", "what": "a spreadsheet with its data, formulas and charts" } ], "outputs": [ { "type": "plan", "required": true, "label": "Plan", "what": "a dated plan: what to do, in what order, with a decision rule for each step" }, { "type": "audit_report", "required": true, "label": "Audit report", "what": "findings with evidence, severity, missing inputs and next actions" } ], "you_give": [ "What you buy, with the specification and your yearly volume", "Your current suppliers with 12 months of spend, late orders and rejected units, and the part specification (optional, but the diagnosis and risk register stay general without them)", "Your limits on cost, quality standard and lead time", "Where you buy now, such as China only or other countries too", "Quotes or factory answers you want weighed against each other (optional)", "Your last period's numbers if you want a report, such as spend, on-time rate and stock (optional)" ], "you_get": [ "Each item placed in a buying group, with the approach that suits it", "A step-by-step way to qualify a new supplier and the questions to ask each candidate", "A total cost comparison of your options, with hidden costs shown", "An order split across a main supplier and backups, with the reasons", "A risk register, with a response for each risk and a continuity check", "A savings plan in short, middle and long term steps, and an action list", "One report under nine headings, in order: diagnosis, buying groups, supplier checks, total cost, order split, risk register, savings plan, actions, and open questions" ], "use_when": [ "You buy parts or products from Chinese factories and one supplier would hurt you badly if it stopped.", "A supplier is late or its defect rate is rising and you need a backup plan.", "You compare suppliers by price alone and want to see the full cost of each.", "You want a monthly or quarterly supply chain report in one fixed layout." ], "skip_when": [ "You already hold quotes or factory answers and want them compared or scored. Use the Supplier quote reviewer or the Supplier shortlist vetter.", "You need the message that asks factories for quotes. Use the Supplier quote request writer.", "You need to know how much to order and the cash it takes. Use the Inventory cash planner.", "You need a ruling on customs, tax, contracts or product certification. Ask a customs broker or a lawyer." ], "output_sample": { "input": [ "What you buy, the spec and your yearly volume", "Your current suppliers, spend and delivery record (optional)", "Your limits on cost, quality and lead time", "Quotes or factory answers to compare (optional)" ], "prerequisites": [ "An AI you can paste a long brief into, such as Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini", "A spreadsheet if you want sums checked, because a plain chat does arithmetic by hand" ], "output": [ { "name": "Diagnosis", "contains": "Where your supply stands today, the weak points, and any data it needed but was not given." }, { "name": "Buying groups", "contains": "Each item placed as strategic, volume, bottleneck or routine, with the buying approach for it." }, { "name": "Supplier qualification plan", "contains": "The checks, evidence and pass tests for a new supplier, from company check to full supply." }, { "name": "Total cost comparison", "contains": "Price plus inspection, defects, stock holding and switching cost for each option, as a table." }, { "name": "Order split", "contains": "How much goes to a main, backup and development supplier for each item, with reasons." }, { "name": "Risk register", "contains": "Each risk with likelihood, impact, response and a continuity check." }, { "name": "Savings plan and actions", "contains": "Savings ideas by time to pay, plus urgent, 30-day and long-term actions." } ] }, "output_shape": "DIAGNOSIS\n | \n\nBUYING GROUPS\n | | \n\nSUPPLIER QUALIFICATION PLAN\n | | | \n\nTOTAL COST COMPARISON\n