Our Founder
Mark Palfreeman has been travelling to India consistently for twenty years, even settling with his family in Delhi for a span of that time. Mark began procurement from South Asia upon returning to the US and served as the India sourcing lead for well known US retailers. In 2013, Mark achieved CSCP certification by the American Production and Inventory Control Society. Mark serves as the US liaison and oversees the activities of personnel working abroad.
Cultural Diversity in Supply Chains
At AISG, we recognize the challenges that can arise when managing supply chains across different cultures. We understand that cultural differences in perspectives on Time, Commitment, Quality, Communication, and Relationship can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunications. That’s why we offer a solution.
Ensuring Your Standards
Relationships matter. This is true in any culture, but especially in India.
No matter how ‘global’ the economy becomes or how comfortable everyone is with virtual reality, you can’t share a meal with your factory partner on a video call. And sometimes, that’s exactly what’s needed to move your business forward.
From the other side of the world, maintaining close relationships with your foreign suppliers can be arduous and time consuming. AISG will build deep, trustworthy relationships throughout your supply chain by representing you in India
We want to be an extension of your vision, brand, goals, and professionalism so that you can have peace of mind knowing that things will get done the way you need. We’ll help you find, trust, and enjoy relationships with manufacturers that fit your brand so that you can avoid all the potential landmines of sourcing in India.
Your reputation overseas matters, so every cost associated with securing a healthy supply chain is worth it. Let us provide the extra face-time and accountability (and meals) you’ve always wanted with your manufacturing partners.
While everyone wants a quality product at an incredible price point, no one wants to achieve that feat by taking advantage of others. AISG is highly aware of this issue when sourcing products overseas. Creating a fair and safe environment for factory workers is one of the most compelling reasons as to why AISG exists. The on-boarding process for any potential AISG endorsed factory includes a baseline evaluation of the most common social compliance failures. For a factory to be in partnership with AISG, they must comply with these standards. Our team is involved both in accountability and in helping develop strategies to improve a factory environment that is struggling to meet buyer expectations. Focus is given to the safety of the work area provided, and specifically, to the mitigation of fire risks. Laborer age requirements, appropriate pay, and limitation of work hours are also included in this evaluation. It is critically important that any subcontractors are known as well, in order to accurately understand the operation from beginning to end. By taking the welfare of each person seriously, AISG believes that a better product is possible, and that supply chain activities can become a vehicle for good in our world.
Thinking
Cultures think and communicate differently. Neither is ‘right’ or ‘wrong,’ only different. We learn the beautiful intricacies of Indian culture so that you (and your suppliers) can minimize both error and effort. We want to you to spend more time dreaming about new products, planning for growth, and spending time with your family.
Inspection
With Americans checking
your products you can
have confidence that
this sourcing agent will:
1. Understand your customers
2. See products how you would
3. Ask the questions you would ask on the production floor.
We do the real-time critical thinking for you and work toward solutions before you even wake up in the West.
Check Boxes
If you simply need someone to ‘check boxes’ for you (no pun intended), you can always save some money by hiring a local inspection team. However, you also risk making up for it through long video calls, extra trips to India, and maybe even unsellable goods taking up space in your warehouse. Dual-culture sourcing agents are the invaluable, proactive solution.
Communication
We go a step deeper than knowing the actual languages of both buyer and supplier by striving to understand the things that ‘go without saying’ in either culture. If you’ve already been working internationally, you know that these ‘small things’ are the sparks to the forest fires of misunderstanding and relational breakdown.
While everyone wants a quality product at an incredible price point, no one wants to achieve that feat by taking advantage of others. AISG is highly aware of this issue when sourcing products overseas. Creating a fair and safe environment for factory workers is one of the most compelling reasons as to why AISG exists. The on-boarding process for any potential AISG endorsed factory includes a baseline evaluation of the most common social compliance failures. For a factory to be in partnership with AISG, they must comply with these standards. Our team is involved both in accountability and in helping develop strategies to improve a factory environment that is struggling to meet buyer expectations. Focus is given to the safety of the work area provided, and specifically, to the mitigation of fire risks. Laborer age requirements, appropriate pay, and limitation of work hours are also included in this evaluation. By taking the welfare of each person seriously, AISG believes that a better product is possible, and that supply chain activities can become a vehicle for good in our world.
