Commercial brief
Northline Performance supplied athletic footwear to distributors in Gulf markets. Its heavy reliance on a single production base had become a commercial risk: a capacity constraint or delayed delivery could affect several markets at once. The board chose to develop a second manufacturing base in Vietnam.
Northline appointed EMARAS to manage the transition from supplier search to an executable export programme. A low quotation per pair was insufficient. The selected manufacturers had to reproduce the approved product, size curve, packaging and delivery discipline already promised to customers. Tan Cang Cai Mep International Terminal was the outbound maritime gateway.
EMARAS mandate and execution
Manufacturer selection. EMARAS evaluated five producers against dependable capacity, technical execution, material control, multi-model order management and delivery performance. Two were selected for pilot orders. The evaluation considered rework, shortage and delay exposure alongside the quoted unit price.
Technical product files. For 54 product variants, EMARAS established approved specifications covering materials, colour, size grading, stitching, outsole, labelling and packaging. Changes to material or construction required approval before entering volume production.
Pilots before volume commitment. Pilot manufacturing proceeded through sample approval, first-run inspection and readiness assessment. Size differences in two models and a colour inconsistency in one group of packages were identified and corrected before the main orders were placed.
Materials and capacity visibility. Upper materials, outsoles, insoles and packaging supplies were tracked against the factory production plan. Northline could identify where a delay began and whether an order could move to the second approved manufacturer.
Size-curve and export control. Orders were reconciled at the model, colour and size level, so an aggregate pair count could not conceal a shortage in a high-demand size. Production release, carton completion, quality sign-off, document matching and terminal handover formed successive export gates.
Contract allocation
| Workstream | USD |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer assessment and selection | 32,000 |
| Technical files and product standards | 41,000 |
| Pilot production management | 28,000 |
| Order and size-curve controls | 37,000 |
| Material and capacity monitoring | 26,000 |
| Cai Mep export programme | 24,000 |
| Dashboard and process transfer | 20,000 |
| Total contract value | 208,000 |
Strategic outcome
Northline gained two Vietnamese manufacturers that had completed pilot production against one approved technical specification. The additional sourcing route gave the company more options for managing demand and capacity while maintaining customer delivery commitments.
Operational illustration · created for this project profile