Panda Drum
China Supply Chain Coordinator
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Role
China-based Supply Chain Coordinator working with an 8-figure DTC brand scaling aggressively into Q4 2026. Reports to our Supply Chain Lead (based in Europe). This person is our on-the-ground representative in China — the bridge between our business and our factories.
This is not a QC inspector role. QC can be outsourced through agencies as volume requires. This role is about supply chain coordination, factory relationship management, production oversight, and quality standard enforcement — not daily inspection of every drum.
About the Company
We are a fast-growing consumer hardware brand selling musical instruments globally, operating primarily through DTC (Shopify) and Amazon. Q4 represents the majority of our annual revenue. We're a 4 year old company, the biggest seller in the world of steel tongue drums, growing at a 3-5x year-over-year pace.
Current production scale:
- 4 active factories in China producing steel tongue drums in 3 sizes (6", 10", 14")
- Year-round production cycle with heavy ramp April–October for Q4 holiday
Factory network:
- Factory 1 (Guangdong) — main factory, best quality, only factory approved for Amazon
- Factory 2 (Wenzhou) — secondary factory, operational, expanding allocation
- Factory 3 (Guangdong) — newer factory, quality ramp-up in progress
- Factory 4 (Shandong) — newest factory, molds completed, ramping
What This Person Actually Does
Factory relationship management
- Primary point of contact for all factories on day-to-day execution
- Conducts regular factory visits (physical presence on factory floors)
- Builds direct relationships with factory production leads and owners
- Translates operational requirements between our Supply Chain Lead and Chinese factories
Production oversight and quality standard enforcement
- Monitors production progress against agreed timelines
- Enforces our quality standards — doesn't do inspection themselves (that's outsourced to QC agencies when needed), but defines what QC agencies should check for, reviews their reports, and escalates issues
- Investigates quality incidents, identifies root causes, drives corrective action plans with factories
- Maintains and evolves our quality acceptance criteria across sound quality, paint/finish, packaging, and accessories
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Supply chain coordination
- Tracks PO status from factories through shipping to intermediary warehouse
- Coordinates container loading and inbound logistics
- Manages accessory sourcing logistics (drum bags, mallets, music books, etc.)
- Flags delays, capacity constraints, or supply issues before they become crises
Commercial discipline and cost validation
- Validates pricing on POs against contracted rates
- Supports negotiation of new pricing, payment terms, MOQs with factory owners
- Flags anomalies in invoicing proactively — not reactively
New product development support
- Coordinates sample requests, prototype iterations, and new SKU launches across factories
- Works with our product team on packaging, accessory specifications, and product improvements
Talent Profile We're Looking For
Industry background:
- Consumer hardware manufacturing experience is essential — Anker, DJI, JBL, Sonos, Bose, Harman, Xiaomi hardware ecosystem, Yamaha/Roland/similar musical instrument brands, or similar consumer goods with physical product QC depth
Experience level:
- 5–8 years in factory-facing roles: supply chain, vendor management, supplier quality, sourcing, or procurement
- Has personally spent significant time on factory floors (not exclusively office-based)
- Has managed multiple factory relationships simultaneously (not single-factory specialist)
- Has dealt with production ramps, quality escalations, capacity constraints in past roles
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Location:
- Guangdong province preferred (Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou)
- Must be willing and able to travel regularly across factories
- Not based outside China
Language:
- Native Mandarin
- Working professional English (written and spoken) — can handle email, Slack, and video calls with our international team independently
- English proficiency is non-negotiable — this role is the communication bridge between our factories and our HQ
Skills and mindset:
- Commercial awareness — understands that our factories have profit motives that don't always align with ours, and can spot it
- Systems thinking — can see the end-to-end supply chain, not just task-level execution
- Logical problem-solving — can trace issues to root cause, not just report symptoms
- Direct communicator — comfortable pushing back on factories when needed, but diplomatic
- Pattern recognition — spots anomalies in data, pricing, or communication that others miss
- Execution orientation — moves fast on factory issues, doesn't wait for permission on routine problems
Cultural/fit signals we prioritize:
- Proactive rather than reactive — flags problems before being asked
- Writes and communicates with clarity and brevity
- Strong professional reputation (we'll verify references)
- Significant factory travel, fully paid (flights + hotels). You'll be on the road regularly during peak
- You'll also organize and host visits for our team in China, 2-4 times a year
- Flexible schedule and work-from-home base between trips — how and when you work is up to you, as long as it ships
Who you'll work with:
- A young, hungry team building the category leader
- Colleagues from all over the world — you'll meet and work with people across the globe
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