AI hardware manufacturing, from working prototype to shipped units
For AI and connected-device founders with a working prototype and no manufacturing team. We take your device from CAD to finished, inspected and packed units, made in China and Vietnam. You get one accountable partner and a go/no-go decision before each big spend, so you don't burn investor or backer money finding out too late that the product can't be built. Promised backers a delivery date? See our Fast-Track programme (/fast-track).
A finished-looking design isn't a buildable one
A design can look finished in CAD and still fail at the factory. Walls too thin to mould, tolerances that stack up, connectors you can't get at volume. Most founders find out after the tooling is paid for.
- 01
You're a software team
Dealing directly with an overseas factory feels like rocket science: different time zones, different assumptions, a dozen suppliers each telling you something different.
- 02
The risk isn't the factory's skill
Factories in China can make your part well. What's missing is knowing who is actually making it, and someone accountable when it goes wrong.
- 03
We translate expectations, not just language
We turn how you specify a product into how a factory owner plans the work, then check the result on the floor.
Five steps, with a go/no-go before each big spend
We plan backwards from your launch date, including Chinese New Year and Golden Week, which can take weeks out of a schedule.
01 Engineering review
we check your CAD and BOM for manufacturability before any tool is cut: wall thickness, draft angles, tolerances, part availability. You get a per-unit cost and lead time. Gate 1: go or stop.
02 Multi-supplier sourcing
we find a supplier for every component and confirm each is the actual manufacturer, not a trading company.
03 Tooling and samples
moulds, custom parts and first-article sign-off. Gate 2: you approve the sample, or we fix it before production.
04 Assembly and QC
line set-up, in-process checks and final inspection against the approved sample. Gate 3: the batch ships only when it matches.
05 Logistics
protective packaging, customs documents and delivery to the US, UK or EU. Warehousing, inventory and fulfilment if you need them.
Built by specialists in China. Shipped to you.
1M+ products shippedIn Asia since 2006Offices in Stockholm, Ningbo and Seattle
A connected device is 200+ parts. We manage all of them.
PCBs, sensors, batteries, housings and connectors, each from a checked supplier, built into one device. You talk to one contact, not a dozen suppliers, a forwarder and an inspector. Starting from a reference product rather than from scratch? See OEM, ODM and white-label.
- 01
Plastic injection moulding
Housings and covers reviewed for mouldability before the tool is made, so you pay for the tool once.
- 02
Die casting, forging, stamping, extrusion
Your frames, brackets and heat sinks made by the process that fits your volume, so pilot units don't carry mass-production tooling costs.
- 03
Electronics and components
PCB assemblies, sensors and batteries inspected before assembly, so a bad board is caught before it's inside your housing.
- 04
Final assembly and test
Jigs, in-process checks and final inspection, so your first batch matches the sample you signed off.
- 05
Packaging and freight
Packaging designed for transit, so a well-made device doesn't arrive damaged at your customer's door.
Case: prototype to 5,000 units shipped
200+ components · 18 suppliers · assembly line set up from scratch · QC and logistics managed · 5,000 units shipped
Another build: 148 components, 72 suppliers, 6 countries and a full assembly line built from scratch, delivered on time with one point of contact.
The starting point
A working prototype and a launch date. No manufacturing team, no production line.
What made it hard
18 suppliers, 18 lead times, one launch date. One late part stops the whole line, and the line didn't exist yet.
How we ran it, stage by stage
BOM review, then 18 suppliers sourced and checked, samples signed off, and the line built with in-process checks and final inspection.
The result
5,000 units built, inspected and shipped, with one point of contact for the founder throughout.
Know who makes your product, and keep your design yours
- 01
NDA before files
We sign an NDA on every project and contract through entities in Sweden, the US and China, so you have recourse if something goes wrong.
- 02
Eyes on your line
Bilingual delivery managers based in Ningbo visit factories in person. Your updates come from someone who has seen the line.
- 03
The real factory, not a middleman
Before you order, you'll know the site is the actual manufacturer, with the staff, machines and process control your build needs.
Many parts, many suppliers, a fixed date? That's when we're worth it
Versus going direct
You'd manage every supplier, forwarder and inspector yourself, across time zones, while trying to sell the product.
Versus a freelance agent
One person with one order has little pull. We run several projects across China, Vietnam and India, which gives us leverage when a schedule slips.
When you don't need us
One simple part from one supplier? A partner only adds cost. We'll say so, and the same if your current supplier is working.
Know the cost, risk and timeline before you spend
Sourcing Allies takes a prototype to production in five steps: engineering review of your CAD and BOM, multi-supplier sourcing, tooling and samples, assembly and QC, then logistics. You decide go or no-go at three points: after the quote, after sample approval and before production release. You know the cost and feasibility before committing tooling or investor money.
Yes. Sourcing Allies manufactures AI hardware and connected devices through its network in China, Vietnam and India. We source PCBs, sensors, batteries, housings and connectors, handle injection moulding, die casting, stamping and extrusion, and run final assembly and inspection. Bilingual delivery managers in Ningbo visit the factories in person.
Yes, that's what the Sourcing Allies Fast-Track programme is for, and we have shipped crowdfunded projects on time. We plan component lead times, tooling and factory holidays such as Chinese New Year and Golden Week backwards from the date you promised, with one accountable contact on the factory floor. See /fast-track.
Sourcing Allies signs an NDA on every project before any files are shared. We contract through legal entities in Sweden, the US and China, so you have legal recourse in each, and we limit file access to the people who need it.
Sourcing Allies checks in person before any order is placed. Our Ningbo-based delivery managers visit the site and look at staff size, machines, working conditions, worker safety, process control and management structure, so you know who is actually making your product.
It depends on your parts and tooling, and Sourcing Allies quotes it for your device at the first stage. We have taken a connected product from prototype to 5,000 units shipped, and we plan the first run so you validate demand and the process before scaling.
Sourcing Allies plans certification into the build rather than after it. Share your target markets in the US, UK or EU and we confirm what your device needs, then schedule testing before production, so it's built to pass instead of redesigned after it fails.
Sourcing Allies gives you a per-unit cost and lead time before production, which you can show investors. Our fee is built into that unit price, with no upfront retainer or hourly fee. You decide whether to go ahead at each stage, so you don't commit to tooling before the numbers work.
What goes into a hardware device
Bring your prototype. Leave with a plan.
Send your CAD and BOM, or just the prototype and a date. In the first meeting we cover what it takes to build at volume, the risks we see and what your first go/no-go looks like. NDA signed first.
A drawing, a sketch or a paragraph is enough to start.