For manufacturing owners and purchasing teams
Give your buyers an organized set of answers instead of another inbox to sort. Your assistant can coordinate quote requests, supplier follow-up and purchase order records. Knows The Drill recruits and prepares them for your manufacturing business and agreed responsibilities before handoff.
Find your assistantOne supplier quoted a different quantity. Another left the delivery date open. A third is waiting for a revised specification. Before a buyer can choose, someone needs to gather the replies, identify the differences and make the unanswered questions visible.
Give an assistant the approved request and the fields your purchasing team wants compared. They can maintain that record, chase missing responses and follow the order after approval. Your buyers and technical team retain the decisions about suitability, terms and what gets ordered.
The work to hand off
Using the request package and supplier list approved by your buyer, an assistant can distribute RFQs and log acknowledgments. They can follow up on missing replies and record supplier questions. Changes to specifications, quantities or required dates go back to the person authorized to approve them.
What you get back: An RFQ tracker with acknowledgments, response dates and open questions
Capture the fields your buyer specifies, such as quoted quantity, unit price, lead time and stated exclusions, with a link to each source. Your assistant can flag missing values and differences for review. They do not treat alternative materials or different units as equivalent without your team's direction.
What you get back: A quote comparison with source documents and differences marked for review
Once your buyer approves an order, an assistant can coordinate its administrative follow-up: request acknowledgment, record the supplier's stated dates and track the next update. A change in price, quantity or timing is brought back with the original order and supplier message for a decision.
What you get back: A purchase order follow-up log with acknowledgments and reported changes
Work from your checklist to organize order correspondence, delivery records and supplier documents in the agreed location. An assistant can identify missing files, label versions and prepare the packet your receiving or accounts team requests. Technical discrepancies and document acceptance remain with the responsible specialists.
What you get back: An organized order record with missing documents and review owners
Illustrative workflow
Use this example to define what your assistant prepares for purchasing and where the buyer or technical reviewer needs to decide.
Assistant preparesSend the approved RFQ package to the designated suppliers and record acknowledgments.
Your team decidesSpecifications, quantities, supplier list and the terms of the request.
Assistant preparesCapture quoted fields and source documents; follow up on missing responses or values.
Your team decidesHow to answer technical questions and whether to accept an alternative proposal.
Assistant preparesPresent the requested comparison, highlighting different assumptions, units and stated exclusions.
Your team decidesTechnical equivalence, commercial terms and which supplier to select.
Assistant preparesRecord the approved order, request acknowledgment and log the supplier's stated delivery dates.
Your team decidesPurchase authorization and any change to the approved order.
Assistant preparesBring the message, affected order and previous confirmation to the responsible buyer.
Your team decidesWhether to accept the change, seek another option or revise the production plan.
Illustrative example — not a client record
Use this comparison record to expose a quantity mismatch before the buyer treats a quote as matching the request.
Ready to hand over when: The buyer can see both original units, the missing pack quantity and the source documents, with no assumed conversion presented as a confirmed match.
Download the blank template (CSV)No email required. The file includes field names and guidance, with blank spaces for your own inputs. Use it to describe the work during matching; keep private client information out of an initial inquiry.
Shape the role around the workload
Managed support provides a dedicated, full-time assistant. Direct-hire responsibilities, hours and employment terms are agreed during matching.
An assistant can organize purchasing inputs and keep follow-up moving when your team defines the source records, approval points and escalation contacts. Decisions about the product and the purchase stay with their designated owners.
Recruit. Prepare. Hand over.
First, we discuss your niche and the work you want your assistant to own. Then we recruit and prepare them in depth for the industry and responsibilities agreed with you before handoff. The matching conversation defines the skills, tools and preparation time your role needs.
We assess English fluency, practical problem-solving and independent judgment, so your assistant can work through the next step and recognize when to bring you in.
A dedicated, full-time assistant through our service, with ongoing support from our team. One monthly fee.
Explore managed supportWe recruit and train an assistant for you to hire directly into your team. You manage the day-to-day. One placement fee.
Explore direct hiringThe examples on these pages are a starting point. Bring the broader range of work you want covered to the matching call. We agree responsibilities, preparation time, working hours, fees and terms before you start.
Show us where supplier replies, missing details and order updates pile up. We will help define an assistant role around the records and follow-up your purchasing team needs.
Explore other ways to organize the work around your team.
