How it works

Every project follows the same thirteen steps.

Viaty guides every sourcing project through a controlled A-Z process, from initial brief to compliant delivery. Thirteen steps the buyer can follow, eight workstreams behind them, control gates with evidence, and human experts when a decision needs judgement.

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The thirteen steps

  1. 1
    Brief
    Buyer tells us what they need
  2. 2
    Define
    Specification, market, quantity, quality and price expectations
  3. 3
    Check
    Compliance, feasibility, risk and commercial viability
  4. 4
    Source
    Find and qualify suitable factories or suppliers
  5. 5
    Quote
    Compare pricing, terms, MOQ, lead time and landed cost
  6. 6
    Sample
    Request, review, revise and approve samples
  7. 7
    Approve
    Lock specification, testing, documents and order details
  8. 8
    Order
    Raise PO, confirm payment and secure production slot
  9. 9
    Produce
    Monitor production, timelines, issues and updates
  10. 10
    Inspect
    QC checks, inspection reports and corrective action
  11. 11
    Ship
    Freight, export docs, import clearance, duty and VAT
  12. 12
    Deliver
    Receipt, proof of delivery, checks and close-out
  13. 13
    Review
    Supplier score, lessons learned and repeat order readiness

Buyer journey

13 steps from brief to compliant delivery

The buyer sees a clear flow, not 456 actions. Every step has its tasks, evidence and a gate; the control points are approved by Viaty.

  1. 1

    Brief intake

    Brief accepted

    Tell us what you need: product, destination markets, quantity, launch date and references. Viaty turns it into a project with a plan for every step that follows.

    Open a project
  2. 2

    Specification builder

    Specification agreed

    Turn the idea into a specification: tech pack, materials, sizes, labelling and packaging, plus a target landed cost and margin, so every quote can be judged on the same basis.

    See the technical file
  3. 3

    Compliance and feasibility

    Feasibility and compliance route confirmed

    Before anyone quotes: which regulations, tests and labels apply in each market, whether the product is restricted, and whether the numbers work. An expert can confirm the route.

    Compliance and feasibility
  4. 4

    Supplier search

    Suppliers qualified

    Find factories by their 4C profile, then qualify them: licence, audit, sanctions and capacity checks filter out unsuitable options before the RFQ goes out.

    Browse the factory directory
  5. 5

    RFQ and quote comparison

    Quote accepted and supplier selected

    Send one RFQ with the complete brief, compare quotes on the same incoterm and basis, run landed cost and margin, and select the supplier.

    How buyers compare quotes
  6. 6

    Viaty approves

    Sample approved

    Request, review, revise and approve samples. The approved pre-production sample and the sealed golden sample become the reference for production and inspection.

    Sampling on Viaty
  7. 7

    Locked until approved

    Specification locked and pre-production approved

    Lock the specification, complete testing and compliance documents and confirm the order details. This is a Viaty control point: no order can be confirmed before it is approved.

    Control gates and evidence
  8. 8

    Viaty approves

    Order placed and payment confirmed

    Raise the purchase order to match the accepted quote, confirm contract and payment terms, pay the deposit and secure the production slot.

    Orders and payments
  9. 9

    Production critical path

    Production complete

    Production plan received, materials booked, weekly progress with photos, and every issue logged with a recovery plan and revised dates.

    Production control
  10. 10

    Locked until approved

    Inspection passed

    Pre-shipment inspection at the agreed AQL, corrective actions closed and final production release. No shipment is booked without a passed inspection.

    Inspection partners
  11. 11

    Locked until approved

    Shipment dispatched and cleared

    Freight booked, export documents issued, bill of lading or air waybill received, customs cleared and duty and VAT accounted for.

    Freight and customs partners
  12. 12

    Locked until approved

    Delivered and closed out

    Proof of delivery, goods checked against the order, balance paid and the technical file archived. Delivery cannot be signed off before the shipment step is approved.

    Delivery and close-out
  13. 13

    Review and repeat order

    Reviewed and repeat-ready

    Score the supplier, record lessons learned and confirm the repeat pack. The next order starts at the purchase order, not at the brief.

    Repeat orders
Product tour

See a project run through all thirteen steps

A brief becomes a specification, a shortlist, a compared quote, an approved sample, an order, an inspected shipment and a delivered, documented product. The same path every time, with Viaty holding the control points.

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Example project · step 6 of 13

Step 6 · Sample

Viaty control point

Request, review, revise and approve samples

  • Pre-production sample requestedEvidence attached
  • Sample tested against the specificationIn progress
AI checks the task, a person decides

Buyer, factory and partners work in the same project

One thread and one technical file. Each party sees the tasks and documents that are theirs.

A senior designer and a colleague reviewing a printed fabric sample against sketches

The buyer

Writes the brief, compares quotes, approves the sample and signs off delivery.

A machinist sewing at an industrial machine in a busy workshop

The factory

Sees only its side of the tasks: quotes, samples, production, inspection and shipping.

Two warehouse staff walking an aisle of stocked shelves

Testing, inspection and freight partners

See the sections of the technical file they need, and message everyone in the same thread.

The engine underneath

8 workstreams, 35 sections, one checklist

The buyer sees the 13 steps. Underneath, the detailed purchasing checklist sits as tasks, approvals, evidence requests and prompts, grouped into eight workstreams.

Workstream 1

Brief and product definition

Capture the need, shape the product and test whether the project is worth pursuing.

  • Initial buyer brief
  • Product specification
  • Commercial feasibility check
Workstream 2

Risk and compliance

Prevent product, market, documentation and claim risks before commitment.

  • Compliance pre-check
  • Compliance documentation collection
  • Testing and approval
  • Final specification lock
Workstream 3

Supplier sourcing

Find credible suppliers and filter out unsuitable options before RFQ.

  • Sourcing strategy
  • Supplier identification
  • Supplier pre-qualification
  • Supplier selection
Workstream 4

Quotation and order setup

Control commercial comparison, ordering and payment obligations.

  • Request for quotation
  • Quote comparison
  • Purchase order
  • Contract / payment confirmation
Workstream 5

Sampling and approval

Use samples to prove the product before production is committed.

  • Sample request
  • Sample review
  • Sample revision
  • Pre-production approval
Workstream 6

Production control

Control production progress, quality checkpoints and final approval.

  • Production planning
  • Production monitoring
  • Quality control planning
  • Inspection and QC
  • Final production approval
Workstream 7

Freight and import

Manage shipment, documentation, customs, duty, VAT and final-mile movement.

  • Freight and logistics planning
  • Export documentation
  • Shipment booking
  • Goods dispatch
  • Import / customs clearance
Workstream 8

Delivery and close-out

Close the project properly, capture evidence and prepare for repeat orders.

  • Final delivery planning
  • Delivery
  • Post-delivery checks
  • Financial close
  • Documentation archive
  • Review and repeat order readiness
Two inspectors checking fabric against a checklist

Control gates

Nothing moves without the approvals and evidence

No project moves from sample to order, production to shipment, or shipment to delivery until Viaty approves the step with the required evidence on file. The buyer can complete the other steps themselves.

  1. 7

    Specification locked and pre-production approvedLocked

    No order before step 7 is approved

  2. 10

    Inspection passedLocked

    No shipment before step 10 and a passed inspection

  3. 11

    Shipment dispatched and clearedLocked

    No delivery sign-off before step 11 is approved

  4. 12

    Delivered and closed outLocked

    No close-out without proof of delivery

Every task carries the same eight fields

So each project has a clear audit trail, and a completed project becomes a reusable specification, an approved supplier and a documented pack for the repeat order.

Step
One of the 13 steps.
Workstream
One of the 8 operational workstreams.
Owner
Buyer, Viaty, supplier, testing house, freight forwarder or finance.
Visibility
Buyer-facing, supplier-facing or internal to Viaty.
Priority
Mandatory checks block their step; optional and project-specific ones do not.
Status
Not started, in progress, complete, blocked, not applicable or requires review.
Evidence
Documents, approvals, reports, photos, certificates or proof of delivery.
Risk and dates
Compliance, quality, timing, cost, supplier or logistics risk, with due and completion dates.

Platform automation

AI does the checking. People make the calls.

Matching, checklists, documents and costings run in the background, and every change the AI makes is explained and logged.

13

Steps from brief to compliant delivery

8

Workstreams across 35 sections

7

Technical file sections

7

Kinds of expert review

Factory matching

Brief to 4C profile

Your brief is matched against factory profiles on capability, compliance, communication and commercial fit (category, certifications, MOQ, lead time and target markets), so the shortlist explains itself.

Scored on all four Cs

Virtual technical file

One file per project

Specs, drawings, size charts, materials, packaging, test reports, declarations, inspection and shipping documents: versioned, organised by section and exportable as one pack.

Missing documents flagged per section

AI-checked touchpoints

The checks that go wrong

AI builds a checklist for your product and markets across all 13 steps, checks it against the documents you upload, and explains every change it makes.

Mandatory tasks gate each step

Landed cost and margin

Know the real price

Freight, duty, customs, handling and FX added to the factory price, with your margin at a target selling price, and scenarios to compare routes and Incoterms.

Margin before you commit

Partners in the workflow

Testing, inspection, freight

Bring testing houses, inspectors and forwarders into the project. They see the sections of the technical file they need and message everyone in one thread.

One thread for buyer, factory and partners

Project assistant and experts

AI speed, human judgement

Ask the assistant to update touchpoints, run a check or record a decision. When a decision needs judgement, request a human expert review; the answer is logged in your technical file.

Every AI change is audited

Integrations

Open by design

Everything the portal does is available to your own tools and AI agents through the same guarded API, and every project message reaches people in their inbox.

  • REST API and OpenAPI 3.1
  • MCP server for AI agents
  • Scoped API keys
  • Signed webhooks
  • Email and WhatsApp threads
  • Technical file export

Run your next sourcing project on Viaty

Start free: open a project at step 1, add your brief and let the flow show you what comes next.

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