AI rack pilot sourcing sprint

Supplier Discovery

1Intake 2BOM 3Discovery 4RFQ 5Outreach 6Responses 7Quotes 8Risk 9QC Plan 10Report

Step 1

120

raw candidates discovered

Step 2

68

candidates deduped

Step 3

45

candidates scored

Step 4

15

suppliers contacted

Step 5

7

suppliers responded

Step 6

4

quotes received

Step 7

2

suppliers shortlisted

Step 8

1

supplier selected

China

Fast cost-speed option

Tariff/import review

Taiwan

Best thermal quality option

Medium cost and capacity check

Mexico

Nearshore backup

Supplier depth validation

United States

Fast domestic validation

Higher unit cost

Search taxonomy

Supplier-searchable manufacturing profile

Processes

sheet metalCNCbrazingpressure testing

Materials

cold rolled steelaluminumstainless steel

Certifications

ISO 9001RoHS

Local-language terms

液冷歧管servidor rack enfriamientogia cong CNC nhomrack sheet metal fabrication

Pearl River Rack Systems

China · rack frame, perforated doors

86/100

Evidence

rack frame · perforated doors · powder coating · assembly

Risks

region mediumtariff high

Taichung Thermal Systems

Taiwan · cold plates, manifolds

80/100

Evidence

cold plates · manifolds · leak testing · CNC aluminum

Risks

region mediumtariff medium

Ohio Rapid Sheet Metal

United States · sheet metal, rack prototype

76/100

Evidence

sheet metal · rack prototype · powder coating · short-run assembly

Risks

region lowtariff low

Sourcing Brief Agent

Convert intake data into a structured sourcing brief.

86%

Assumptions

- CAD geometry is not parsed in the MVP.
- Preferred regions are used as ranking hints.

Missing info

- Certification requirements by market
- Unacceptable supplier criteria
- IP sensitivity level

Recommended next action

Ask missing intake questions, then run Manufacturing Taxonomy Agent.

Manufacturing Taxonomy Agent

Infer manufacturing processes, materials, regions, and supplier filters.

82%

Assumptions

- Material and process taxonomy comes from normalized BOM rows.

Missing info

- Exact tolerance stack
- Region-specific compliance constraints

Recommended next action

Generate channel-specific search terms and import candidate suppliers.

Supplier Discovery Agent

Find corresponding suppliers across relevant supplier channels.

78%

Assumptions

- Operator imports candidates in MVP.
- No scraping or automated marketplace messaging yet.

Missing info

- Imported candidate CSV
- Source URLs
- Factory evidence

Recommended next action

Import candidate list, dedupe, then run Supplier Verification Agent.

Outreach Agent

Create controlled first-touch outreach without over-sharing sensitive IP.

80%

Assumptions

- First outreach should avoid customer name and full CAD unless shortlisted.

Missing info

- Supplier contact method
- NDA requirement
- Exact RFQ attachment list

Recommended next action

Generate supplier-specific messages for the top 20 candidates.

Supplier	Country/Region	Source	Evidence summary	Factory evidence	Certification evidence	Region risk	Contact status	Next action
Pearl River Rack Systems	China	Alibaba Verified Suppliers, Made-in-China	rack frame, perforated doors, powder coating, assembly	positive factory signal	ISO 9001, RoHS	medium	ready to contact	Generate controlled first-touch RFQ
Taichung Thermal Systems	Taiwan	Taiwantrade / TAITRA, Global Sources	cold plates, manifolds, leak testing, CNC aluminum, thermal validation	needs verification	ISO 9001, RoHS	medium	ready to contact	Generate controlled first-touch RFQ
Ohio Rapid Sheet Metal	United States	Global Sources, Official trade-show directories	sheet metal, rack prototype, powder coating, short-run assembly	needs verification	ISO 9001	low	queued	Enrich evidence before outreach

Structured sourcing taxonomyView JSON

{
  "product_category": "data_center_liquid_cooling",
  "manufacturing_processes": [
    "sheet metal",
    "CNC",
    "brazing",
    "pressure testing"
  ],
  "materials": [
    "cold rolled steel",
    "aluminum",
    "stainless steel"
  ],
  "certifications": [
    "ISO 9001",
    "RoHS"
  ],
  "target_supplier_regions": [
    "China",
    "Taiwan",
    "Vietnam",
    "Mexico",
    "United States"
  ],
  "sensitive_ip_fields": [
    "customer name",
    "full CAD geometry",
    "exact rack deployment plan"
  ],
  "region_risk_notes": [
    "Tariff exposure varies by origin",
    "Nearshore improves response time",
    "Domestic backup reduces import risk"
  ]
}

Supplier outreach draft

Hello, we are sourcing a hardware component for a prototype/pilot program. Please confirm capability fit, similar project experience, MOQ, rough lead time, certifications, export support, and whether you can recommend better-fit factories if this is outside your scope.