Sourcing desk with a drawing and rim sample

THE SOURCING DESK

About SpokeBridge Sourcing

We help businesses prepare a comparable wheel brief and collect the questions a manufacturer needs to answer before the buyer can approve an alternative.

How we divide the work

We organize the request

The desk keeps the reference application, quantity and delivery window together. We separate requirements the buyer has confirmed from open dimensions, and list who can answer each one. A callout such as “rear clearance still to be measured” is useful input because it lets a factory identify which drawing is needed. The same brief records wheel diameter, rim width, bolt pattern, offset, center bore, lug seat and load rating. A proposal that changes the hub-centric pilot or moves to a lug-centric design goes back to the buyer’s fitment reviewer.

You retain the purchase decision

Buyers bring their own technical approval process and commercial priorities. We can help put quote exclusions and supplier responses on the same sheet. The manufacturer confirms what it will supply and the responsible reviewer decides which documentation or physical sample is sufficient for that particular application.

Three habits we use on every brief

✦ Keep assumptions labeled

A verbal estimate may help narrow options. Write the basis and date beside it so a later purchase review can distinguish it from an agreed price, delivery promise or approved drawing.

◇ Keep batches distinct

When a distributor orders several finish or fitment variants, agree how cartons, drawings and sample photos will be identified. One accepted front wheel gives no approval for the rear line. In an illustrative 60-wheel purchase with two offsets, the receiving lead can inspect the carton labels against two drawing revisions and keep the lots separate. That leaves a record the buyer can use to check whether replacement orders come from the same approved line.

○ Ask for the missing page

If a report has no wheel part number or tested size, ask the supplier to connect the report to the quoted revision. For a radial fatigue report, the reviewer needs enough information to identify the mounting setup, test load and product revision. A named standard alone cannot resolve that gap.

What goes on the desk

These are illustrative views of the documents and samples a buyer can use to brief a supplier.

Tell us who will review the next step

Name the person who can approve fitment changes and the person who owns the delivery date. That helps the desk direct the right questions early.

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