Supplier Action Tracker: Free Canton Fair Follow-up CSV
A supplier action tracker records one open question or promised deliverable per row. Use it after a Canton Fair meeting or factory visit to separate a friendly reply from an answer you can act on. This free CSV includes an illustrative row and an empty row for your own records.
Download the free supplier action tracker (CSV). No email or account is required. Open it in your spreadsheet application, remove the example, and save a working copy. Dates and supplier details in the example are invented.
One action, one owner, one closure condition
A row such as “follow up with supplier” is too broad to resolve. Replace it with a concrete request: “Send the carton drawing for sample revision B, showing the external dimensions and unit.” Give that request an action ID and record who is expected to answer. Add the evidence needed before you can close it.
If a supplier promises a drawing and a revised quote, use two rows. They can arrive on different days and need different checks. Keep the same supplier reference across those rows so you can filter the whole conversation without joining unrelated promises into a single status.
What the download contains
- Action and supplier IDs: stable references for the task and company.
- Meeting reference: the note or visit that created the request.
- Product revision: the exact version under discussion.
- Request and evidence needed: what is missing and what would answer it.
- Owner and due date: responsibility and the agreed next response date.
- Status and evidence reference: progress plus the supporting file or message.
- Checked by, checked date and next action: your review and what happens next.
The CSV does not send reminders or contact suppliers automatically. It is a portable record you maintain. Use an unambiguous year-month-day date format and include a time zone in the request when an exact deadline matters. Keep confidential quotations in your own storage; the tracker only needs a reference you can find again.
Use statuses that describe evidence
Start with Open. Use Awaiting supplier when you have sent the request and are waiting for the answer. Move to Received, unchecked when a file arrives. Close the task only after someone checks that the file answers the request for the correct revision. Use Needs clarification when it does not.
For example, a supplier might send a carton photograph in response to a request for external dimensions. Record that the photograph arrived, but keep the dimension question open. A reply is useful progress without necessarily being complete evidence. If the supplier cannot provide the requested item, record that outcome and the decision it requires.
Review the log before sending another message
Filter open items by supplier, then group the questions into one concise follow-up. Quote the action IDs and missing fields. This makes it easier for the recipient to answer each request and reduces repeated messages asking for material already received.
Use the supplier follow-up email examples for the message itself. The tracker supports that conversation; it does not replace the quotation, sample approval or written order record. For an upcoming appointment, use the meeting request guide first.
Carry unresolved items into the next stage
Before a sample order or production decision, review any open task that affects the specification, quantity or delivery plan. Preserve the original request and response history when an agreed date changes. Do not silently overwrite an old commitment with a later one and then treat the task as always having been on schedule.
The supplier document kit connects the log with other sourcing records. For local coordination in Shenzhen and nearby manufacturing areas, send a free inquiry describing the location and unresolved questions. Any on-site service is scoped and quoted separately.