For white labeling, IPR protection is critical. Even if a company already works with certain suppliers, contract negotiation is still important. Contracts and patents should be reviewed for every new product and included in clear detail against the misuse of any other company’s trademarks, patents, IPR, licenses, etc., which might lead to legal consequences otherwise. After EveMotion’s German competitor sued them for IPR infringement, they were ordered by the court to not sell the product until the case was settled. This meant that stock worth several hundred thousand Euros was threatened plus a potential fine. Intrepid Sourcing helped EveMotion by finding the original designer of the scooter–a design firm in Hong Kong that collaborated with yet another Chinese supplier originally.
This research and information helped to undermine the falsely claimed exclusivity of their local competitor and to win the lawsuit. For white labeling, IPR protection is critical. Even if a company already works with certain suppliers, contract negotiation is still important. Contracts and patents should be reviewed for every new product and included in clear detail against the misuse of any other company’s trademarks, patents, IPR, licenses, etc., which might lead to legal consequences otherwise.
After EveMotion’s German competitor sued them for IPR infringement, they were ordered by the court to not sell the product until the case was settled. This meant that stock worth several hundred thousand Euros was threatened plus a potential fine. Intrepid Sourcing helped EveMotion by finding the original designer of the scooter–a design firm in Hong Kong that collaborated with yet another Chinese supplier originally. This research and information helped to undermine the falsely claimed exclusivity of their local competitor and to win the lawsuit.
The Challenge
EveMotion faced a variety of common challenges with their Chinese suppliers such as coordination, quality control, and implementing product changes; suppliers often fail to deliver on time, product defect rates are too high, or refining existing products is inefficient. They also had intellectual property rights (IPRs) legal issues for one of their numerous white label products.
The Story
As a large online retailer, EveMotion needs to address supplier issues and IPR legal issues. One item that they frequently imported from China was some type of electric scooter. However, the IPR situation was complicated and their supplier was not the only one holding a patent for this specific product design. Without knowing it, EveMotion sold the product online, resulting in their local competitor suing them for intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement since their supplier also owned a patent.
The Solution
The First Step
We carried out a production line assessment. This breaks down the production line into smaller parts to identify all the problematic areas so that they can be fixed or avoided in the future. Some components may require more attention than others.
The Second Step
We leveraged our understanding of China’s legal system and business culture, Intrepid Sourcing made sure that penalty terms are included in case of delays or defects, IPR is protected, and such terms are enforceable in China.
The Last Step
We implemented specialized and individual quality control measures to make sure the final product actually meets EveMotion’s quality standards. Our experienced team conducted an in-person inspection of the factory and inspected the products to make sure that the quality of the products meets their standards and is consistent.
The Outcome
EveMotion was able to improve coordination, quality, and the implementation of product changes with Chinese suppliers. Furthermore, an important legal issue could be solved. This is an important aspect of protecting customers in Western countries. Even Large Importers Like EveMotion profit from working with manufacturing analytics. Overall, Intrepid Sourcing’s efforts resulted in better legal protection, higher product quality, better adapted products and ultimately in higher customer satisfaction rates.
