Phase 1: Supplier Transition Assessment

A Proposal for
Shepherd Filters

A scoped, confidential assessment to give Shepherd Filters the numbers and the legal read-out needed to make a confident decision on a full supplier transition out of the current Zhejiang factory for the wool-based kitchen exhaust filter range.

6 Weeks (indicative)
USD $5,000
Issued for client review
01 — Background

Background

Shepherd Filters manufactures a wool-based kitchen exhaust filter held in a two-part 304 stainless steel frame, currently produced at a factory in Zhejiang Province. The product is UL 1046 certified and protected by design patents held in the UK, USA, and Australia. Annual production runs at approximately 4 to 5 containers, dispatching into the US, UK, New Zealand, and Australian markets.

Over the past four years, the current Zhejiang manufacturer has been selling Shepherd Filters' product to competitors without authorisation. Shipping records held by the client confirm parallel exports of approximately one container every 14 months to copycat distributors. The factory holds approximately $200,000 USD of Shepherd Filters' finished stock, holds the tooling that the client funded at $50,000 USD, and recently refused to tool up a 45mm variant requested by a large client account.

Following an initial discovery call between Jeremy Kronk and Nick Cunningham on 25 May 2026, the agreed approach is to run an alternate supplier search and a scoped legal review in parallel and in confidence, ahead of any confrontation with the current factory. The stock and tooling at the current factory are the dominant leverage points and must be handled carefully. This Phase 1 produces the numbers and the legal read-out the client needs to make a confident decision on a full transition.

02 — Objective

Objective

Phase 1 delivers a single recommendation document, supported by the four workstream outputs listed below, that gives Shepherd Filters:

A clear initial legal opinion on realistic options in China, framed against the documentation the client holds on patents, mould ownership, and existing supplier arrangements.
Indicative tooling cost from a vetted alternate Guangdong manufacturer for both the existing 50mm frame and the 45mm variant.
Indicative unit prices from the same alternate manufacturer at the client's projected annual volumes, benchmarked against current Zhejiang prices.
A practical plan for the quiet movement of the $200,000 USD of finished stock out of the current factory, sequenced ahead of any legal action.

End state: Shepherd Filters has the numbers and the legal read-out to commit confidently to a full supplier transition, or to hold position, with eyes open on cost and timing.

03 — Phase 1 Workstreams & Fee

Phase 1 Workstreams and Fee

Phase 1 is delivered across the four workstreams set out below. The total Phase 1 fee is $5,000 USD, fixed, covering all four workstreams and the final recommendation document.

Total Phase 1 Fee: $5,000 USD — fixed, covering all four workstreams and the final recommendation document.
01
Initial Legal Review
Scoped opinion from C2W Group's trusted China law firm covering mould ownership analysis based on client documentation, enforceability of UK / USA / Australia design patents against unauthorised Chinese exports, realistic options for stopping competitor sales, and recommended sequencing of any legal and commercial action.
02
Alternate Tooling Cost Assessment
Engagement with a Guangdong stainless steel tooling supplier under NDA to produce indicative tooling cost for both 50mm and 45mm frame variants based on drawings supplied by the client.
03
Unit Price Quotation
Guangdong manufacturer quotation for production unit prices at the client's projected annual volumes, covering both 50mm and 45mm frame variants. Pricing benchmarked against current Zhejiang prices supplied by the client.
04
Stock Extraction and Logistics Plan
Written plan for the quiet movement of approximately $200,000 USD of finished stock out of the current factory to a Guangdong warehouse, covering sequencing, plausible-cover narrative, customs handling, and onward dispatch options to the client's existing US, UK, New Zealand and Australia markets. Plan is the deliverable; physical execution is priced separately once volumes are confirmed.
Engagement Profile
Item Detail Notes
Product Kitchen exhaust filter, two-part 304 stainless steel frame Standard 50mm; 45mm variant in scope
Current annual volume Approximately 4 to 5 containers per year Volume to be confirmed by client
Current certification UL 1046 (held against current Zhejiang manufacturer) Certificate holder of record to be confirmed
Current manufacturer Existing Zhejiang Province factory Confidential; no contact during Phase 1
Alternate location Guangdong Province manufacturer Selected by C2W under NDA
Indicative duration 6 weeks from receipt of the complete information pack and cleared payment Intermittent workstream
04 — Information Required from Client

Information Required from Client

Phase 1 cannot commence until the following information pack is received from Shepherd Filters. The 6-week indicative timeline starts from the date the complete pack is received.

For the legal review
Copies of UK, USA, and Australia design patents.
Any written agreement, contract, or terms with the current Zhejiang factory.
Mould purchase invoices, purchase orders, proforma invoices, and any tooling ownership documentation.
UL 1046 certification document, showing the certificate holder of record.
Evidence file on unauthorised competitor sales (the shipping records referenced on the discovery call).
A written statement of the client's preferred outcome (stopping unauthorised sales, recovering damages, or both).
For the tooling and pricing work
2D and 3D drawings of both 304 stainless steel frame parts in the standard 50mm thickness.
Drawings or specification differences for the 45mm variant. Where drawings are not available, the 45mm assessment will proceed on the basis of confirmed dimensional differences from the 50mm part.
Current Zhejiang factory unit prices for the existing 50mm parts.
Annual volume forecast per part and per variant.
Material specification confirmation (304 grade, gauge, finish, tolerance).
Packaging specification.
For the logistics plan
Cubic or pallet volume of finished stock at the current factory, with SKU breakdown.
Current dispatch model (full container, part container, or LCL) and destination split across US, UK, New Zealand, and Australia.
Any pending purchase orders to the current factory that would be affected by extraction.
05 — Payment Terms

Payment Terms

Stage Amount Trigger
Phase 1 Fee $5,000 USD 100% on acceptance of this proposal, payable in full prior to Phase 1 commencement
06 — Timeline

Timeline

Indicative duration: 6 weeks from receipt of the complete information pack and cleared payment.

Phase 1 is run as an intermittent workstream across the four workstreams in parallel, with the law firm scoped opinion typically delivering between weeks 3 and 5 and the alternate manufacturer quotations between weeks 4 and 6. The recommendation document is delivered at the end of week 6.

07 — Exclusions

Exclusions

The Phase 1 fee covers the four workstreams as scoped above. The following items are not covered and would be quoted separately if the client elects to proceed:

Legal execution beyond the scoped initial opinion, including cease-and-desist letter drafting, evidence file preparation, court proceedings, and any ongoing legal representation. These are quoted directly by the law firm at its own fee scale.
Patent or NNN (Non-Disclosure, Non-Use, Non-Circumvention) filings in China or any other jurisdiction.
UL 1046 certification transfer to the new manufacturer. The cost and timing of this transfer will be flagged in the recommendation document as a known consideration, but the transfer itself is a separate engagement.
Physical execution of the stock extraction, including warehousing fees, customs handling, freight, and ongoing storage at the Guangdong warehouse.
Full Design for Manufacture review or production tooling procurement at the alternate manufacturer.
Sample or pre-production runs at the alternate manufacturer.
Any travel costs if in-person factory visits are required.
Translation, document legalisation, or notarisation costs.
Taxes, duties, or customs charges on any movement of stock or tooling.
08 — Safeguards

Safeguards

Non-Disclosure Agreement
A mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement between Shepherd Filters and C2W Group will be executed prior to the exchange of any drawings, pricing data, or other confidential material. Drawings shared with the alternate Guangdong manufacturer will be sanitised of any branding or identifying information.
Quiet Handling Protocol
All work with the alternate Guangdong manufacturer, the China law firm, and any third party engaged during Phase 1 will be conducted under NDA and with no reference to Shepherd Filters' current factory, current product runs, or current commercial history. The client's existing factory will not be approached or made aware of any of the Phase 1 work.
Mould Ownership Documentation
The mould ownership question is the principal legal lever. The Phase 1 legal review will assess the strength of the client's position based on the documentation supplied. Where the documentation is not sufficient to support a strong legal position, this will be flagged in the recommendation document and the client will be advised on options before any move on the current factory.
Law Firm Response Timing
The legal opinion is delivered to the timeline of C2W Group's China law firm partner. The 6-week indicative timeline assumes standard response times from the law firm. Where the law firm requires additional time on any specific question, the client will be notified and the programme adjusted accordingly. No delay caused by the law firm will affect the scope or fee.
Information Dependency
The 6-week timeline starts from receipt of the complete information pack in Section 4. Where information is provided in stages, the relevant workstream will start on receipt of the information specific to that workstream, but the overall programme duration will run from the date the final piece of information is received.
Realistic Expectation on Legal Outcomes
Stopping the export of unauthorised product from a Chinese factory is difficult and outcomes cannot be guaranteed regardless of the strength of the client's documentation. The Phase 1 legal review delivers a realistic assessment of options and likely outcomes. The alternate supplier work is independent of the legal outcome and proceeds in parallel.
09 — Why C2W Group and Shield Works

Why C2W Group and Shield Works

C2W Group has been operating in China for 21 years. The group runs an integrated in-house engineering, sourcing, manufacturing, and quality team across China and India, and works with trusted China-based legal partners on IP and supplier-conflict matters of this kind. The team has established protocols for IP-sensitive supplier transitions and has executed quiet stock extractions and alternate manufacturer setups for clients in similar positions to Shepherd Filters.

Shield Works Precision Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is the C2W Group's IP-secure ISO-certified assembly facility in Zhuhai. Where Shepherd Filters wishes to consider consolidated assembly, packaging, or 3PL options as part of any future transition, Shield Works can be presented as an option under the same NDA framework as the alternate Guangdong manufacturer.

21 years operating in China with an integrated in-house engineering, sourcing, manufacturing, and quality team across China and India.
Established protocols for IP-sensitive supplier transitions, including quiet stock extractions and alternate manufacturer setups for clients in positions similar to Shepherd Filters.
Trusted China-based legal partners working with us on IP and supplier-conflict matters, brought in under NDA on a scoped, sequenced basis.
Shield Works Precision Manufacturing — our IP-secure, ISO-certified assembly facility in Zhuhai — available as a future consolidated assembly, packaging, or 3PL option under the same NDA framework.
10 — Next Steps

Next Steps

01
Acceptance of this proposal in writing by Shepherd Filters.
02
Payment of the $5,000 USD Phase 1 fee.
03
Mutual NDA executed between Shepherd Filters and C2W Group.
04
Shepherd Filters delivers the information pack listed in Section 4.
05
Phase 1 commences and the 6-week programme begins.
06
Phase 1 recommendation document delivered with the four workstream outputs.
07
Decision point: proceed to full supplier transition, hold, or take no further action.

Mark Jacobs

CEO, C2W Group / Shield Works

mark.jacobs@china2west.com