Choosing the identity and building the brand, part of the processes…
Source the Globe logo, identity and motto
August, 2010 - Home Page
Choosing the Name
Why I choose SourceTheGlobe.com as the name? Because it was easy to remember and was key words that most people around the world would understand. Well looking for names I also registered the following domains:
- SourceTheGlobe.com
- SourceTheGlobe.net
- SourceTheGlobe.org
- SourceTheGlobe.cn
- TheGlobeSource.com
I was also considering other possible business names and registered the following domains:
- Ropario.com
- Garmint.net
- Manutrends.com
I also felt it was important to have names relating to my industry so I registered:
- Cottonsourcing.com
- Denimsourcing.com
- Decorativesourcing.com
- Trimsourcing.com
- Washsourcing.com
- Mexicandenim.com
- Fashionsourcing.net
- Americadenim.net
- Canadadenim.net
- Chinadenim.net
If you are interested in purchasing any of the unused domain names, let me know?
Company Motto
Choosing the company motto, in time we have seen the motto change and I believe this is a part of the company growth and maturity; some mottos were and now are:
- Apparel Manufacturing Supply Chain Intelligence
- Online Apparel B2B Global Marketplace
There is a new motto coming soon with the next phase and product release. Even more focused and market specific.
My ideal goal is to have a social responsible company who adds value, gives back and contributes to everyone’s lives who are involved in fashion. You can see our about us page for more information about our vision, core values, quality product, responsible sourcing, community involvement, and our history: http://www.sourcetheglobe.com/home/about_us
Company location
The next question is where the company should be based? I believe the best place for a global supply chain company is Asia and the strongest center is currently Hong Kong, so on September 18, 2008 I registered Source the Globe Limited in Hong Kong. Strategically this also got me closer to the Mainland China development team and largest supply chain. In September, 2008 I also moved to Shanghai, China.
I Choose Shanghai as 85% of the apparel global supply chain is produced in Asia and China leads on a supply and manufacturing scale. As well most countries speak English but in China less than 5% of the supply chain understands English.
Today the SourceTheGlobe.com website is available in English and Chinese. The goal is to continue to expand the languages so it is easy ad friendly for everyone to speak and talk shop in their own language.
Why Source the Globe?
Initial when I was building the company I thought it would cater to many products and categories hence the name Source the Globe. Then I decided to focus on one category where I have 22 years of expertise and have experienced the pain, difficulties and “disconnect” first hand. Now that I was narrowed done to one category (garment manufacturing) I intended to focus on consulting, trending, and global sourcing in Apparel Manufacturing. After many more months I again narrowed my focus to Apparel B2B Supply Chain Management and Global Sourcing.
Supply Chain Management
For supply chain management – How do you manage hundreds or thousands of fabric swatches and/or samples and suppliers every season?
- Do you use a file cabinet?
- If yes do you purge every season or every year? If yes do you keep essential fabrics and trims? How do you store the product information? Is the product information updated regularly? If yes by whom? What if the employee or position changes?
- Do you use Excel and word documents? Or file in folders? Is this purged on a regular or yearly basis?
- Is what you use designed specifically for apparel manufacturing?
- Is it available in multiple languages? Supplier friendly?
Additional supply chain management concerns and the management of suppliers, samples, and product, it is difficult and time-consuming to manage, hence why SourceTheGlobe.com is developed to help with Supply Chain Management by:
- Product type (Apparel, Fabric, Trim, Decorative, Wash, and Branding)
- By product category
- Product name, content and more
- You can also manage your suppliers by:
- Location (country, province, city)
- Business type
- Specialty
- Equipment
- Capacity
- Operation
- Building
- Personnel
- CSR
April, 2009 - Company and Factory Detail
Global Sourcing
Global Sourcing – We help you locate suppliers by:
- Gender
- Region (Country)
- Product Type (Apparel, Fabric, Trim, Decorative, Wash and Branding)
- Product Category
- Product Market
April, 2009 - Search Detail (Detail, Inquire, Workbook, and View Supplier)
There are plenty more tools such as search (extensive possibilities), supplier affiliations, communication, connect, invite, testimonials, feedback, workbook and more.
Now in 2010 we offer off-line consulting, sourcing, procurement, management and online resources for supply chain management and global sourcing throughout the website. If you need more info on SourceTheGlobe.com please let us know?
We are looking for grandfather clients (users who want the system designed for their needs). Let me know if you want a system designed and made for your wants and needs!
Designing the company logo and GUI (Graphics User Interface)
I then utilized two designers to help with the GUI and brand; both designers were based in Shanghai, China. I had an Italian designer/art director work on the corporate GUI and another local designer with international clientele work on the brand identity.
At the time I believe my GUI worked for my needs by high lightening Buyers, Suppliers, Associations and Marts. Also I like the search engine by-product type and pull down. But now I believe it needs a complete overhaul to better communicate the simple functions and educate users about the website possibilities.
The next step was to find a designer and start on the corporate identity which was created with someone who shared my visions. The “S” logo was intended to apply to western and eastern beliefs and has the following elements:
The "S" Logo - all about synergie and flow
- Ying and Yang
- Masculine and Feminine
- Supplier and Buyer
- Association and Member
- Mart and Tenant
- Retailer and Consumer
As I find that it takes a perfect two to tango. As well if you continue the circle you will make an 8 which is considered to be a lucky number in Asia.
Design and Web Development
Now the name was confirmed the next question was how to get the site designed and developed. In 2006 I started looking for development partners in Canada and created a small site which barely represented the ultimate vision but it worked. I was told not to take it to market by a highly respected PR person in the USA as it would only provide trade insights and allow users to copy it. In 2007 I looked for others in North America to work with me on the site development but it was a challenge as I was under financed. So I attempted to look for web developers who were willing to work with equity. I found most were willing to work for 50% equity and 50% cash but that still meant I would need $200K in cash for development.
So in the spring of 2008 I decided to outsource. In March, 2008 I came to Mainland China on technology trade mission, 50% of expenses were paid by me and 50% by the government. We visited Jinan and Chongqing, China. In Chongqing I meet with an individual (Kane Lee) who I immediately connected with. Below is a photo from the Welcome reception in Chongqing.
Welcome reception - Chongqing, China
In the spring of 2008 I sent out RFP (request for pitch) for the websites to two companies and that April I choose Kane’s team in Chongqing to start on the site development.
Some of the development team, celebration cheers (Gambi) and dinner in Chongqing, China. Notice the time stamp on the photo 4:51am PST which is 7:51pm in China
Our first steps were to allocate a project manager (Zhang Le) and chief representative (Me) and approve the I.A. (information architecture) and for me to hand over the wire frames for each page. The wire frames were the page requirements (what and why, needs, wants and desires).
Back in Vancouver I recruited a Chinese born Canadian resident (James Yang) who would oversee the project in Chongqing. We agreed on his responsibilities and remuneration.
The next step was to initiate the project. In May, 2008 I flew to Chongqing to discuss the project scope, time-lines, deadlines, and human resources (who would work on the project). That month we started on the development of the SourceTheGlobe.com website.
In August, 2008 we launched the site but quickly discovered it didn’t work and was not scale able. So within 2 weeks the first Java site was off-line again and back in development. On review of the website requirements and needs James Yang believed that the site was still salvageable but the Chongqing team and I disagreed. James was fired and I replaced James for overseeing the development of the project.
At this stage based on previous experience of the development team we decided to build the platform in Ruby on Rails and set new timetables. The new target for the site release was December, 2008, but was quickly bumped to January, then February which quickly became problematic. I set a final deadline for March, 2009 and the Ruby beta site was finally launched.
By the time we completed the first phases of the site there would be a total of 6 developers working on the project for over 7 man years. I flew to Chongqing over 10 times during the development and implementation, and stayed at the Intercontinental Chongqing for approximately 45 days during the 10 months of building the site. After launching the site that March we continued to test, re-bug and look at improvements to the system.
I kept a log of bugs and site problems which I gave to the project manager on a weekly basis, resolution was given a priority and I was kept abreast of changes and implementations.
Today there are many new functions that are required on the site to keep up with industry demands, changes and business maturity. I am looking for partners who share the vision, passion and who would like to participate in a success filled future.
This month, August, 2010 there are buyers from twenty (2o) countries and suppliers from Fifteen (15) countries on the website. There are over 2600 registered users and the objective is to grow that too ten’s thousands, then hundreds and millions so that everyone involved in manufacturing and purchasing of apparel finds a benefit from the site.
So this is the story behind the company and brand… if you have any comments please leave below, if you are interested in SourceTheGlobe.com please send me a direct message. I can be reached by email at Jeffrey@SouceTheGlobe.com.
Thanks, best wishes, and many successes… Jeffrey
We look forward to seeing you in or outside China. But wherever it is please be considerate as “This is China”
