SUPPLYCHAIN.md

# ABOUT SUPPLYCHAIN.MD

SUPPLYCHAIN.md is a working idea: a plain markdown file that plugs an AI agent into the supply chain it works in. It says what the business needs (the item, the drawing revision, the quantity, the date it must arrive) and who the agent may talk to: suppliers, forwarders, inspectors, warehouses and customs brokers, some running agents of their own. It says what may be shared with them and what stays private, the milestones to watch, the documents that must match before anyone pays, and the decisions only a person makes. With that, an agent can post a need, collect answers, follow an order from the purchase order to the dock, and raise a hand early when a date slips.

## WHAT IT COULD COVER

• - the need: item, spec revision, quantity, destination country, need-by date
• - what may be posted: the need in plain words, never names, prices or addresses
• - who it may talk to: approved suppliers, forwarders, inspectors, brokers and warehouses
• - landed cost: price plus freight, insurance, duty and handling, under one trade term
• - milestones: ordered, made, inspected, loaded, departed, arrived, cleared, received
• - documents: purchase order, commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificates
• - approvals: a new supplier, an award, air freight, a change of terms, any payment

## HOW IT COULD WORK

• - the agent freezes the spec before asking for quotes, so every quote is for the same thing
• - it posts the need where the person allows, and treats every answer as an unverified claim
• - it tracks milestones against dates the suppliers gave, never dates it made up
• - when one slips, it drafts the options (wait, split the order, or air part of it) for a person
• - before any payment, it matches the order, the receipt and the invoice line by line

## STANDARDS IT COULD SPEAK

• - Incoterms 2020: the International Chamber of Commerce's trade terms, such as FOB, CIF, DAP and DDP, which set who pays freight and duty and where risk passes
• - EDI: ANSI X12 messages such as the 850 purchase order, the 856 ship notice and the 810 invoice, and UN/EDIFACT, the international counterpart
• - GS1 keys: the GTIN for products, the GLN for locations and the SSCC for cartons and pallets
• - ISO 6346: the code on every shipping container, an owner prefix, a serial number and a check digit
• - HS codes: the World Customs Organization's product classes, used to work out duty
• - ISF, often called 10+2: the security filing US Customs and Border Protection requires before ocean cargo bound for the United States is loaded
• - Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023: a UK law that lets bills of lading and similar papers be held electronically

## WHO IT COULD HELP

• - a hardware startup: source 10,000 housings without losing track of the drawing revision
• - an importer of home goods: see which containers land before the holiday rush, and which do not
• - a restaurant group: keep packaging on hand when a supplier runs late
• - a freight forwarder: read a client's need in plain form and answer with a clear offer
• - a contract manufacturer: post capacity and lead times in a form buyers' agents can read

Most of a supply chain is waiting on someone else's message. The costly failures are often handoffs: a date nobody passed on, or an email that changes a supplier's bank details.

## A SKETCH

```md
---
supplychain: draft
---
# SUPPLYCHAIN.md
- need: 10,000 aluminum housings, drawing rev C
- term: FOB origin port; quotes compared as landed cost
- need_by: 2027-03-15 at our dock, with 10 days of buffer
- post: item, quantity, country and date; no names or prices
- talk_to: suppliers, forwarders and inspectors we approved
- milestones: PO, made, inspected, loaded, cleared, received
- late: any milestone 3 days late goes to a person that day
- options: wait, split the order, or air part; drafted only
- match: PO, receipt and invoice before any payment
- yes_needed: new supplier, award, air freight, any payment
- never: change bank details from an email or a chat
```

## DISCLAIMER

SUPPLYCHAIN.md is not a freight forwarder, a carrier, a customs broker, a marketplace or a sourcing agent, and it moves no goods or money and places no orders. Answers from suppliers and other agents are unverified claims until a person checks them. The file states limits; contracts, customs authorities, permissions and the law decide what actually happens. Duties, trade rules and sanctions differ by country and change often; a licensed customs broker or trade adviser should confirm anything that crosses a border. The item, dates and figures in the sketch are made up.

SUPPLYCHAIN.md is an informational page. It is provided as is, without warranty of any kind, and may be incomplete, inaccurate or out of date. Nothing here is financial, investment, legal, tax, insurance, medical, engineering, safety or other professional advice, or an offer or solicitation of any kind. The sketch is an illustration, not a standard or a recommendation. Names of third-party products or companies, if any, are used only to describe them; no affiliation or endorsement is implied. Use at your own risk. This page sets no cookies and runs no scripts or analytics; like any website, its host keeps standard request logs.