Born from a simple observation: buying in Asia deserves better than a middleman.
NOVASEA was founded in 2012 in Hong Kong when a French supply chain engineer met a Hong Kong quality expert. Fourteen years later, more than 50 experts handle purchasing for over 300 companies in Europe, the UK and North America.
The starting point.
At the time, Julien Marchand was running Asia purchasing for a French garden equipment manufacturer. He spent his weeks between Shenzhen and Ningbo fixing what sourcing agents had let slip: material substitutions, delays, non-compliant batches. Wing-Yan Lau, a quality engineer at a major inspection organization, saw the same failure reports come in every day. They shared one conviction: the problem was not China, it was the lack of method and presence.
In October 2012, they founded NOVASEA in Hong Kong with one rule: never take a factory commission, never source from a factory without visiting it, never let a batch ship without inspecting it. The first three clients were French SMEs. They are still clients today.
Fourteen years of controlled growth.
2012 — Hong Kong
Founding of NOVASEA Ltd. Three clients, two founders, one method.
2014 — Shenzhen
Opening of the Shenzhen operations office and recruitment of the first four salaried inspectors. Quality control becomes the core of the offering.
2016 — The divisions
Creation of the industrial and textile divisions, led by experts from the industry. Sourcing becomes specialized.
2018 — Paris
Opening of the Europe & Americas office to provide a contact in the clients' time zone, a contract under their jurisdiction and invoicing in euros, pounds or dollars.
2020 — Logistics
During the freight crisis, NOVASEA internalized logistics coordination and consolidated its clients' orders in China, as close as possible to their factories.
2022 — Quality system
Formalized audit and inspection procedures. Launch of the automotive, electronics and home divisions.
2024 — 3PL & product development
Network of partner warehouses in Europe, OEM/ODM product development division, packaging and cosmetics divisions.
2025 — NOVASEA Bridge
Launch of the collaborative platform: projects, inspections with photos, documents, vessel tracking and API, shared between clients, factories and NOVASEA teams.
2026 — Today
50+ experts, 3 offices, 1,200 factories audited, more than 300 active clients in 22 countries, from Europe and the UK to the United States and Canada.
"We never wanted to be the biggest. We want to be the ones entrusted with what matters: a launch, a relocation, a product line a brand depends on."
Julien Marchand & Wing-Yan Lau · CofoundersWhat hasn't changed.
Zero factory commission. Our fees come only from our clients.
Every factory is visited. Every batch is inspected. By our own employees.
A stated deadline is a met deadline — or explained beforehand, never afterward.
We train our clients: with every project, they understand their supply chain better.
Our commitments, in black and white.
Independence, anti-corruption, product compliance, social and environmental responsibility: what we guarantee to our clients and require from factories.
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