Finding, qualifying and managing suppliers
From new categories to whole supply bases: outreach, follow-up and decision-ready shortlists, every claim sourced.
The agent layer for B2B commerce
One email.
A million suppliers.
Frank is an AI research assistant for footwear and apparel that scales with you, from just you to a whole sourcing team. Ask him anything, from finding a supplier to the next tariff risk, and he does the legwork: checks 1M+ Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, writes to the ones who fit, chases what's missing and replies with a sourced answer. Or let him brief you on what's changing.
Want Frank on your own suppliers? Private deployment
Start free with 20 requests a month. No login, no onboarding, nothing to adopt. Write in any language and attach whatever you already have. WhatsApp coming soon. Your personal information is never shared unless you ask, and nothing you send is used to train AI models.
Real AI is a new worker
Hire Frank as your sourcing assistant.
Here’s his CV. References available. Start date: today.
Frank
AI Research Assistant · Footwear & Apparel
frank@askfrank.com · Works in your inbox · 20+ languages · WhatsApp coming soon
1M+Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers known
10,000sbuyers mapped: who buys what
24/7works while you sleep
1–7days for a full sourcing round
Profile
Sourcing assistant who already knows over a million suppliers and the brands they supply. Works entirely by email, so there is nothing to install and no one to train. Comfortable with anything from one certificate check to a whole region’s supply base, for one founder or a whole sourcing team.
Skills
Supplier discoveryQualification & vettingRFQs & quotesCertificate & compliance checksTariff & landed-cost analysisTech packs & BOMsConcept to production-ready specSampling coordinationFollow-up & chasingReports & dashboardsSupplier management in 20+ languages
Knowledge
- Categories
- Footwear, apparel, leather, textiles, denim, trims, components, packaging
- Standards
- LWG, GRS, GOTS, FSC, OEKO-TEX, REACH, restricted-substance lists
- Regulation
- EUDR, UFLPA, EU Forced Labour Regulation, Digital Product Passports
- Trade
- Tariffs, duties, rules of origin, landed cost
Working style
- Asks only the suppliers who fit
- Sources and dates every claim
- Says when he doesn’t know, then finds out
- Never drops a follow-up
- Never lets payment influence results
Experience
Collecting evidence at every tier
Gathering certificates and test reports from suppliers, checking them at source and flagging expiries before they lapse.
From idea to first production run
Turning a concept into a spec, then finding factories that take small runs and costing samples to delivery.
Industry bodies, new categories and regions
Working with groups such as FDRA and managing supplier conversations in more than 20 languages.
References
“Frank gives the industry a single research assistant across a fragmented supply base. Brands can ask real questions about suppliers, materials, capabilities, standards and traceability. Frank identifies the gaps automatically, goes back to any tier of the supply chain for what's missing, and continuously builds a better picture of global supply.”
“[Brand quote goes here]”
“[Supplier quote goes here]”
Why hire Frank
One job. Two ways to get it done.
Illustrative timings for a typical multi-supplier request.
By handDay 45
- Search directories, trade-fair lists and Google2–3 days
- Hunt down a real email address for each supplier1–2 days
- Send cold emails. Most land in spam or go unanswered1–2 weeks
- Follow up by phone and WhatsApp1 week
- Chase certificates, price lists and capacity1–2 weeks
- Work out tariffs, duties, VAT and rules of origin for each country, and check import and compliance rules1–2 weeks
- Copy it all into a spreadsheet, already out of date2–3 days
About 6–7 weeks
With FrankDay 7✓ Done
- Write one email to frank@askfrank.com2 minutes
- A shortlist from every supplier Frank knowsMinutes
- Tariffs, duties, taxes and import rules worked out for each origin and destinationBuilt in
- Frank writes to the right suppliers, opening with a real buyer request, so they replySame day
- Replies come in, gaps get closed, results land in one report1–7 days
1–7 days
Send your first request
Start free. Write it the way you’d brief a colleague.
Be briefed · Executive briefings
Supply chain intelligence, on tap.
Below are ready-made questions to try. Pick one, send it as it is or make it yours, and Frank replies with a short executive briefing: what's changing, how the options compare and which suppliers are best placed. It's built from his own network of 1M+ Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers and the brands they supply, not just desk research. Where the evidence is thin he checks with suppliers directly, and he can contact any supplier on the list for you.
Running Frank privately? Ask the same questions about your own approved suppliers and documents. How private works
Ready-made examples · pick one to try
Tofrank@askfrank.com
SubjectExecutive briefing: Leather
What leather should footwear brands be sourcing more of over the next 6 months? Compare cow, sheep and goat leather across price, demand, availability, lead times, sustainability and regional sourcing risk. Identify the leather types and finishes gaining momentum, the best-positioned tanneries, and any known or likely suppliers used by leading footwear brands. Provide evidence and sources.
What comes backEvery claim sourced and dated
- 01What's changing in the next 6 months
- 02How the options compare
- 03Best-positioned suppliers
- 04Who supplies leading brands
- 05Evidence and sources
Make it yours: add your brand, price point or markets before you send.
How Frank works
Brief him like a colleague. He does the rest.
Here’s a real loop, start to finish. Frank answers from what he already knows, then goes back to the suppliers for what he doesn’t.
“Chrome-free Tier 2 tanneries in Tamil Nadu, current LWG rating, 50,000 sq ft monthly, sampling in four weeks.”
“Six match on current evidence, attached, each claim sourced and dated. Nine more fit on capability but hold no current LWG certificate on file. I've written to those nine this morning.”
“A brand asked about you. Your capability matches, but we don't have a current LWG certificate on file. Reply with the latest one and it goes into the answer.”
“Attached. Gold, renewed in March.”
LWG_Certificate_2026.pdf“Seven of the nine replied overnight, checked against the issuer: thirteen tanneries now. Two didn't respond, listed as unconfirmed, not dropped.”
“FSC-certified oak veneer panels for contract furniture, E1 or better, 2,000 m² a month, delivered to Rotterdam within six weeks.”
“Eight mills match on current evidence, attached, each claim sourced and dated. Five more fit on capability but hold no current FSC chain-of-custody certificate on file. I've written to those five.”
“A buyer asked about you. Your capability matches, but we don't have a current FSC chain-of-custody certificate on file. Reply with it and it goes into the answer.”
“Attached. Valid to 2028, and we can hold the six-week window.”
FSC_CoC_Certificate.pdf“Four of the five replied overnight, checked against the FSC database: twelve mills now. One didn't respond, listed as unconfirmed, not dropped.”
Every reply adds to the network. That certificate is now part of the answer for every buyer who asks next. Frank checks the whole network first, then asks only the suppliers who fit. Same loop in every category.
For suppliers
Did Frank email you?
He’s writing because a real buyer is looking for what you make. Just reply to his email with what he asks for. There’s nothing to sign up to, and it’s free.
- A real request, not spam. Frank only writes to suppliers who fit what a buyer has asked for.
- Answer once. Your reply goes into that buyer’s shortlist and is reused for the next buyer who asks.
- Free, and fair. Being included costs nothing, and payment never changes whether or where you appear.
“A buyer asked about you. Your capability matches, but we don’t have a current certificate on file. Reply with the latest one and it goes into the answer.”
Not contacted yet? Introduce yourself and Frank will match you to buyers looking for what you make.
Want to check an email is really from Frank? Ask contact@askfrank.com.
Hiring terms
Same price for everyone.
Brand, supplier, manufacturer or creator, everyone pays the same: each finished piece of research Frank sends back is one request. Start on the free plan with 20 requests a month. Not a marketplace: paying never changes which suppliers appear.
Free
Try Frank on real sourcing questions.
€0/ month
- 20 requests a month
- 1 user
Mini
For a small sourcing team.
€39/ month
- 60 requests a month
- Up to 3 users
Most popular
Midi
For brands sourcing every week.
€89/ month
- 150 requests a month
- Up to 5 users
Maxi
For whole sourcing departments.
€599/ month
- 1,200 requests a month
- Unlimited users
Run out? Add 50 requests for €39 any time. Plan requests reset each month. Prices exclude VAT. To upgrade, write to contact@askfrank.com.
Prefer no subscription?
Buy a request pack once. It stays valid for 12 months.
- 50 requests€49
- 100 requests€95
- 500 requests€429
- 1,000 requests€799
Frank does the work
1 request each- “Find 10 LWG Gold tanneries in Tamil Nadu that make chrome-free leather.”
- “Check whether this supplier’s GRS certificate is valid.”
- “Shortlist recycled polyester mills in Taiwan with MOQs under 1,000 m.”
- “Compare these three footwear factories on capacity, lead time and audits.”
Private · yours
Need Frank on your own suppliers? Go private.
Same email address. Frank adds your approved suppliers, documents and standards, and keeps them separate from the open network. Live in minutes: it’s email, there’s nothing to implement.
For example
“Which of our 300 approved suppliers have certificates expiring this quarter?”
“If tariffs on Vietnam rise, where can we move 2 million pairs, and what happens to landed cost?”
- Network diagnosticYour whole base against current evidence, expiries chased before they lapse.
- Brief executionTech packs qualified, routed, replies consolidated into one report.
- Supplier prospectingNew suppliers approached and qualified without revealing your brand.
- Institutional memoryEvery brief, quote and decision kept, through staff turnover.
Private deployment. Your data never enters the open network.
Security & privacy
Built with Microsoft, on Azure
Frank runs on Microsoft Azure, with enterprise-grade security. Private deployments stay separate from the open network.
Never used to train AI models
Nothing you send Frank, from emails to tech packs to price lists, is used to train AI models.
Nothing shared unless you ask
Your personal information is never shared with anyone, supplier or otherwise, unless you ask Frank to.
As with all AI, Frank can make mistakes, so please check important information before you act on it. Every claim comes with its source and date to make that easy. What you tell Frank stays confidential unless you ask him to share it.
Need security or deployment details for your IT team? contact@askfrank.com
Frank is building the agentic infrastructure for B2B commerce.
Your new sourcing assistant can start today.
frank@askfrank.com goes to Frank, who starts working on your request. To reach the people behind Frank (partnerships, private deployments, press or anything else), write to contact@askfrank.com. Frank doesn't read that inbox.