Supplier failed a $340,000 quality check and my company’s first instinct was to blame remote work

I’m a sourcing manager for a mid size consumer goods company in Denver. Have been fully remote for three years. My job is finding, vetting, and managing overseas suppliers. I spend most of my day on Alibaba, Global Sources, and Made in China cross referencing factories, requesting samples, checking certifications, and managing relationships across twelve hour time differences.

I am good at my job. My on time delivery rate last year was 94 percent. I have never missed a deadline.

Last month a supplier I’d been working with for two years shipped a batch of 8,000 units that failed our QC inspection on arrival. Wrong material spec on the packaging, completely unusable. $340,000 order sitting in a warehouse in New Jersey.

My director’s first comment in the emergency call was “this is what happens when nobody is in the office to manage these relationships properly.”

I was on video calls with that factory three times a week for six months. I visited them in person in November, flew there on my own time to do a facility audit because I wanted to be thorough. The failure was a unilateral material substitution they made without telling anyone, something that would have happened whether I was sitting in Denver or downtown.

Spent that evening stress buying a new desk lamp and a monitor light bar. Came to $107 after a $10 off every $100 promotion. Felt appropriate after a horrible day.

I don’t even know what I want from this post. I just needed someone to tell me I’m not crazy.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​