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What should be checked during a factory visit in China?

A factory visit should test the supplier’s claims against what is actually happening on site.

GlobalWay accompanying buyers during a factory visit in China

The purpose is not simply to tour the building. It is to understand how an order would move through the factory and where problems could appear.

Follow the production flow

Observe raw-material storage, processing, assembly, testing, packing and finished-goods areas. The flow should make sense for the product and the volumes discussed.

Ask questions at the point of work

Who checks incoming materials? How are defects recorded? Which steps are subcontracted? How are approved samples communicated to production? Practical answers from the people doing the work are often more revealing than a presentation in the meeting room.

Connect observations to the order

After the visit, open questions should become actions: revised specifications, confirmed packaging, a sample approval, a production schedule or an agreed inspection point.

A useful visit ends with a clearer decision and a written list of what must happen next.

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