China product inspection: pre-shipment, during production, and container loading

Why inspections matter

When you place an order with a Chinese supplier, you are committing payment before you have verified the finished goods. Even suppliers you have worked with before can ship defective or non-conforming goods, particularly when they are under cost or time pressure.

Third-party inspections are conducted by independent inspection companies whose inspectors visit the factory, check the goods against your specifications, and report findings before the shipment is released. Common inspection companies operating in China include SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek, QIMA, and Asia Quality Focus.

Key principle: the right time to find a defect is when the goods are still at the factory, not when they are sitting in a container on the ocean. Defects found at the factory can be corrected, reworked, or reordered at the supplier's cost. Defects found at your warehouse are your problem.

Pre-shipment inspection (PSI)

A pre-shipment inspection (PSI) is conducted after production is complete and before the goods are loaded for shipping -- typically when at least 80% of the order is packed and ready. It is the most common inspection type and the default starting point for most importers.

What a PSI covers:

• Quantity check: confirms the number of units matches the purchase order.
• Visual inspection: checks for defects in appearance, finish, color, and packaging. Defects are categorized as critical (renders the product unsafe or unusable), major (likely to cause customer dissatisfaction), or minor (does not affect function or appearance significantly).
• Measurement and dimension check: verifies product dimensions, weight, and specifications against the approved sample or product spec sheet.
• Function and safety tests: for products that have operational requirements (electronics, mechanical goods, toys), the inspector tests that the product works as intended.
• Barcode scan and label check: verifies labels, barcodes, and packaging content are correct.
• Carton and shipping mark check: verifies outer cartons are correctly labeled and marked.

Standard PSI uses the AQL (Acceptable Quality Limit) sampling method -- a statistical sampling approach that specifies how many units to inspect from a given lot size and what defect rates are acceptable before a shipment is failed. Common AQL levels are 1.5 for major defects and 2.5 for minor defects at a standard inspection level.

Cost: typically $200 to $350 per man-day. Most inspections take one day. The fee is usually paid to the inspection company directly, not through the factory.

When to use: every order with a new supplier, and periodically with established suppliers, particularly for high-value or complex orders.

During-production inspection (DUPRO)

A during-production inspection (DUPRO) is conducted while production is still underway -- typically when 10% to 40% of the order is produced. It is used to catch problems early enough that corrections can be made before the full production run is complete.

What a DUPRO covers:

• Raw material and component quality: checks that the materials being used match the approved specifications.
• Work-in-progress quality: inspects partially assembled or partially finished units for defects.
• Production process observation: verifies that the factory's production methods match what was agreed and what passed in the sample approval stage.
• Quantity progress: confirms the factory is on track to deliver the full order quantity by the agreed date.

Why DUPRO matters: if you only inspect after production is finished and find a defect rate that fails the shipment, the factory faces pressure to either rework all units (time-consuming) or ship anyway (creating a dispute). A DUPRO finding at 20% through production means only 20% of units need rework, and the remaining 80% can be made correctly from the start.

Cost: same as PSI, approximately $200 to $350 per man-day.

When to use: large orders where a rework at the end would be costly, new suppliers with unproven quality systems, technically complex products, or orders with tight delivery deadlines where late discovery of a problem would be unrecoverable.

Container loading supervision (CLS)

Container loading supervision (CLS), also called loading inspection, involves an inspector being present at the factory while goods are loaded into the shipping container. It is the final checkpoint before the container is sealed.

What CLS covers:

• Confirmation that only the correct goods are loaded: prevents the factory from substituting products, adding unrequested goods, or under-filling the container.
• Verification of carton count: confirms the exact number of cartons loaded matches the bill of lading.
• Condition of goods at loading: checks for visible damage to cartons at the time of loading.
• Container condition: verifies the container is clean, dry, and structurally sound before goods are loaded.
• Seal number recording: the inspector records the container seal number, which you can verify against the shipping documents.

CLS is less about quality (that is covered by PSI or DUPRO) and more about security and accuracy of the shipment. It is particularly useful for high-value orders, orders where you have had discrepancies between purchase orders and what actually shipped, or when you are using a new or lower-trust supplier.

Cost: same per-man-day rate, but CLS inspections often take a half day and are billed accordingly.

How to prepare for an inspection

An inspection is only as useful as the specification it checks against. Before ordering an inspection:

• Prepare a product specification sheet. Document exactly what the product should look like, dimensions, weight, materials, color codes, and functional requirements. Share this with both the factory and the inspection company.
• Define your AQL levels. Tell the inspection company what defect rates you consider acceptable for critical, major, and minor defects.
• Provide approved samples. If you approved a sample before the production order, the inspector needs to know what the approved standard looks like. Ship or courier an approved sample to the inspector or arrange for one to be present at the factory.
• Communicate the inspection scope to your supplier. Inform your factory that an inspection will take place. This alone often improves quality -- factories aware of third-party oversight tend to apply more care.
• Set a clear pass/fail decision rule. Decide in advance what you will do if the inspection fails: rework and re-inspect, partial acceptance, or cancel the order. Having this decided before the inspection removes ambiguity.