A factory visit is most useful when it tests specific claims. Walking through a facility and taking photographs is not enough.
Before arriving, define what you need to verify: ownership, capacity, process control, quality systems, compliance, subcontracting, or readiness for your order.
Before the visit
- Confirm the Chinese legal company name and factory address
- Share your product and process questions in advance
- Request permission to photograph relevant areas
- Prepare a checklist linked to your RFQ
- Ask the supplier to include sales, engineering, production, and quality staff
1. Confirm identity and location
Check whether the company name displayed at the facility matches the business licence and quotation. Note whether the factory is:
- Owned by the supplier
- Leased by the supplier
- Operated by an affiliated company
- A subcontractor or partner factory
2. Review the production flow
Follow the product from incoming materials to finished goods. Ask:
- Which steps are completed here?
- Which steps are outsourced?
- What are the main bottlenecks?
- What is the normal batch size?
- How is production scheduled and tracked?
3. Inspect machinery and maintenance
Look for equipment relevant to your product, signs of active use, maintenance records, tooling storage, calibration labels, and operator competence. A long machine list is not useful if the machines are unrelated to your order.
4. Evaluate quality control
Review:
- Incoming material inspection
- In-process checkpoints
- Final inspection
- Testing equipment
- Calibration records
- Defect and corrective-action records
- Traceability or batch identification
Ask to see a recent non-conformance example and how it was resolved. Real systems produce records; perfect-looking binders without usage evidence deserve scrutiny.
5. Check raw-material and warehouse control
- Are materials labelled and segregated?
- Are rejected materials controlled?
- Are finished products protected from damage?
- Is inventory traceable?
- Are storage conditions appropriate?
6. Assess capacity realistically
Do not rely only on a monthly capacity number. Ask how it was calculated. Compare:
- Number of active machines
- Shifts per day
- Cycle time
- Current utilization
- Seasonal workload
- Labor availability
- Subcontracted capacity
7. Review engineering and sample control
For customized products, ask how drawings, revisions, approved samples, and change requests are controlled. Confirm who can approve technical changes and how production receives the latest specification.
8. Check subcontracting
Subcontracting is common and not automatically negative. The key questions are:
- Which critical processes are outsourced?
- How are subcontractors selected and audited?
- Who owns the quality problem if the subcontractor fails?
- Can the subcontractor be visited?
9. Observe management and communication
Notice whether departments provide consistent answers. Strong suppliers can usually explain their process, limitations, lead time, and quality controls without improvising.
10. Close the visit with written next steps
Before leaving, confirm:
- Open technical questions
- Documents to be provided
- Sample or quotation revisions
- Corrective actions
- Responsible person and deadline
Factory-visit scoring categories
| Category | Suggested focus |
|---|---|
| Legal and identity | Correct company and site relationship |
| Process capability | Relevant equipment and workflow |
| Quality control | Documented and actively used controls |
| Capacity | Realistic output under current load |
| Subcontracting | Transparency and supplier control |
| Communication | Consistent and technically credible answers |
Bottom line
A useful factory visit connects physical evidence to your exact product, volume, quality, and delivery requirements. The goal is not to prove that a building exists; it is to decide whether the operation can control your order.