Sourcing Guides
Product Inspection in China: What a Pre-Shipment Report Should Record
A report can say PASS and still leave the file incomplete. The identity, sample, defect, measurement, photo and signature fields that make it usable for release.
A report can arrive with a PASS on the first page and still be unusable. The page may not name the lot, the sample revision or the carton range, and the photos may sit in a separate folder with no captions. The inspection may have been fine. The document cannot prove it.
A report has to carry its own proof. It has to let a reader who never stood on the floor reconstruct what was checked, what was found and what was released. If it cannot do that, the word PASS is a claim without a file behind it. The fields below are the ones we expect before a report can carry a release decision.
The Report Has to Stand Alone
The first page should state the result, not bury it. A report that opens with a description of the factory and leaves the verdict for page nine is a report written for the inspector, not the buyer. The decision should name the order, the lot, the inspection date and the result.
The result is not only pass or fail. A report can recommend release, hold, rework, replace, re-inspect or accept with a concession. Each one is a different decision with a different next step. A report that says FAIL without saying what happens next leaves the buyer with a problem and no path.
The report should also state its limits: one lot, one date, one agreed standard. It is not a batch certificate, a laboratory test or a legal opinion. It describes a lot on a date against an agreed standard. That limit belongs on the first page, because the buyer will otherwise treat the report as a warranty. A report that only makes sense to its author will not survive a handover. The file should be indexed by order number, not by folder name. The report should be readable six months later, by someone who never met the supplier. That is what a record has to do.
Identity: Order, Lot and Sample
The report should identify the order the way the buyer's ERP does: PO reference, SKU or model, quantity ordered, quantity presented and the target country. A report that names only the factory and the product is hard to match to a payment.
The lot identity is the second layer. Which production run was inspected, which date code or batch number, and which cartons were presented. If the factory runs the same SKU for three customers, the lot number is what separates this buyer's goods from the next buyer's goods.
The sample identity is the third. The report should name the sealed sample, the drawing revision and the date the sample was sealed. A report that says "compared with sample" without naming the revision is a report that cannot answer a later dispute. The sample is the standard; the report has to point to it.
The report should also name the target country and the label standard that applies there. A report that checks a US label against an EU requirement is checking the wrong thing. The market is part of the identity because it decides which label, warning and origin mark the lot needs.
The inspector identity belongs here too. Name, company and the date of the visit. A report without a named inspector is an anonymous opinion. A buyer needs to know who walked the line and who signed the result.
The Plan and the Sample
The report should state the inspection plan before it states the findings. Which characteristics were checked, which were critical, which were major, which were minor, and which were measured on every unit versus a sample. The plan is what makes the result repeatable.
The sampling record is the next field. How many cartons were presented, how many were opened, how the units were selected and how many units were checked. A report that says "sampled" without a number cannot be audited. A sample pulled from the top layer of the first pallet differs from a sample pulled across the lot.
The plan should also name the instruments and the methods. A caliper, a gauge, a scale, a test fixture, a software version. If a reading depends on a fixture, the report should name the fixture. If the test depends on a setting, the report should record the setting.
The report should record the carton range the sample was drawn from and how the units were selected. A report that says the sample was random without naming the range is hard to audit. If the inspector could not reach part of the lot, the report should say so.
The report should state the sample size and the acceptance rule agreed before the inspection. A plan written after the result is a rationalization. The buyer should be able to compare the report with the plan and see that the same rule was applied.
The Defect Log
The defect log is the heart of the report. Each defect should have a description, a class, a quantity, a location and a photo reference. A line that says "some scratches" is not a defect record. A line that says "three units with a 2 cm scratch on the front panel, carton 14, photo 7" is.
The classes should be defined in the plan: critical, major, minor. A critical defect is one that makes the product unsafe or unusable; a major defect is one a customer would reject; a minor defect affects appearance but not function. These are common conventions, and the agreed plan decides which applies. The definitions should be in the report, not assumed.
The defect log should also show the acceptance calculation. The number of defects found, the sample size and the rule that was applied. A defect list without the acceptance calculation leaves the decision to the reader.
The defect log should also show the severity in context. A scratch on a hidden surface and a scratch on the front panel are different defects, even when the size is the same. The report should say where the defect sits and whether the customer will see it.
The photos should be linked to the lines. A photo without a caption is decoration. A photo with a line number, a measurement and a carton reference is evidence. The buyer should be able to open the photo and see the same defect the inspector described.
Measurements, Tests and Packing
Readings should be recorded as values, not adjectives. The nominal, the tolerance, the actual and the instrument. A report that says "dimensions OK" without a number cannot be checked. A report with values can be compared with the drawing and with the next batch.
Function tests should name the test, the method and the result. The report should name each function test performed, the method and the result. A report that says "function tested" without naming the test is a claim, not a record.
Packing belongs to the product. The report should show the retail packaging, the label, the barcode, the warning, the origin mark, the carton mark, the quantity per carton and the gross weight. A label that is wrong is a defect even when the product is perfect.
The report should also record the carton count, the packing file and the marks, because those three fields are what the loading gate will check. A product that passes the sample but fails the carton count is not ready to ship. The carton count is the unit the carrier will load. The packing file is the bridge to the loading record.
The packaging check should also cover the packing method. The poly bag, the insert, the divider, the tape and the carton grade. A report that ignores the packing method can pass a product that arrives damaged because the box was never designed for the trip.
Photos, Signatures and Limits
The photo set should tell the story in sequence: the factory gate or the warehouse, the presented lot, the opened cartons, the sample selection, the defects, the measurements, the packing and the dock. A report with only close-up defect photos cannot show what was sampled.
The report should state its limitations. Which cartons were inaccessible, which tests were not performed, which documents were not available, which measurements were estimated. A limitation marks a boundary the buyer needs to know.
The report should be written in a language the buyer can use. If the inspector writes in Chinese and the buyer reads English, the report needs a translation or a bilingual template. A report that only the factory can read is not a buyer's document.
The signature block should name the inspector and, where the factory signs, the factory representative. The date and the time of the inspection belong there too. A report signed by nobody is a draft, not a release document.
Read It Before Releasing Funds
The report is read against the order, the sample and the plan. The order number must match; the sample revision must match; the plan must match; the defect log must match the photos; the measurements must match the drawing; the packaging must match the approved artwork. That alignment is the evidence.
A report that passes every field is a reason to release the balance. A report that passes the product but leaves the identity, the sample or the plan blank is a reason to request a corrected report. The inspection may be complete, but the document is not.
The report should also be kept with the loading record, the packing file and the seal number. The inspection is one checkpoint; the shipment is the next. A file that connects them is what a buyer needs when a claim arrives months later.
Send the draft report or the inspection template you are using. We will mark the fields that cannot carry a release decision (/contact-us).
B2B buyers here purchase above USD 10,000 each year. The seller of record: Dore Technology Co., Ltd. For the site work behind this read, see /b2b-sourcing.
A report is the record of what was checked, what was found and what was released. Read it against the order, the sample and the plan before the file moves on.
