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Reliable exporters: find them and meet them

Path: Sourcing
News & Advice >> Import
from China Advice >> What can you observe in a Chinese factory?

What
can you observe in a Chinese factory

Posted: September 21,
2012

by Renaud Anjoran

Download a free and ready-to-use China
factory inspection checklist (Word document).

This
comprehensive template has been created exclusively for Global Sources'
buyers and is not available anywhere else. Just print and bring with you
on your next factory visit.

A few days ago, I wrote What
questions can you ask a Chinese factory during a visit?

Unfortunately, a factory visit is carefully scripted, and you won't get
100% truthful responses. In other words, the supplier’s salesperson will
tell you what she thinks you want to hear.

Here is a list of things that anyone can observe easily when visiting a
Chinese factory:

Is the production floor clean? Are products in direct contact with
the ground?

Is the office organized? Or do they have papers all over their
desks?

Are the workers' toilets clean?

Are there lines on the ground, and nameplates for each
department?

Do the workers wear protective equipment (masks, gloves…) when they
perform dangerous operations?

Are the operators afraid/nervous when you stop and look at
them?

Do the workers perform only 1 simple and repetitive operation, in
front of a conveyor belt?

Is production organized in islands (bad) or in line (better)? Is
there a lot of work-in-process in the workshop? (You can read about the
different types
of production organization).

What operations are they performing? If it is only packing, you are
wasting your time (the real action is somewhere else).

What other customers do they serve in your country? Have a look at
the labels on the packing line, and then at the shipping marks in the
cartons warehouse.

Do they agree to show you the latest designs they developed for
their other customers? Would they give you quotations for these
proprietary designs?

Does the showroom contain branded items? If some designs were
developed for a specific customer, would they accept to make them for
you too?

SEE ALSO: What to check during a China factory
inspection

To finish on a lighter note: make sure you don’t go as far as the
pointy-haired boss in the below cartoon.

Source: dilbert.com

Renaud Anjoran is the founder of Sofeast Quality Control and helps
importers to improve and secure their product quality in China. He writes
advice for importers on the Quality
Inspection blog. He lives full time in Shenzhen, China. You can
contact him at [email-masked].

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