Factory Visit Checklist: 40 Points to Cover

A factory visit checklist is a structured list of questions and observations that you work through on site at a supplier's plant. The version below covers 40 points across 10 areas: documentation, facilities, equipment, workforce, production and capacity, quality control, certifications and testing, warehousing and packing, management and commercial terms, and safety and environment.

Most sourcing problems do not start with price. They start with assumptions. A perfect sample proves only that the factory can make one good unit — nothing about incoming material control, calibration discipline, or whether the floor you were shown will build your order. A checklist forces the visit onto the systems behind the product. CN Ally's audit teams run factory visits for buyers who cannot be on the ground themselves, using the same structure below.

Print it or keep it on a tablet. Check each item off, photograph what matters, and note anything the factory cannot show you. The gaps are the report.

How should you conduct a factory visit?

Work in three phases: preparation, the walk-through, and the write-up. Before the visit, send the factory your checklist and ask for a company profile, product catalog, and certification list. A legitimate factory welcomes a prepared buyer; a middleman often goes quiet at this point.

On the day, open with a short meeting: confirm license details, product scope, and the order under discussion. Then walk the floor in production-flow order — material intake, in-process stations, assembly, finished-goods QC, packing, warehouse — rather than the guide's curated route. Talk to line workers and QC staff, not just management, and verify documents on site.

Afterward, score each section as pass, conditional pass, or fail, and request corrective-action evidence by a fixed deadline for conditional items. Keep the completed checklist on file as the baseline for re-audits.

The 40-point factory visit checklist

Work the list top to bottom; each point is something to verify, ask, or observe.

A. Documentation and legal standing

1. Business license matches the company you are talking to. Ask to see the business license (营业执照) and compare the registered Chinese name, address, and legal representative against earlier claims. Inconsistent names across documents are a classic shell-company signal.

2. Verify the license yourself on GSXT. The National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System at gsxt.gov.cn is China's official company registry. Search the 18-character Unified Social Credit Code and confirm the status is active with no abnormal-operations listing.

3. Business scope includes manufacturing. If they claim to build your product, the registered scope should include manufacturing (生产/制造) of that category — trading or wholesale only means a middleman.

4. Export paperwork is in order. Confirm customs registration and the right to declare goods at export, and ask for a redacted bill of lading from a recent order to a market like yours.

B. Facilities and the site

5. The address is a real production site, not a rented showroom. Verify the registered address against where you are standing. Real factories show permanent fixtures, material flows, and daily production.

6. The building and layout support your product. Check floor space, loading docks, and whether lines flow logically from raw material to finished goods. Logical layout reduces handling damage and mix-ups.

7. The general condition shows discipline. Clean floors, marked walkways, organized workstations. A chaotic, poorly kept plant usually means careless process control too.

8. The site has room for your order. Look for free floor space, available line positions, and a loading area that handles container traffic without bottlenecks.

C. Equipment and maintenance

9. Key production equipment is owned, not secretly outsourced. Note the main machines and ask which are in-house versus subcontracted. Controlled, disclosed outsourcing is fine; hidden outsourcing is not.

10. Equipment matches your product's tolerances. Ask how the machines achieve the tolerances in your spec sheet. Vague answers here are a warning: floor space is not precision.

11. A maintenance program leaves records. Ask when the main machines were last serviced and by whom. No maintenance log means running on luck — and unplanned breakdowns become your delays.

12. Backup equipment covers breakdowns. Ask what happens when a key machine fails mid-order. Parallel lines absorb it; a single-line operation's delivery promises depend on everything going right.

D. Workforce and working conditions

13. Worker count matches the claimed capacity. Roughly count the people on the floor and compare with the company profile. A "300-worker factory" with 40 people at the lines is a story, not a factory.

14. Key staff are stable and qualified. Ask about turnover among supervisors, QC engineers, and technicians, and confirm an English-speaking contact who understands technical detail. Poor communication during a visit usually gets worse after you pay.

15. Working conditions look lawful and safe. Look for time records, proper PPE around machinery and chemicals, functioning fire exits, and reasonable dormitories if housing is provided.

16. Workers are trained, not improvising. Watch whether operators follow posted work instructions, and ask a few what they do when they find a defect — a trained answer names the checkpoint and the procedure.

E. Production and capacity

17. Production is actually running. A live line reveals rhythm, supervision, and work-in-progress discipline. An empty factory during working hours is not normal.

18. Work instructions are posted and followed. Each station should show a written instruction or reference sample. Units coming off the line should match the posted standard on a random spot check.

19. Stated capacity survives simple math. Ask for units per line per shift, number of lines, and shifts — then multiply, and ask what share is already committed to other customers. Your order must fit real spare capacity, not theoretical maximums.

20. Lead time is built from a schedule, not guessed. Ask for the breakdown: material procurement, production, packing, booking. A factory that names each stage's duration has planned; "30 days" to everything is a guess.

F. Quality control systems

21. QC checkpoints exist at three stages. Incoming material inspection, in-process checks, and final inspection before packing. A factory that inspects only at the end finds defects after the labor cost is sunk.

22. Incoming materials are logged and tested. Ask whether raw materials arrive lot by lot with supplier certificates, or in bulk with no tracking. Batch mixing is how material substitution slips through.

23. Defect rates are measured and known. Ask for the current rejection rate and what happens to rejected units — rework, scrap, or quietly shipped. No answer to either question means quality is not being tracked.

24. Traceability works backwards from a finished unit. Ask the factory to trace one finished batch to its raw material lot: lot number, supplier certificate, production date, QC sign-off. Real traceability takes minutes; anything else is improvisation.

G. Certifications and testing

25. Claimed certificates are real and current. Ask to see originals with issue and expiry dates, and verify them on the issuing body's database. Expired certificates are decoration.

26. Product certifications match your target market. CE for Europe, FCC for US electronics, CPSIA for US children's products — each issued to the same legal entity you are contracting with. Borrowed certs do not cover your order.

27. In-house testing equipment fits your product. Check the actual test stations and ask how often instruments are calibrated — look for dated calibration stickers.

28. The factory uses a recognized sampling standard. Ask which sampling plan governs final inspection. Serious exporters work to an AQL scheme based on ISO 2859-1 — the international acceptance-sampling standard descended from MIL-STD-105E — commonly AQL 2.5 for major defects, 4.0 for minor ones.

H. Warehousing and packing

29. Raw materials and finished goods are segregated. Mixed storage invites mix-ups and damage. Finished cartons should be physically separated from raw material zones, with clear lot labeling.

30. Storage conditions suit the product. Humidity control for electronics and paper goods, temperature protection for adhesives and cosmetics. Ask how inventory fares during the humid southern summer.

31. Packing methods are engineered, not improvised. This is where damage happens. Check carton strength, inner protection, and container loading — weight distribution, bracing, moisture protection.

32. Inventory records match physical stock. Ask for the inventory log and spot-check a few items on the shelves. A factory that cannot reconcile its own stock will struggle with delivery schedules.

I. Management and commercial terms

33. Management answers technical questions directly. The owner or general manager should be able to discuss your product's process, not just price. Evasive answers suggest they do not control production.

34. Pricing can be broken down by component. Ask what drives the unit price: material, labor, coating, packing, margin. A factory that knows its costs can explain them.

35. MOQ, samples, and payment terms are stated in writing. Confirm minimums, sample costs and credit against bulk, and standard payment terms. For large orders, ask about letters of credit or escrow — and get it in writing before you leave.

36. There is a named account manager and a technical contact. You need one person responsible for your order commercially and one who understands the engineering.

J. Safety and environment

37. Fire safety equipment is present and maintained. Extinguishers, alarms, marked exits — and check the dates on extinguisher inspection tags.

38. Chemicals and hazardous materials are handled properly. Segregated storage, labeling, spill containment, trained handlers. If your product involves plating, painting, solvents, or batteries, give this section extra time.

39. Waste disposal and emissions look controlled. Ask how the factory handles production waste and wastewater. Environmental shutdowns in China are sudden — a non-compliant supplier can have your order frozen without warning.

40. Worker safety gear matches the hazards. Eye protection, gloves, masks, machine guards — present and actually used. Watch the floor for five minutes; real compliance is a habit, not a display.

What should you photograph during a factory visit?

Photograph evidence rather than scenery, and always with permission. The shots that matter later: the building exterior with the company signboard; each production line in operation, wide enough to show worker density; key equipment nameplates; the QC area with testing instruments and calibration stickers; raw material storage with lot labeling; and the packing area.

Photograph the problem areas too — a missing machine guard or an expired calibration sticker carries more weight than the glossy shots when you compare suppliers. Name files by factory and section the same day, while details are fresh.

10 red flags that should stop the deal

Any single item here does not always disqualify a factory, but each one demands an explanation.

Red flag · Why it matters

• Only the showroom and meeting room are on the tour: A factory that will not show the production floor is usually a trading company, or the floor is not theirs
• Business scope lists trading only, no manufacturing: The company is legally a middleman, whatever the website claims
• Registered address does not match the actual site: A borrowed or staged facility; the legal identity is unreliable
• No defect rate, rejection rate, or QC records available: The factory does not measure its own quality, so it cannot control it
• QC happens only at final inspection: Defects are found after the labor cost is sunk; your delivery absorbs the rework
• Photos of the production floor are refused: Something on the floor is being hidden — subcontracting, conditions, a different company
• Quote is far below every competitor for the same spec: Something is being cut: material grade, coating, testing, or labor compliance
• Heavy pressure for a large deposit before due diligence: Legitimate factories negotiate terms; they do not rush you past verification
• Certifications cannot be produced on site: Certs "at the other office" usually means borrowed, expired, or fabricated
• Management cannot explain its own production process: The people across the table do not control what you would be paying for

Frequently asked questions

How long does a factory visit take?

Plan half a day to a full day per factory, including travel. The walk-through itself usually runs two to four hours: an opening meeting, the production-flow walk, document review, and a closing discussion. Budget a full day when the product is complex or the order value is high.

Should I announce the visit or show up unannounced?

Announce it. A visit with a sent-ahead checklist produces better evidence: documents are prepared, the right technical staff are present, and you can judge how well they answer prepared questions. Unannounced visits are a tool for social-compliance investigations, not first supplier qualification.

What is the difference between a factory visit and a factory audit?

A visit is your own walk-through guided by a checklist like this one. A factory audit is a formal, scored assessment by trained auditors, with a written report, photographic evidence, and corrective-action follow-up. Visits suit early screening; audits fit first large orders or regulated products.

Can I verify a factory by video call instead of visiting?

A live video walk-through covers a lot: confirm the floor exists, watch a line running, ask to see documents held to the camera. The test is whether they agree to a live, unscripted floor tour this week — a factory says yes, a trader stalls. Use video for screening; use an on-site visit or a professional audit for decisions.

How much does a professional factory audit cost?

Third-party audit firms typically charge a few hundred US dollars per man-day — commonly cited ranges run $300 to $800 depending on firm, scope, and location. A standard audit takes four to six hours, with the report delivered within a day or two.

How to score the visit and decide what happens next

Decide within 48 hours, while the details are fresh. Score each of the ten sections as pass, conditional pass, or fail, and apply a simple rule: a fail in documentation, quality control, or safety is disqualifying until fixed, because those three protect you from fraud, defects, and compliance exposure. A conditional pass means proceeding only after the factory provides corrective-action evidence by a fixed date.

Compare scores across suppliers side by side instead of relying on impressions. The cheapest factory that fails QC systems is not cheaper than the mid-priced one that passes everything — it is a delayed invoice for the same money plus your time.

Keep every completed checklist on file. When the first pre-shipment inspection happens, the visit report becomes the baseline it is measured against. And if you cannot visit in person, have the visit done for you: a sourcing agent on the ground can run this checklist, photograph the evidence, and deliver the scored report before you commit a deposit. Questions about an upcoming visit? Write to hi@cnally.com with your product and the factories on your shortlist.