- Headcount 11, not the 200 claimed on their profile
- No owned machinery — production sub-contracted without disclosure
- No incoming-material inspection or QC records of any kind
- We audited two alternatives in the same city; buyer signed with the second
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Audit & verification outcomes
What an on-site factory audit actually catches
Real scenarios from our Guangdong-based auditors — walking factory floors, counting machines, checking QC records and certificates in Chinese. Names and product categories are anonymized, but the findings, savings and outcomes are exactly what we reported.
70%
of audited “factories” had a capability gap the buyer didn’t know about
$9k–$180k
typical order value protected per audit
42 points
checked on every on-site audit, from lines to QC records
3–5 days
from booking to full photo & video audit report
On-site factory audits
What our auditors found on the factory floor
Paperwork checks catch fake companies. An on-site audit catches real companies that can’t actually make your product — the far more expensive problem.
- Legitimate manufacturer, licences and export records all clean
- Only 6 of 14 machines were free for the order window
- Peak-season staffing relied on temporary workers with no training records
- Split into two shipments with penalties written into the contract
- ISO 9001 certificate expired; registry showed no renewal
- BSCI report number not found with the issuing body
- Fire exits blocked and no PPE in the soldering area
- Buyer moved to an audited supplier and kept their retail contract
Entry-level verification
What the $129 desk verification catches first
Most buyers start here. It rules out the companies that shouldn’t get an audit at all — then we go on-site for the ones worth your money.
- Business licence marked as “revoked” in GSXT
- Registered address was a 90 m² apartment, not a factory
- No export licence on file; could not legally ship goods
- Client sourced a verified alternative through our guided-factory tour
- Factory licence, export licence, and GSXT records all valid
- Beneficiary name on invoice did not match registered company name
- Bank account was opened under an individual, not the company
- Buyer paid the company account and production started on schedule
- Valid business licence with clean court-history record
- On-site visit confirmed active assembly lines and QC station
- Bank account matched the registered entity exactly
- Recommended 30/70 T/T split instead of 50/50 for first order
- Confirmed the supplier was still registered and contactable
- Two pending court cases for unpaid debts from other buyers
- Local pressure and bilingual negotiation secured a refund plan
- Client now verifies every new supplier before wiring money
Audit scope
The six things an audit checks that paperwork never will
Every on-site factory audit is a 42-point walkthrough with photos, video and a written report — in English, from a team that reads the Chinese documents.
01
Real production capability
Machine count, machine age, tooling ownership, and whether your specific product can be made in-house or is quietly sub-contracted out.
02
Capacity vs your lead time
Lines currently committed to other buyers, shift patterns, and the honest delivery date for your quantity — before you sign.
03
Quality control in practice
Incoming-material checks, in-line inspection points, final QC records, defect logs and how rework is actually handled.
04
Certificates verified at source
ISO, BSCI, CE, export and test certificates checked against the issuing bodies — not just accepted as PDFs.
05
Workforce & site conditions
Headcount, training records, safety exits, PPE and housekeeping — the things your own customers may audit you on later.
06
Who you're really dealing with
Licence, legal entity, bank account owner, court history, and whether the person on WeChat has authority to sign anything.
Book an audit before you commit to a factory
Most problems we find cost buyers 50–100× the price of the check. Start with a $129 verification to rule out the obvious risks, then send us on-site for a full $398 factory audit before the money moves.