The 42-Point Factory Audit Checklist
The checks our inspectors actually work through inside Chinese factories — 8 you can do from your desk before paying a deposit, and 34 that need someone standing on the floor. Print it, take it with you, or hand it to whoever goes in your place.
- 5 pages, 42 numbered checks, print-ready with tick boxes
- Written from real audits in Guangdong, not a generic template
- Includes how to score it and when to walk away
- Free. No sales call, no commission — we are buyer-side only
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42 checks, in the order you need them
Grouped the way an audit actually runs: desk work first, then the gate, then the floor, then the records, then the money.
Before you travel
Business licence, registration status, business scope, court and enforcement records, tax rating, and the registered address against the one they gave you. Most bad suppliers fail here, before you spend a cent.
Arrival and site
Gate signage versus the legal entity name, whether they occupy the building or one floor, the visitor log, loading-bay activity, fire safety, and geo-tagged photos.
Production floor
Machines counted and photographed, how many are actually running, headcount versus their claim, whether your product is on the line, tooling ownership, WIP, defect area and timed line speed.
Quality systems
Three months of incoming inspection records, signed in-process check sheets, the AQL they work to, the real defect log, calibration dates, and certificates traced to the actual holder.
Commercial and people
Legal representative, bank account in the entity name, export customers, how much work is subcontracted out, sub-suppliers, worker conditions, and contract terms confirmed on site.
How to score it
Which failures are a stop-and-ask rather than a deduction, and the threshold at which a factory is a capability risk for your specific product — not just a lower score.
Six of the 42, so you know what you are getting
- Registered address compared against the address they told you to visit. Mismatches are the single most common finding.
- Business scope: does it list manufacturing and production, or only wholesale and trade?
- How many machines are actually running versus idle and dusty.
- Defect log with actual numbers, not a blank template.
- Bank account name matches the legal entity exactly — never a personal account.
- Product certifications traced to the certificate holder, which is often not your supplier.
We run these checks for buyers who cannot fly
The checklist is free and yours to use. If you would rather someone independent did it, this is exactly what we do.
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