Factory verification in China
Before you pay, we check whether your supplier really is the factory it claims to be. In many 1688 categories, most listings that look like manufacturers are trading companies that subcontract production.
Respuesta rápida
What is a factory verification and what is it for?
A factory verification is an on-site and documentary check that your Chinese supplier is a real manufacturer and not a middleman. It reviews the business licence and its scope of activity, the existence and ownership of the plant, production capacity, in-house quality control and the certifications in force. The aim is to catch the trading company that subcontracts production before you pay it, because a company that subcontracts controls neither the lead times nor the quality of your order.
Service facts
- What is checked
- Licence, plant, capacity, in-house QC, certifications
- Deliverable
- Report with dated photographs and an assessment
- Typical lead time
- 3 – 7 working days
- On-site coverage
- Shenzhen, Dongguan, Huizhou and Guangzhou the same day
- Other provinces
- Travel arranged separately, with travel costs billed on top
- Can be booked on its own
- Yes, with no need to buy through us
Why this distinction matters so much
A trading company that subcontracts does not make your product: it orders it from a plant it does not control and adds its margin. That has three concrete consequences. The price you pay includes a middleman. The lead time depends on a third company you can neither visit nor claim against. And when a defect appears, the trader negotiates with the factory with the same interest as you in the factory giving ground — which is to say, none.
With a real manufacturer, those three things flip: the price is the production price, the lead time is negotiated directly on the line, and a quality claim is answered by the party that can actually correct it.
What we check exactly
Legal existence and ownership. We pull the Chinese business licence from the public register and verify that the scope of activity covers manufacturing the product, not just selling it. We also check that whoever signs the contract is the registered owner or an authorised representative with a verifiable power of attorney.
The plant. If the order justifies it, we visit the facilities. We document the floor space, the main equipment, the number of lines and operators, and the general condition of the building. Photographs are dated and geotagged.
Capacity and quality control. We ask for monthly production capacity and compare it against your volume to detect whether your order is marginal for that plant — which usually translates into lead times that slip. We check whether it has its own quality department and at which point in the process it inspects.
Certifications. For regulated categories we check that the certifications are issued in the company's name and cover the exact reference. A certification in a third party's name, expired, or for a different model is one of the most frequent red flags.
Red flags we detect most often
An incoherent catalogue: the same company offers phone cases, garden furniture and plastic toys. A real factory has a bounded scope; a trader can sell anything.
A price suspiciously low against the rest of the market, which is almost always offset by lower-grade material or by an order that never gets produced on the agreed terms.
Resistance to a third-party inspection before shipment, or to a plant visit. A real manufacturer has no reason to refuse.
A request to pay into a personal account or into an account in a company name different from the one that signs. This is the most serious red flag of all and, in our operation, an automatic reason to stop.
| Real manufacturer | Trader / middleman | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence scope | Production and manufacturing of the product | Sales, trade or foreign trade |
| The price you pay | Production price plus its factory margin | Factory price plus a third party's margin |
| Control of lead time | Direct: negotiated on the production line | Indirect: depends on a plant it does not control |
| If there is a defect | Corrected by the party that made it and can make it again | Intermediates, with no ability to correct the process |
| Plant visit | Can be visited and documented | Usually there is no plant to visit |
| Customisation | Accepts specifications, tooling and your own brand | Limited to whatever its own supplier offers |
How we run the verification
It can be booked on its own against a supplier you have already found. The order does not have to go through us.
- 01
Identification
You give us the supplier's Chinese legal name or a link to its public listing.
- 02
Documentary checks
We pull the licence, the scope of activity and the ownership record from the public register.
- 03
On-site visit
Where warranted, we visit the plant and document the facilities, the equipment and the quality process.
- 04
Certification review
We check the holder, validity and coverage of the product certifications.
- 05
Report
You receive dated photographs, the findings and an explicit assessment of whether that plant can produce your product.
- 06
Recommendation
If the supplier fails verification, we keep looking for alternatives in the same category.
Frequently asked questions about supplier verification
How do I tell a real factory from a middleman in China?
The most reliable indicator is the scope of activity on the Chinese business licence: a manufacturer's scope is limited to production, while a trader's is limited to sales or foreign trade. Three other signs help: whether the supplier accepts producing to your specifications and under your brand, whether it can show the production line where your item is actually made, and whether its catalogue is coherent or mixes unrelated categories.
What does a factory audit include?
A factory audit covers the legal existence and true ownership of the company, the scope of its licence, the plant's floor space and capacity, its main equipment, the number of operators, whether it runs its own quality control department, and the certifications in force for your category. The result is a report with dated photographs of the facilities and the documentation, plus a clear assessment of whether that plant can produce your product.
Can I verify a supplier I found myself?
Verifying a supplier you found yourself is one of our most requested services, and it does not require you to replace your list. We verify suppliers the client has already identified on 1688 or Alibaba. Verification can be booked on its own, although it is usually chained with price negotiation and inspection.
What happens if the factory fails verification?
A factory that fails verification is discarded and the reason is documented, so that you do not run into the same supplier again. This is a frequent outcome rather than a failure of the process: in many 1688 categories, most listings that look like factories are in fact trading companies. Catching that before you pay is precisely the value of the service.
Do you also verify product certifications?
Product certifications are verified as well, especially for regulated categories — electrical goods, children's products, food, cosmetics. In those categories we check that the certifications the supplier displays are issued in the name of that company and cover the exact reference you are going to buy. A certification issued to another company, or one that has expired, is a common red flag.
Related services
China sourcing agent
We find, verify and negotiate with the right factory for your product.
Quality inspection
AQL factory inspection with a photo report before you release the balance payment.
1688 sourcing
We buy on China's domestic marketplace, where the price is the real factory price.
OEM/ODM product development
From sample to mass production with your brand, packaging and certifications.
Tell us what you need to buy
Send us a 1688 link, a photo or a sample of the product, plus your estimated volume. You get back a shortlist of vetted suppliers, a landed price to your warehouse and a realistic production lead time.
We reply within 24 business hours. See how the process works