Pre-shipment inspections for orders from China: when, what and how

Why inspect before goods ship

Before shipment, you still have some say. The factory can rework or replace goods, and if your balance payment depends on a pass, it has a reason to. Once the container is at sea, you are arranging repairs or returns from the other side of the world.

There is a legal side too. Under UK general product safety rules, producers include importers, and a producer's main duty is to supply safe products. Trading Standards' Business Companion guide for producers (opens in a new tab) also lists duties such as marking products with your name, address and a batch reference, sampling and testing products, and investigating complaints. An inspection does not replace safety testing, but it helps you catch problems before goods reach customers.

The main types of inspection

Inspection firms offer checks at different stages of an order. Intertek's list for consumer goods (opens in a new tab) is typical:

• Pre-production inspection: checks raw materials and components before production starts.
• During production inspection: starts once the first goods come off the line, so problems can be corrected while there is time. One firm listed on HKTDC's sourcing site (opens in a new tab) carries it out once at least 10% of the order is made.
• Pre-shipment inspection, also called a final random inspection: done when goods are finished and packed. The same firm on HKTDC's site does it once production is finished and at least 80% of goods are in cartons.
• Loading supervision: watching the container being loaded, to confirm the goods that passed inspection are the ones that ship.

For most small importers, the pre-shipment inspection is the place to start. Consider adding a during-production check for a new supplier, a new product or a large order.

What a pre-shipment inspection covers

The inspector picks cartons at random and checks the goods against your order. Intertek lists quantity, workmanship, function, colour, size and packing details. For furniture, garden products and homeware, that usually means:

• Quantity: are all the cartons there, and is each one complete?
• Appearance and workmanship: scratches, dents, finish and colour against your approved sample.
• Size and fit: measurements against your specification and, for flat-pack goods, whether the parts go together.
• Function: hinges, locks, moving parts and fittings.
• Packing and marking: carton strength, inner protection, shipping marks, labels and barcodes.
• Safety information: warnings, instructions, and your name, address and batch reference where required.

Ask the inspection firm for a sample report before booking, so you know exactly what you will receive and how results are graded.

AQL sampling in plain terms

Nobody checks every item in a container. Inspectors check a sample and use it to decide whether to accept the whole batch. The usual method is AQL, short for acceptance quality limit, set out in the international standard ISO 2859-1. A new edition, ISO 2859-1:2026 (opens in a new tab), was published in January 2026, replacing the 1999 version.

1. Your order size and the inspection level set how many items are sampled. General Inspection Level II is the most common choice.
2. You choose an AQL for each type of defect. A common setting is 0 for critical defects, 2.5 for major and 4.0 for minor, as Epic Sourcing's guide (opens in a new tab) sets out. A lower number is stricter.
3. Tables in the standard give an accept number and a reject number. In an example from Global Sources (opens in a new tab), a sample of 80 at an AQL of 1 passes with two defects and fails with three.

Define the defect types for your own product. As a guide, critical defects could harm the user or make the product non-compliant. Major defects make the product unsaleable or likely to be returned. Minor defects are small imperfections a customer might notice but would probably keep.

Loading checks

Good goods can still arrive damaged if the container is poor or badly packed. The CTU Code (opens in a new tab), a voluntary code of practice from the IMO, ILO and UNECE, sets out how to pack cargo transport units such as containers. Drawing on it, ask your supplier or inspector to check that:

• The empty container is sound: no holes (light coming in with the doors shut), no broken floor or protruding nails, and doors that lock and seal properly.
• It is clean, dry and free of smells, pests and old labels.
• Heavy items are spread across the floor and never stowed on top of light ones.
• Cargo is blocked or lashed so it cannot slide or tip, with gaps filled.
• The seal is fixed straight after packing, and the container and seal numbers are recorded.

Hapag-Lloyd publishes a summary of the CTU Code (opens in a new tab) that covers these points in more detail. A loading supervision visit, such as the one SGS describes (opens in a new tab), adds a count of the goods, checks product codes against the packing list or invoice, and photographs the packing and loading.

Agree the standard in your purchase order

An inspection is only as good as the standard it checks against. Put that standard in writing before production starts.

• The product specification: materials, sizes, finishes and colours, with drawings or photos.
• An approved sample, kept by both sides, as the reference for appearance.
• Packing and marking: carton type, inner packing, shipping marks, labels and barcodes.
• Your AQL levels for critical, major and minor defects, and the inspection level.
• A written list of defects for this product.
• When the inspection happens, who carries it out, and that the balance is paid after a pass.
• What happens after a fail, such as rework and re-inspection, and who pays for it.

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