What to agree with your supplier before a pre-shipment inspection

A pre-shipment inspection compares finished goods with what was agreed. When little was agreed, the inspector has little to compare against, and a dispute over the result becomes a dispute over what the order meant. The six points below are best settled when the order is placed, not when the inspection is booked.

1. The specification

One document, with a version and a date, that both sides have accepted. It carries dimensions and tolerances, materials, colours, function, labelling and packing. The inspector should receive the same version as the factory.

2. The approved sample

A sample that both sides have signed or sealed, kept at the factory for the inspector to compare against. Where the specification is silent — finish, hand feel, shade — the sample decides.

3. The sampling plan

How many units are pulled from the lot and how many defects are acceptable. Most buyers use an AQL plan, which gives a sample size for the lot size and an acceptance number for each class of defect. Agree the inspection level and the AQL for each class with the supplier before production, and check the resulting numbers with the AQL calculator at aqlchart.com.

4. Defect classes

A list that says which faults are critical, major and minor for this product. Without it, the inspector applies the inspection company's general list, and the supplier can fairly say it never agreed to it.

5. On-site tests

Which checks are done at the factory, on how many units, and with whose equipment: measurements, function tests, barcode scans, carton drop tests. Tests that need a laboratory are a separate arrangement and are not part of an inspection visit.

6. What happens if the lot fails

Who decides — the buyer. What the supplier does: sort, rework or replace. Who pays for a second inspection. Whether the shipment date moves. Agreeing this in advance removes the argument at the moment when both sides are under time pressure.

Timing and access

The inspection is normally booked for when the order is finished and most of it is packed, so that the sample can be drawn from the whole lot. Tell the supplier that the inspector chooses the cartons, and that sealed cartons may be opened.

The checklist generator gives a starting list of pre-shipment checks by product category.

Questions

Who books the inspection?

Usually the buyer, because the inspector reports to the buyer. The supplier confirms the date when the goods will be ready.

Can the supplier refuse an inspection?

Access to the goods is a contract matter. Put the right to inspect, and to reinspect after rework, in the purchase order.

Is a pre-shipment inspection the same as a laboratory test?

No. An inspection checks a sample on site against the specification. Laboratory tests measure properties such as chemical content or flammability and are ordered separately.

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Sources: this article describes common practice in pre-shipment inspection and cites no external data.