Buyer worksheets
China Factory Visit Agenda: Turn a Tour into Useful Evidence
Plan a focused factory visit with an editable agenda, questions for each production stage and a written follow-up list. Separate observations from sales claims.
By China Unboxed ·
A factory visit is most useful when you arrive with specific unanswered questions. Decide which product and production steps you need to understand, agree access with the host and assign someone to take notes. The suggested agenda below is a planning aid, not a certified audit procedure.
Download the free worksheet (CSV)
No account or email required. Fill in a separate copy for each supplier or visit and retain the original supporting documents.
Agree the visit scope before travelling
Ask for the actual production address, meeting contact and operations expected to be running. Explain whether you need to see cutting, assembly, finishing, testing or packing. A showroom meeting can be useful, but it answers different questions from a production-floor visit.
Confirm permission for photography and any confidentiality or safety requirements. Keep a copy of the product brief available to the host and interpreter. If the relevant process will not run that day, decide whether a sample review or a rescheduled visit better serves your purpose.
Use time blocks without treating them as an audit standard
For a short introductory visit, an illustrative 90-minute plan might allocate 10 minutes to the brief, 20 to process explanation, 25 to relevant work areas, 15 to sample review, 10 to unresolved questions and 10 to confirming actions. Adjust it to the site, access and product.
Allow extra time for interpretation, movement between buildings and questions prompted by what you see. Do not pressure staff to bypass site safety rules to keep your schedule. Avoid filling the whole visit with a company presentation while leaving your important process questions unanswered.
Record what each observation supports
For each step, record the location, people present, what was shown and any restrictions. Ask which parts of your proposed order would be performed elsewhere. Seeing a machine establishes that it was there during the visit; it does not, by itself, establish future capacity or the quality of your batch.
When reviewing a sample, use your own specification and record the particular version shown. Separate an observed measurement from a verbal estimate. Mark areas you could not access as unverified rather than interpreting their omission as either proof or failure.
Finish with owners and dates
Read back the open questions before leaving. For each action, record the person responsible, what they will provide and the agreed response date. Send a concise follow-up while the discussion is still clear, attaching only photographs the host permitted you to share.
Use the result to plan a sample check, specialist assessment or further questions. Avoid turning an introductory visit into a blanket recommendation of the supplier. If you need a certified assessment, agree that separately with an appropriately qualified provider.
Use the worksheet
The CSV contains the following prompts, with columns for your notes, the responsible person and the status. Replace the prompts that do not apply to your product; leave unknown information visibly unresolved.
- Visit objective
- Product and specification version
- Production address
- Host and contact
- People attending
- Access and photo permissions
- Process to observe
- Planned time block
- What was observed
- Supplier explanation
- Evidence reference
- Not observed or restricted
- Open question
- Action owner
- Agreed response date
Suggested statuses are open, waiting for evidence and confirmed for the stated scope. Keep the evidence reference in your notes so that a later reviewer can check the basis for a decision.
Discuss the next step with us
Tell us your product, supplier location, planned dates and the questions you need help resolving. We can discuss communication and on-the-ground support, then agree availability, scope and a written quote before you book.
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Initial discussion is free. These worksheets do not certify suppliers or replace specialist inspections.