How to audit a Chinese packaging supplier: a buyer's checklist
Most sourcing problems are not quality problems. They are the discovery, several orders in, that the company you contracted with does not own the production. This checklist is written to be used against us as much as anyone else.
There is nothing inherently wrong with a trading company. The problem is not knowing which one you are dealing with, because it determines who is accountable when a batch goes wrong.
First: manufacturer or trading company?
Questions that separate them quickly, before you travel:
- How many extrusion lines, and what die widths? A manufacturer answers immediately and specifically. An intermediary answers vaguely or promises to check.
- What is your scrap rate on this product, and where does the scrap go? Anyone who runs a line knows this number. It is not a flattering question, which is the point.
- Can I have a video call from the production floor, unscheduled, this week? The single most efficient filter there is.
- Whose name is on the certificates, and does it match the company on my contract? A mismatch is not automatically disqualifying, but it needs explaining.
- Which base would my order run at, and why that one? Multi-site manufacturers allocate by capability. A vague answer suggests the work is being placed elsewhere.
If you visit — and you should, for any programme of size — the informative things are rarely on the tour route.
What to look at on the floor
- The raw material store. Is resin labelled, batch-identified and segregated by grade, or stacked in unmarked bags? This tells you whether traceability is real.
- The scrap bins beside the lines. Volume tells you the true reject rate. Empty bins mid-shift are worth a question.
- The QC lab. Ask to see the last week of test records, not the equipment. Working instruments with no recent data is the tell.
- The maintenance log on the line that would run your order. Unrecorded maintenance means unrecorded downtime, which becomes your delivery date.
- Whether operators can explain their own control points. Ask an operator what happens when gauge drifts out of tolerance. A trained answer means a real system; a look towards the manager means a system that exists on paper.
Documents worth asking for, and what a good answer looks like
Should be provided immediately, without an NDA: certification certificates with visible scope and expiry dates; the business licence; the export licence. Certificates are screening documents. A supplier who treats them as confidential is telling you something.
Reasonably behind an NDA: laboratory test reports, material declarations, patent documentation, and customer references. We take that position too — but the certificates come first and free.
Check the dates. Certificates expire. A supplier presenting an out-of-date certificate without mentioning it is either disorganised or hoping you will not look; either is useful to know. Ask directly: is anything in this pack currently in renewal?
Match the entities. The name on the certificate, the name on the invoice and the name on the contract should be reconcilable. Where they differ, a straight explanation of the corporate structure is a good sign. Evasion is not.
Direct questions produce prepared answers. These tend not to.
Questions that get honest answers
- "What is the last thing that went wrong on an order like mine, and what did you change?" Every manufacturer has one. A supplier claiming none is not being straight with you.
- "What are you not good at?" An honest answer names a capability limit. "We can do everything" means the work is being subcontracted.
- "What is the highest recycled content you can hold in repeat production, as opposed to on a sample?" The gap between those two numbers is the measure of the supplier.
- "What is the certified thickness range on that compostable certificate?" If they do not know, the certificate has never been read.
- "May I come unannounced?" The answer matters more than the visit.
It would be poor form to publish this without answering it.
Our answers to our own checklist
We are a manufacturer, operating since 2020, with four production bases in Shandong and Henan totalling 50,000 m² — single-layer bags at Chengyang, laminated bags with printing and lamination at Jimo, compounding and biodegradable resin at Longkou, and compostable films and bags in Hebi. Around 2,000 tonnes a month, roughly 200 machines, 300+ staff, shipping to 17 countries.
Certificates go out on request without an NDA, with scope and expiry visible. Test reports and material declarations sit behind one. If something is in renewal we say so rather than sending the old certificate.
And on the last question: yes. Tell us when you are coming and we will walk you through extrusion, printing, converting and the QC lab. Third-party auditors are welcome on the same terms, announced or unannounced. Arrange a visit.
Common questions
How can I tell if a Chinese supplier is a manufacturer or a trading company?
Ask how many extrusion lines they run and at what die widths, what their scrap rate is on your product, and for an unscheduled video call from the production floor this week. A manufacturer answers all three immediately. Also check whether the name on the certificates matches the company on your contract.
Should a supplier make me sign an NDA before showing certificates?
No. Certificates are screening documents with visible scope and expiry — any supplier treating them as confidential is worth a second look. Laboratory test reports, material declarations and patent documentation reasonably sit behind an NDA.
What should I look at during a factory visit?
The raw material store for labelled, batch-identified resin; the scrap bins beside the lines for the true reject rate; the last week of QC test records rather than the lab equipment; the maintenance log on the line that would run your order; and whether operators can explain their own control points.
Where to go next
We answer every enquiry within 12 hours and issue a detailed quotation within 24 hours. Send us a specification.