A step-by-step guide for importers and buyers.
The six decisions behind every professional inspection — written for buyers, not inspectors.
Inspections fail on vague specs, not on bad inspectors. Lock a golden sample, a written specification and a defect list before anything is booked — this becomes the checklist the factory and the inspector both work from.
New factory? Audit it before the first PO. Complex product? Check during production (10–50% complete). Standard order? A final random inspection when 80%+ is packed. Tight schedule or mixed containers? Add loading supervision.
Most consumer goods run Critical 0 / Major 2.5 / Minor 4.0 under ANSI/ASQ Z1.4. Tighter limits mean bigger samples and higher cost — agree the plan in writing so the verdict cannot be argued afterwards.
Send the PO, spec and factory city; confirm the man-day rate and report language up front. Book the inspection for when at least 80% of the order is finished and packed — earlier results do not represent the shipment.
The inspector — not the factory — selects which cartons are opened, drawing from packed stock across the lot. If a factory offers a prepared "showroom" area, that is your cue to look closer.
Within 24 hours you should hold a photo-documented verdict: Ship, Hold or Rework. Release the balance payment only against that report — and if it is a Hold, ask for a corrective-action plan before re-inspection.
CGF Inspection runs every project on written checklists and locked AQL plans — request a redacted sample report to see the output first.