CHINA SUPPLIER VISIT PLANNING CHECKLIST
China Factory Tours | chinafactorytours.com

1. DEFINE THE DECISION
[ ] What decision must this trip support?
[ ] What would make a supplier clearly unsuitable?
[ ] Who on our team owns the final decision?

2. PREPARE THE BUYER BRIEF
[ ] Product specification, drawings, and reference samples
[ ] Forecast range, target MOQ, and expected order pattern
[ ] Target market, compliance, testing, and documentation needs
[ ] Quality standards and known failure risks
[ ] Commercial constraints and desired timeline

3. SCREEN EACH SUPPLIER
[ ] Confirm legal company name and factory address
[ ] Confirm which processes are performed in-house
[ ] Identify subcontracted processes and critical dependencies
[ ] Request relevant product and process examples
[ ] Confirm host participants and visit purpose

4. BUILD A REALISTIC ROUTE
[ ] Group visits by manufacturing cluster, not sales-office address
[ ] Allow time for traffic, security, meals, and overruns
[ ] Keep each day focused enough for useful technical discussion
[ ] Confirm photography, PPE, confidentiality, and visitor rules
[ ] Prepare backup options; all access is subject to host approval

5. USE A CONSISTENT VISIT AGENDA
[ ] Introductions and project context
[ ] Technical and commercial questions
[ ] Production-flow walkthrough
[ ] Quality-system evidence
[ ] Capacity and lead-time assumptions
[ ] Open risks, actions, owners, and dates

6. COMPARE AFTER EVERY VISIT
[ ] Record observations before travelling to the next supplier
[ ] Separate evidence from claims and assumptions
[ ] Score suppliers against the same criteria
[ ] List missing information and follow-up owners
[ ] Agree the next decision: reject, clarify, sample, audit, or negotiate

This checklist is general planning guidance, not a factory audit or legal,
quality, safety, or compliance certification.