Library
Resources for industrial procurement from China
Guides, checklists and field notes for procurement teams that actually place orders in China and accept delivery on the other side. Use them to qualify suppliers, plan factory checks, verify documentation and control shipment release before equipment leaves the factory.
Working tools
Working tools buyers can pick up and apply to a real supplier file. Ungated and ready to apply to a real supplier file. Printable capability materials — capability statement, FAT methodology and project intake template — are on the downloads page.
Working tool
Prepare a BOQ / specification
Start here. The nine field groups a BOQ or spec needs so supplier offers stay comparable and the order is controllable — and what to send for an initial review.
Open the toolWorking tool
Supplier due-diligence checklist
Screen the supplier before award. Legal identity, manufacturer status, certifications, references, documentation gaps and quotation red flags.
Open the toolWorking tool
Supplier technical file checklist
Check the supplier file before import. Datasheets, certificates, test reports, drawings, packing list, inspection evidence and shipment-document consistency.
Open the toolWorking tool
Supplier comparison matrix
Compare competing supplier offers on a single basis. Thirteen categories — scope, exclusions, standards, FAT, documentation, warranty, schedule and commercial terms.
Open the toolWorking tool
Factory acceptance test checklist
Use during FAT. Twelve sections — supplier readiness, document pack, test plan, non-conformities, corrective actions and the release decision.
Open the toolWorking tool
Pre-shipment inspection checklist
Use before shipment release. Inspection scope, test records, serial-number matching, packaging, non-conformities and written release authorisation.
Open the toolWorking tool
Site acceptance test checklist
Use at the buyer's site after installation. Twelve sections — delivered condition, real utilities, installed function, performance, integration and handover — the site-side complement to the FAT checklist.
Open the toolThe procurement-control sequence
From the qualification work before award, through the factory execution stage, to engagement evidence that shows how the same control points play out on a real file.
For EPC teams
EPC procurement support in China
Where Sinospect fits across an EPC equipment package — qualification, technical review, FAT/PSI, documentation and shipment readiness — without replacing the EPC's engineers.
OpenHow we work
Execution partner vs sourcing agent
What changes for the buyer between a sourcing agent who stops at the quote and a China-side execution partner who controls the order through handover.
OpenPerspective
The controlled order package
A Chinese factory builds the last document that reached the floor — not the deal you agreed. Why one bilingual, version-controlled order package is the fix.
OpenPerspective
The moment nobody inspects
The most expensive moment in an import is the one nobody inspects — four moments that feel safest to skip, and the production controls and release gates that cover them.
OpenAfrica
China sourcing for African projects
For an African industrial project, the China-side risk is execution, not finding a supplier — long sea routes, documentation, payment release tied to evidence, and continuity.
OpenMaterials
Importing construction materials from China
Sandwich panels, aluminium profiles, technical flooring, cleanroom doors — what to specify, how to verify compliance, inspect before shipment and protect the payment.
OpenMaterials
Sourcing cleanroom and facility systems from China
Sandwich-panel cores and EN 13501-1 fire classes, cleanroom doors, coving and the HVAC envelope — how to specify, verify CE and ISO 14644 documentation against the exact product, and release payment only after QC.
OpenPayment & terms
Payment terms for China sourcing
Who you pay, when the factory is paid, and how terms are set. You pay one accountable supplier; the factory is paid only after Sinospect's QC passes.
OpenPayment & terms
Protecting a deposit on custom equipment
No deposit on custom equipment is risk-free. How to protect it in layers: supplier diligence, staged payments against independently verified milestones, and the right bank instrument.
OpenBefore award
China supplier qualification
How to verify legal status, production capability, certifications and references before committing to a Chinese industrial equipment supplier.
OpenBefore award
Factory visit checklist & visit vs audit
A field checklist for a qualification visit — floor, documents, management — and how a visit differs from an audit, a FAT and a pre-shipment inspection.
OpenFactory execution
Inspection & quality control in China
The control sequence from qualification to loading, what separates third-party inspection from QC-gated supply, and what a failed check actually triggers.
OpenFactory execution
Factory acceptance testing (FAT)
What FAT covers, the four phases of factory inspection, what it delivers in writing, and when to plan it in the project timeline.
OpenAcross the project
Document control method
Per-stage method that turns supplier paperwork into a controlled record — from qualification through FAT, shipment release and final handover.
OpenAcross the project
Technical clarification log template
Tracker that separates supplier sales replies, engineering clarifications and acceptance criteria — each item kept open until evidence closes it.
OpenFactory execution
Factory inspection report — anatomy
Sixteen-section anatomy of a useful buyer-side inspection report — what to include, the red flags to watch for, and how findings map to release-or-hold.
OpenFactory execution
FAT/PSI defect patterns (2023–2025)
An anonymised internal sample of 96 China-origin inspections — which defect and hold categories were most common before release, by equipment family and stage caught.
OpenReference
Procurement and inspection glossary
One-line definitions of the terms used across this library — FAT, SAT, SIT, PSI, DUPRO, ITP, AQL/ISO 2859-1, supplier qualification, manufacturer vs trading company, USCC/GSXT/SAMR, EU-GMP.
OpenEvidence
Selected field notes
Anonymized examples across post-installation support, installation acceptance and pre-shipment corrective action.
OpenDeeper guides
Focused guides that go deeper on the specific questions that come up during supplier qualification and factory acceptance.
How do you verify a Chinese industrial equipment supplier?
Step-by-step process: legal entity, registry lookup, business scope, document authentication, factory visit.
Read the guideWhat documents should a buyer request from a Chinese manufacturer?
Enumerative list — business licence, ISO certs, product certifications, audit reports, references — and what each one proves.
Read the guideHow can you tell if a Chinese supplier is a manufacturer or trading company?
The single most reliable diagnostic: business scope on the licence. Plus address, capital, and technical questioning.
Read the guideWhat are the warning signs in a Chinese supplier quotation?
Pricing patterns, payment terms, specification language, missing certifications, and what the quote does not say.
Read the guideHow should EPC teams compare Chinese supplier offers?
Total cost of ownership, specification normalisation, risk-adjusted scoring, and decision documentation.
Read the guideWhat is a factory acceptance test for industrial equipment?
What FAT is, what it proves before equipment ships, who attends, and how it fits the procurement timeline.
Read the guideWhat is the difference between a factory acceptance test and a site acceptance test?
What each test verifies, what each signature triggers, and why passing FAT is no guarantee of passing SAT.
Read the guideWhen does partial discharge testing belong in a factory acceptance test?
What PD measurement reveals that a pass/fail withstand test does not, which high-voltage equipment it applies to, and what a credible witnessed result records.
Read the guideWhat is the factory acceptance test (FAT) procedure, step by step?
Who drafts and approves the test protocol, the pre-FAT sequence, the running order on the day, non-conformity handling and the release or hold decision.
Read the guideHow does AQL sampling actually work in a pre-shipment inspection?
What “AQL 2.5” commits you to: lot size to accept/reject numbers under ISO 2859-1, who sets the defect-class AQLs, and where sampling breaks down for industrial equipment.
Read the guideHow much does a pre-shipment inspection in China cost?
The man-day pricing model, commonly quoted market ranges, the four drivers that set the man-day count, and what a failed inspection really costs.
Read the guideWhat should a China supplier visit report record?
The 11-section template — identity verified on site, the floor walk, witnessed testing, red flags — and how findings map to proceed, proceed with conditions or disqualify.
Read the guideContact
Have a live procurement file to review? Send the equipment list, quotation, inspection report, certificate package or shipment dossier — Sinospect responds with an initial view on supplier route, documentation gaps and execution risks.