Top 50 Third Party Inspection Company in China List

Many buyers are fed up with overlooked quality issues that end up being shipped, and they know something needs to change.

An obvious way to control the problem is to find an inspection company in China to check the quality before shipping.

At the same time, they fear shocking manufacturers by giving the impression of distrust. They were afraid that everything would go downhill from then on. Is this the case for you? Then this article is for you. 

How Much Does a China Inspection Service Cost?

The China inspection service fees range from $180 to $320 per person per day. This usually includes the inspector’s travel expenses. Note that inspectors are charged per person per day, so it will depend on how long it takes to inspect the quantity you require.

Understanding the Cost of Quality Inspections in China Service.

I’m always amazed at what some importers expect about the cost of quality inspections in Chinese factories.

Some importers will talk about their projects for a while, see where we can help them, and finally (almost as an afterthought) ask: “How much does it cost to do a quality check in China?”

When it comes to 3rd party quality inspection costs, buyers fall into two categories:

When I say “$250/day,” I can almost hear some buyers thinking, “wow, these guys are so cheap.”

-They compare this fee to the cost of providing professional services in their home country, or to the total order value, or the cost of the best option (flying to China). Sounds low.

-For others, however, the opposite is true. In their view, $100 is a rip-off. They compare it to the salary of a typical English-speaking Chinese employee (6000RMB) and divide it by 30 days, and they think we’re making a crazy profit. Forget the major costs (training/supervision/internal control expenses) of a company’s network in key areas, travel to factories, communication with customers, taxes and social security, etc.

Buyer 1 is Ready to Pay a Little More for Better Service and Higher Reliability.

The first group is willing to pay more for better service and higher reliability. They tend to be mid-sized or large companies, or they have developed their own product, getting the rights to all the details, which helps them charge a premium. They allow quality assurance companies like us to exist.

They want to make sure they are paying within the market (i.e. not twice as much as their competitors). They’re after convenience, reliability, and speed, not “mass.”

Buyer 2 Wants the “Best Deal” and Is Ready to Take More Risks. I’ve learned that second-class buyers will never accept paying market prices for quality control inspections in China unless absolutely necessary. They would rather go all out and ship the factory away. 

Is it rational? Not always true.

Are They Worse Off?

Sometimes. It might make sense if they’re buying a purely decorative off-the-shelf product (or giving it away as part of a marketing campaign)!

Breaking Down the Cost of QA and What a “people’s day” Includes?

So why is $250 /day /person (which is more than enough for a lot of random inspections)? As we outline in this article, a 1 working day typically includes the following activities:

• Research client documents and checklists – 15-30 minutes
• It takes an average of 1-2 hours to go to the factory.
• Introduction, opening meeting, going to warehouse – 10 minutes.
• It takes an average of 30-45 minutes to count the numbers, takes appropriate sampling, and deliver the picked samples to the inspection area. It varies from 10 minutes at best to half a day at worst. I explain all of this in “Sampling is an essential part of random inspection.”
• Inspecting the outer packaging, inner packaging, and single packs (if any), as well as the product, including time-consuming testing and visual inspection – about 4 hours of efficient, focused work
• Eat and wait during the factory lunch break – which is easily 90 minutes, during which they don’t want inspectors working alone without “supervision.”
• While taking notes, explain findings to factory reps and defend their logic – about 15 minutes.
• Return from the factory, 1-2 hours on average
• Prepare a draft report with explicit comments and many photos, a 1-hour average.

All in all, it’s a 12-hour job that involves a lot more than one typically thinks (often just a visual inspection). In addition to labor costs, travel expenses may also apply if the factory is far from the nearest importer. 

What If Your Budget is Low?

What can you do if the $299 budget is too high (maybe your entire order is worth $500)?

Here Are Some Alternatives:

• Ask the supplier for many photos and possibly a live video showing many photos (easy for WeChat).
• Ask the supplier to send you some production samples.
• Maybe you can’t buy “Chinese products” directly while keeping the risk low. You need to work with wholesalers.
• You can negotiate the price with the agent: if your product is simple and does not require a lot of time to communicate.
• Send goods to a third-party warehouse, such as us, to help you do a random spot check before shipping.

How Does QC Inspection Service Generally Work in Practice?

Suppose you bought a batch of widgets from a Chinese supplier. You noticed that there were some misunderstandings and mistakes in quality when they prepared the samples and sent them to you.

It makes you a little nervous. You choose to work with a China inspection agent to set a China quality control inspection services first.

What will they do at least?

A final random inspection a few days before shipment. This is the correct number of times. Make sure to pick samples randomly from the entire batch and inspect those samples. If your requirements are not met, or the quality is inconsistent, the inspector’s report will show.

We recently started to adopt a different approach with the help of our clients to do the quality control in China:

• They start with a piece by piece inspection in China (paid by the manufacturer)
• They see what defects come up most often.
• They advise the manufacturer to decrease the most frequent defects.
• If the proportion of defectives goes below a certain target, they switch to random inspections (paid by the importer)
• If the proportion of defectives goes back up, they switch back to full inspection/piece-by-piece inspection (paid by the manufacturer)

In the mid-to-long run, it decreases the costs for the importer by forcing the factory to solve the real issues.

How to Arrange/Set Up a China Quality Inspection Service?

Suppose you want to arrange for a quality inspection of your product in China.

What I need to tell quality inspection company?

• Supplier contact information, factory address (otherwise, they will ask for it from the supplier)
• Product description, photos, maybe a short video
• Description of packaging
• State your quality standards and what you can/can’t accept.
• Quantity classification (for example, if there are multiple models, sizes, or colors, they need to know)
• Also, if possible, make sure they have physical samples on hand. It’s helpful because some aspects of touch and feel don’t communicate well, even in the video…

Approved 50 Best Inspection Companies in China List:

I have compiled some top third party inspection companies. We choose third party quality control companies not only for high-quality prices, good service, but more importantly, to provide you with some flexibility in each inspection list.

How To Work with an Inspection Company in China Without Ticking Suppliers Off？

I have collected advice I would normally give to our new clients.

1. Choose a China Inspection Agent that Understands Your Specifications and Standards 

– if you need help with your products, they may be able to help you define some product specifications. If you can’t exchange emails (or talk about) your requirements with someone who can provide thoughtful feedback, your Supplier will feel that the newcomer is pulling them away from you. This is not your goal…

2. Make Sure the People Working in the Factory Know What You Can’t Accept 

– what types of defects are acceptable, what problems must be kept to a tiny number, and what is an absolute disaster. (This is part of a good spec.)

If you don’t do that, you need to reassure your Supplier: “We’ll review the report together, and if an alleged major or critical issue is reported, please don’t hesitate to send us some samples immediately.”

3. Develop a Proper Inspection Plan 

It may include inspection of major components, the first finished product, or final sampling. The goal is to cover the main risks identified.

4. Communicate in the Right Way

Don’t say, “We will send a third party QC company,” as this may scare some suppliers. Instead, it should say, “We are working with China inspection agents to confirm the quality of the goods prior to dispatch.”

5. Agree on Who Should Pay and How Much. 

There are two corners here. If your order is over $10,000, you may be able to get your Supplier to agree in writing that they will reimburse you for re-inspections in case serious quality issues are discovered.

I suggest simple wording like this:

[Buyer] reserves the right to perform the following quality control activities and any other activities not described below.

China Quality Control Inspection Services: Random inspection of products according to ISO2859-1 standard (single-stage, normal severity, level depends on the situation). The Acceptance Quality Limit (AQL) is 0% critical defects, 2.5% major defects, and 4.0% minor defects.

If product inspection is rejected, [Buyer] has the right to request a re-inspection, the cost of which will be re-invoiced to [Supplier]. And so on until [Buyer] accepts inspection.

If found defective or out of specification, [Supplier] will inspect the entire quantity and sort it from the bulk quantity. If re-production is not possible, [Supplier] shall notify [Buyer] immediately.

On the other hand, if your order is very low, the opposite may result in you may have to pay the Supplier $20-$50 for extra (someone to help unpack and repack the shipment, coordinate dates with the QA agent, etc.).

6. Provide Feedback on the QC Report

An easy way is to print the report, write some comments by hand, scan it and email it to the Supplier. Indicate what needs to be sorted and reworked and what is good work for the production.

If inspectors are too lax or too strict, make sure their standards are adjusted appropriately in the future. We often see QA as a facilitator of communication if done well. Feedback is immediately passed on to all employees in the plant.

7. Be Firm when They Fight Back. 

Tell them it’s your company policy, a request from a big client, or that the company boss got upset and implemented it across the workforce…anything that shows there’s no room for negotiation.

China Inspection Service Conclusion

Developing a basic quality control plan with inspection company in China for every new supplier is a matter of little time that can save a lot of time and money.

It can be standardized and sent to every supplier with minor modifications. Buyers are advised to discuss with the manager of the supplier company and sign/stamp a contract. 

As for how to choose a good Chinese product inspection company, I think their reply speed and patiently straighten out your needs are the most important. An important flaw of a too large inspection company is that it is not flexible enough, and always uses a layer of unchanging industry standards to implement inspection steps.

If you need some practical experience in quality control, you can definitely discuss with us. As a Chinese inspection company, we can provide supplier audit, factory on-site inspection, warehouse full inspection… If you need it, you can get the most suitable quotation from us.

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