What to Include in a Pre-Shipment Inspection Brief

An inspection before a supplier releases a shipment exists to answer one question: are these the goods that were ordered, in the condition and quantity agreed, at the point where something can still be done about it? The value of the inspection is decided by the brief, and the brief is written before the goods are packed, not after they are loaded.

What the brief has to specify

• The product and its specification. The agreed specification, not a general description. Where the order refers to a drawing, a sample or a technical file, the inspection refers to the same document.
• The quantity and how it is presented. Units, cartons, pallets, and the packaging the goods will actually ship in.
• The supplier and the location. The factory or warehouse where the inspection takes place. Where production is subcontracted, the site to be visited should be named explicitly.
• The inspection point. Whether the goods are inspected during production, at completion, or at loading. Each catches different problems.
• What the inspection must confirm. The specific attributes to be checked: dimensions, materials, finish, function, marking, labelling, quantity, packing.
• What is out of scope. An inspection of goods is not a conformity assessment, not a customs ruling and not a certification of the product for any market.

What an inspection does not do

An inspection confirms the condition of the goods it examined, at the time it examined them. It does not certify that the product meets the requirements of the destination market, and it does not replace whatever conformity documentation that market requires. Where a destination requires a conformity certificate or a registration, that is a separate requirement with its own process, and it is not satisfied by an inspection report.

Timing

An inspection that happens after the container is sealed can still find a defect, but it can no longer fix one cheaply. Where the brief identifies what the supplier has to correct, the inspection should be scheduled with enough time for the correction to be made and re-checked before the shipment leaves.

TCSA confirms the scope of an inspection before one is arranged, and confirms what is possible, who would carry it out and at what rate before anything is commissioned. Coverage is confirmed with your enquiry rather than assumed, and mainland China and other customs territories are not interchangeable.