Tool/Mold maker onsite visit and verification in Shenzhen/Dongguan

For companies or individuals who are interested to work with potential tooling suppliers in Shenzhen/Dongguan, but hesitate due to their inability of personally visiting the supplier or lack of team members present in China to do the same for them. What if someone can do this job for you and you judge the supplier by the 3rd party agents/ platforms who offers services for the same.

I am sharing below the basic key check points which must be done before finalizing your supplier.

There are a variety of options for gaining additional assurances when going through the supplier selection process.

Determining which option you leverage involves the level of risk you’re willing to take.

1. Legal Verification
The most basic information that you will want to have verified by an external source includes legal verification. Is the supplier legally able to partner and produce products for you? It becomes less clear how to do that when you’re looking at potential suppliers abroad. Using a 3rd party with local access is often preferred due to the cost and time required to execute internally.

2. Credit Standing
Another indicator of performance is generally an organization’s credit rating.

3. Supplier Verification
Does the supplier exist, and are they observably consistent with the information they provided. For example:

How many employees work there?
How many years have they been in business?
Who are their top three customers and what percent of sales do they make up?
Do they have any certifications?
What does the factory look like?
What equipment is available on-site?
How many production lines are there?
Do they subcontract anything to other suppliers?
What is their product capacity?

4. Supplier Audit
This on-site evaluation is performed by a quality professional that specializes in evaluating quality management systems. The idea is to gain assurances on a number of applicable topics through objective evidence. In general, the auditor looks at the following and provides a comparative analysis of conformances and non-conformances:

Management
Engineering
QC & Assurance
Incoming Receiving Inspection
Manufacturing
Packaging
Non-Conforming Materials
Corrective Action
Inspection & Test Equipment