Top 10 Pre-Shipment Inspection Companies Located in China

If you are importing goods from Germany, then you would have very little worries about the quality issues.

German exporters not only use the best raw materials and state of art manufacturing lines in their productions, but also possess one of the most educated, financially satisfied work force around the globe. 

German exporters also are very good at distribution and trade finance operations. Even if you have some sort of technical problems with your product, it will be solved either by technical assistance locally or financially at worst.

That is because German exporters produce top quality products with high margins. "Made in Germany" means value against quality. 

But if you are importing goods from China, you should be worried about the quality of your order.

Chinese exporters positioned themselves as the cheapest suppliers of the world. In most cases it is possible to find unbelievable prices from a Chinese manufacturer.

However neither product quality nor the after sale services would be satisfactory for you as an importer, if you would not take preventive actions.


What is a Pre-Production Inspection (PPI)?

Independent inspection can be defined as a practice of employing private companies to check shipment details such as price, quantity and quality of goods ordered overseas.

Third party inspection services can be grouped under two main categories.

Previous Shipment Inspections, which are performed before the goods are shipped from the exporter's factory and Post Shipment Inspections, which are performed after the goods are shipped from the exporter's factory.

Inspections, which are performed before the goods are shipped from the exporter's factory are as follows:
Inspections, which are performed after the goods are shipped from the exporter's factory are as follows:

Today I would like to explain Pre-Production Inspection (PPI) in detail. After reading this article you should understand fundamental aspects of Pre-Production Inspection (PPI).

What is post shipment inspection?

Third party inspection in international trade can be defined as activities which are relating to the verification of the quality, the quantity, the price, including currency exchange rate and financial terms, and/or the customs classification of goods to be exported to the territory of the importer country.

We have written couple of articles related to third party inspection services so far on our website.

We have covered pre-shipment inspection, during production inspection and container loading supervision.

We have also explained the differences between each inspection types from one another.


Today we would like to clarify another important inspection type that is also used in international trade transactions: Post-shipment inspection.


What are the differences between Pre-Shipment Inspection (PSI) and During Production Inspection (DUPRO)?

Some sort of larger quantity orders have to be processed with continuous production lines.

Suppose that as an exporter you have received an huge order from Libya consists of 6,000mtons of refined sunflower oil packed in 1 Lt pet jars.

Assume that your factory can process 150mtons of refined sunflower oil per day in requested package type. You need 40 working days to complete the production of the order.

Continuous production requires day to day quality control checks, as it is possible to see deviations from the product specifications from one batch to another.

The only way to eliminate quality fluctuations under continuous production is to monitor the process daily by a qualified personnel.

In such a situation, importer company has two alternatives, either sending one or two engineers to the exporting company within their organization to follow up the production, or else sign a During Production Inspection (DUPPO) agreement with one of the independent audit companies.


Today I would like to explain the differences between During Production Inspection (DUPRO) and Pre-Shipment Inspection (PSI).


What are the differences between pre-shipment inspection and container loading supervision?

The practice of employing independent companies to control and certify shipment details such as price, quantity and quality of goods ordered overseas, before the goods are dispatched from the seller's promises, is known as 3rd party inspection.

These kinds of inspection services are very beneficial to importers and exporters for various reasons. It is also supported by WTO (World Trade Organization) because 3rd party inspection services are also protect importing counties' interests by prevention of capital flight and commercial fraud as well as customs duty evasion.

Pre-shipment inspection and container loading supervision are types of surveillance audits that are frequently used in international trade transactions.

There are some similarities exist between these two inspection types such as :
  • both of them are conducted by independent audit companies in order to prevent shipment of poor quality goods.
  • both of them are conducted before goods are dispatched from the exporter's factory
  • both of them are conducted at the exporter's premises.

Apart from above mentioned familiarities, there are certain core differences exist between pre-shipment inspection and container loading supervision that I would like to explain them in detail today's post.

What is container loading supervision (CLS)?

On my previous article I have explained pre-shipment inspection in detail, by replying the fundamental questions in regards to pre-shipment inspection.

We have covered following questions so far:
  • When should the pre-shipment inspection be conducted? 
  • What are the benefits of a pre-shipment inspection? 
  • How much does it cost to have a pre-shipment inspection?
  • How does a pre-shipment inspection work?
But one of the main questions is left unanswered. 

How can we as an importer make sure that the inspected goods will be shipped to us? 

How can we as an importer make sure that the loading process is fine and the package as per conditions stated on the sales contract?


One of the correct answer of above questions is Container Loading Supervision (CLS) and today I would like to explain this inspection type in detail.


What is the function of a pre-shipment inspection in international trade?

In international trade transactions, one of the biggest challenge for the importers is to make sure that the quality of the goods shipped are in conformity with the qualifications stated on the sales contract .

Importers can take several preventive steps to buy only high quality goods from their suppliers such as:

  • Auditing supplier companies on site before starting any sort of business relationship,
  • Buying with open account terms in order to make sure that payment will be released to the exporter only if goods are accepted by the quality department,
But none of these precautions may suffice to ascertain the quality of the goods, because of the fact that most of the exporters do not accept to work with an open account payment terms. They demand letter of credit or bank guarantee from the importers.

Additionally, supplier audit may not be effective method for a particular shipment, as it is possible to receive poor quality goods even from a reputable supplier for various reasons.

Pre-shipment inspection (PSI) is a kind security tool, which is demanded either by the importer companies or some governments, that verifies whether the goods dispatched are in conformity with buyer's specifications or not.

Today I would like to explain the function of a pre-shipment inspection in international trade.