Checking goods in China before dispatch

20.08.2026·11 min read read·Delivery Pro China

Goods are inspected at the warehouse in Guangzhou before the international carriage, because this is the last point at which a discrepancy can be put right by the supplier rather than at your expense. At goods receipt the pieces are counted, SKUs and quantities are reconciled, the integrity of the packaging is assessed, samples are opened, and the cargo is weighed and measured, with the result delivered as a photo report.

Where we inspect

our own warehouse in Guangzhou

When

before the international carriage

Result

photo report and actual weight and dimensions

If there is a discrepancy

the cargo does not leave until you decide

Minimum shipment

Test shipment

Why inspect in China rather than at your own premises

The difference is not whether you will find the discrepancy. You will find it either way – the question is where and when. If the discrepancy is found at goods receipt in Guangzhou, the supplier is nearby, the goods have not been paid for in full or payment has only just been confirmed, and the international carriage has not started. If the same discrepancy is found at your warehouse, it has already been paid for twice: to the supplier and to the carrier.

The second argument is negotiating position. While the cargo is in China, the conversation with the supplier is about a top-up delivery or a replacement. Once the cargo has been imported, the conversation is about a discount on the next order, because almost nobody is willing to physically take the goods back. This is a standard situation, not bad faith: reverse logistics from the country of import costs more than the goods themselves in most categories.

The third argument is less obvious: a discrepancy in quantities and SKUs breaks not only the batch but also the planning. If nine of ten SKUs arrive, it is not one item that suffers but the whole product matrix and the advertising campaign built around it. Learning about this at the warehouse in China means there is still time to add the missing items to the same shipment.

Finally, goods receipt in China provides the actual figures for the calculation. The weight and dimensions of each piece, obtained by measurement, feed straight into the carriage calculation, so the cost of the shipment is based on the real cargo rather than on the supplier's data, which often relates to a different version of the packaging.

What exactly is checked at the warehouse in Guangzhou

Goods receipt is a set of specific operations, not a general look-over. Below is what is done for every batch and what lies behind it.

Piece count

The number of cargo pieces is counted for each supplier and reconciled against what was declared in the shipment. This is the first point at which a short delivery comes to light: the supplier sent four boxes instead of six because part of the goods is not ready yet. When several suppliers are consolidated, counting each one separately is mandatory – otherwise a shortfall from one dissolves into the overall quantity.

Reconciliation of SKUs and quantities

Items are reconciled against your order by SKU and quantity. This is where the most common discrepancy shows up: a similar SKU sent instead of the one ordered, a different colour, a different configuration, a different quantity per pack. This requires your list of items in a readable form, not just the supplier's invoice.

Integrity of the packaging

The condition of the packaging is assessed: opened boxes, traces of moisture, deformation, thin cardboard that will not survive the carriage. Some problems are visible from the outside and are solved by repacking before dispatch. Weak factory packaging is a risk in its own right, because the cargo goes through several transfers before reaching your warehouse.

Completeness

We check that everything that should come with the goods is present: cables, fixings, adapters, manuals, spare parts. A missing part is discovered at the end customer and looks like a defect, even though it is simply a small item left out. In Guangzhou the supplier sends it on within a day.

Sample opening

Some pieces are opened to look at the goods inside. The depth of the sample is set by the brief: it depends on the category, the unit price and whether you have worked with this supplier before. A full check of every unit is not possible in every category and costs extra – it is a deliberate choice, not a default setting.

Recording of damage

Everything found is photographed and described: which piece, which SKU, how many units, the nature of the damage. Without such a record, a claim against the supplier turns into an exchange of opinions. With a photograph and a piece number, the conversation is about specific units.

Weighing and measuring

Every piece is weighed and measured. These figures are needed for two things: calculating the carriage by chargeable weight and keeping the supplier in check. A sharp difference between actual and expected weight is in itself a signal that the box does not hold the right quantity.

What the inspection catches and what it does not

This is the most important table in the article. Warehouse inspection is a powerful but limited instrument, and it is more honest to state the limits up front than to discover them on a live batch.

What the photo report looks like

A photo report is a document, not a set of pictures in a messenger app. It serves three purposes: deciding what to do with the cargo, making a claim against the supplier, and having evidence of the condition of the goods at the moment they were handed over for carriage.

• General view of the batch at the warehouse: how many pieces, how they look before opening
• Labelling of each piece and its link to the supplier and the order
• Scale readings for each piece and a shot of the dimensions being measured
• The goods inside the opened pieces: the SKU is visible, the quantity has been counted
• Close-up shots of labels and SKUs for reconciliation against your list
• Configuration: accessories and inserts that should come with the goods
• A separate series covering the damage found, with the piece number stated
• A summary: ordered, received, discrepancy, what is proposed
• The condition of the cargo after repacking and palletising, before loading

A practical test of completeness: from the photo report an outsider should be able to reconstruct what arrived, in what condition and how much of it there was. If the shots do not allow the quantity to be counted and the SKU to be read, that is not an inspection report but an illustration.

What the inspection fundamentally does not cover

This is better agreed before the batch. Below are the limits that do not shift with more attentiveness, because the issue is not attentiveness but the type of task.

• Laboratory testing: material composition, strength, electrical safety, fire resistance. That is the work of a certified laboratory, not a warehouse
• Hidden defects in sealed electronics: a board cannot be checked without opening and powering it up, and opening it breaks the factory packaging and the warranty
• Conformity with the certification of the country of import: marking, technical regulations, mandatory documents. The requirements are set by the country of import, and a warehouse in China does not confirm them
• Service life and durability: how many cycles an item will withstand is not established by an inspection at goods receipt
• The accuracy of stated specifications: battery capacity, power rating, protection class. These are measurements, not a visual check
• The legal standing of the trade mark and the rights to the design
• Defects that only show up during assembly or installation at the end user

What happens when there is a discrepancy

The rule is simple: if we find a discrepancy, the shipment does not leave until you decide what to do. Shipping it as-is and dealing with it later is usually one of the hardest options, because once the goods have been transported, most of your options are gone. We document the discrepancy, send you the photos and wait for your instructions.

Why a return to the supplier from Guangzhou is cheaper than a return from the country of import

Returning goods within China usually means a domestic move of a few hundred kilometres. Returning them from the country of import means another international shipment in the opposite direction, with all the related costs and procedures. It is usually substantially more expensive than a domestic return within China, making reverse logistics commercially impractical for most product categories.

• The carriage leg: a city in China versus an international route in reverse
• Formalities: under official import, re-export requires a separate procedure
• Time: a return from the country of import takes weeks, and the season may end in the meantime
• The supplier's willingness: they accept goods that never left China more readily
• Money already spent: carriage, insurance and formalities are not refunded on a return
• The condition of the cargo: after two carriages the goods are no longer in their original state

This is precisely why an inspection is better assessed not as an expense but as a shift in the point of decision. A problem is cheapest to solve where it is found earliest.

How inspection relates to payment to the supplier

When payment to the supplier goes through the operator, the inspection and the settlement end up in the same chain. That changes the situation: goods receipt takes place before the settlement with the supplier is finally closed, and a claim over a shortfall is discussed inside an unfinished deal rather than in correspondence.

When the client pays directly with their own funds and the forwarder only carries the goods, there is no such link. Goods receipt records the shortfall, but the party that found it has no leverage: the money has gone, the cargo has been accepted for carriage. Dealing with the supplier is left to you, from another country and in another language.

A separate detail is the settlement arrangement with the supplier. Payment terms are fixed before purchasing, and goods receipt at the warehouse becomes a control point inside those terms rather than a separate service on the side. We do not publish our internal rules on advance payments, but we discuss them on a specific deal.

Repacking and preparation for carriage as part of the checks

Inspecting and preparing the cargo is one operation, and separating them makes no sense. The piece has already been opened and measured, the goods have already been counted, so this is the only convenient moment to bring the packaging into a state fit for carriage.

• Replacing weak factory packaging with transport packaging where the cardboard will not survive the transfers
• Strapping, stretch wrap, corner protection and filling the voids inside pieces
• Palletising where the delivery scheme or the nature of the cargo requires it
• Transport labelling of the pieces and their link to the packing list
• Reassembling pieces when several suppliers are consolidated into one shipment
• Re-measuring and re-weighing after repacking: the dimensions change

Preparation is charged from the rate card rather than quoted ad hoc. Prices as at 20.08.2026: bag and tape – 5 $ per package, cardboard corner with a bag – 6 $ per package, wooden crate for small boxes – 15–25 $, crated pallet – 30 $ per cubic metre. If the supplier is outside Guangzhou, cargo collection is added: at the carrier's actual charge or a surcharge of 20–50 $.

The last point matters for the calculation. Repacking almost always adds volume, and volume affects the chargeable weight and the price of the carriage. So the final figures are taken after the cargo has been prepared, not before.

How this works with us is described on the pages for the warehouse in Guangzhou, inspection of goods and consolidation of suppliers. If you work with 1688 and small wholesale, goods receipt is particularly useful: substituted SKUs and shortfalls are more common there, and purchasing on 1688 usually means several suppliers in one shipment.

How to set an inspection brief

Inspection works to a brief. The more specific the brief, the less chance that something important to you goes unnoticed. Phrase it in terms of actions, not judgements.

1. Provide a list of items with SKUs and quantities in the form that is convenient for you to reconcile
2. Mark the critical SKUs that require a larger sample
3. State exactly what needs to be opened, counted, measured and photographed
4. Define what is acceptable and what is not: what counts as a defect in your particular category
5. Describe the configuration: what should be inside together with the goods
6. Say what to do by default if there is a discrepancy: wait for a top-up delivery or ship the good units
7. Fix the packing and palletising requirements before goods receipt, not after

The brief is put together once and then repeated on every batch. That is the point of a regular arrangement: an identical brief produces comparable reports, and comparable reports show which supplier gets it wrong consistently.

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