Book it after production is complete and before you release the final balance payment. That timing gives the supplier a clear reason to fix issues fast — because the money and the container are both on hold until the report is approved.

PSI is typically priced per inspector man-day. The final quote depends on factory city, product complexity, number of SKUs, order quantity, tests required and report urgency. Send us the PO, product type, factory address and inspection date for an exact quote.

Quantity vs the packing list, workmanship defects, product specifications (size, weight, colour, material, model), basic function, packaging and carton strength, labelling and barcodes, shipping marks, measurements against drawings, and any product-specific on-site tests agreed in the checklist.

Yes. Pre-shipment inspection, final random inspection (FRI) and pre-dispatch inspection describe the same thing — a final AQL-based check on finished, packed goods before shipment.

AQL is the Acceptable Quality Limit defined in ISO 2859-1 / ANSI-ASQ Z1.4. Instead of checking every unit, inspectors pull a statistically defined random sample from the lot, classify defects as critical, major or minor, and compare the counts against agreed limits to decide pass, hold or reject.

For a first order with a new supplier, for high-value or seasonal shipments, or after any previous quality issue — yes. For repeat orders with a proven supplier, many buyers move to reduced-frequency inspection or spot checks, but never zero.

You get a hold or reject decision with defect evidence. Do not ship. Options: sort-and-ship the good units, request rework or replacement, renegotiate the balance payment, hold the container until re-inspection, or reject the lot in full. We coordinate whichever path you choose with the supplier.

Yes — that is the whole point of the timing. Add a clause to your PO that the balance is released only after a passing PSI report. It is the single strongest lever a buyer has over a China supplier.

The full report — pass/fail per line, measured values, defect log, AQL result and full photo set — is delivered within 24 hours of the visit. Loading supervision reports are delivered the same day the container is sealed.

Government-mandated PSI is a customs framework used by some importing countries under WTO rules and is separate from a private buyer’s quality PSI. What we do is a commercial, buyer-initiated quality inspection — booked by the importer, not the customs authority.

PSI checks the goods against your spec while they sit packed in the factory. Container loading supervision (CLS) confirms that the inspected goods — the right SKUs, the right quantity, in the right condition — are actually loaded into the container, with the container number and seal recorded. Most serious buyers book both.