Service
Supplier Verification and Factory Audit
Confirm a Chinese supplier is a real factory with the capacity to handle your order before you wire a deposit.
What's included
Each audit covers four areas: legal status, physical existence, technical capacity, and commercial behaviour.
- Business license verification against the National Enterprise Credit Information system
- Export rights and customs registration check
- Tax status and any past administrative penalties
- On-site visit by a Mandarin-speaking auditor with photo and video evidence
- Production line count, machine count, and worker count on the day of visit
- Capacity estimate in pieces per day for your specific product
- Quality system observations: incoming material check, in-line QC, final inspection
- 1-5 risk rating with written justification
How it works
- You send the supplier name, address, and contact details.
- We do online verification within
24 hoursat no charge to confirm the legal entity exists. - If you proceed, we book the auditor and visit within
3-5 working days. - Auditor spends
3-5 hourson site, photographs each production area, interviews staff. - Report delivered as PDF within
5 business daysof the visit. - 30-minute call to walk through findings and recommend next steps.
Pricing
| Region | Cost | Travel time |
|---|---|---|
| Guangdong (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan) | $200 | Same day |
| Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai | $200 | Same day |
| Other tier-1 city provinces | $280-350 | 1 day |
| Remote provinces | Quote on request | 1-2 days |
| BSCI / SA8000 / Sedex (third party) | $1,200-2,500 | 2-3 weeks |
What you get
- PDF report with embedded photos and GPS-tagged factory address
- Short video walkthrough of the production floor
- Risk rating and clear go / no-go recommendation
- 30-minute follow-up call with the auditor
- Refund of audit fee if the factory turns out not to exist at the listed address
When to use this vs. alternatives
Use a Cargix audit when your order is above $15,000, when you are signing an exclusivity deal, or when the supplier is in a province with high trader density (Guangdong electronics, Yiwu accessories). For smaller orders, Alibaba Trade Assurance plus a pre-shipment inspection is usually enough. For brands selling into the EU or US retail, add a third-party social audit (BSCI or SA8000) on top of our technical audit.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between online verification and an on-site audit? +
Online verification (license, export record, tax status) is included in our sourcing service at no extra cost. An on-site audit means our auditor physically visits the factory, walks the production lines, and photographs the equipment. On-site audits cost from
$200.How is this different from Alibaba Verified Supplier? +
Alibaba Verified is a paid badge based on a third-party desk review. It does not confirm current capacity, current ownership, or that the address is a real factory. Many traders rent a factory for the audit photo and ship from a different facility. Our auditor visits unannounced and reports what they see.
What does the audit report contain? +
A
15-20 page PDF with: business license copy, export license copy, factory address with GPS, photos of every production line, count of operational machines, count of workers on shift, sample raw material stock, sample finished goods, and a 1-5 risk rating. Delivery within 5 business days of the visit.How much does it cost? +
Standard audit in Guangdong, Zhejiang, or Jiangsu:
$200. Outside those provinces add $80-150 for travel. Audits in Xinjiang, Tibet, or factories more than 3 hours from a tier-1 city are quoted case by case.When should I order an audit? +
Before placing any order above
$15,000, before any custom-tooling project, and before signing an exclusive distribution agreement. Below $15,000 you can usually rely on Alibaba Trade Assurance plus our pre-shipment inspection.Can the supplier refuse the audit? +
Yes, and refusal is itself a signal. Genuine factories accept audits as a normal part of B2B sales. Trading companies posing as factories often refuse or stall. We log the refusal and recommend dropping the supplier.
Do you check social compliance, like BSCI or SA8000? +
Our standard audit covers technical capacity, not labour or environmental certification. For BSCI, SA8000, or Sedex audits we coordinate with accredited firms; budget
$1,200-2,500 per audit and 2-3 weeks lead time.Ready to ship from China to the UAE or KSA?
Get a same-day quote with rates, transit time, and a clear list of what is included.