Check imported goods for split-case sales
Approve the pack your trade customer actually supplies, then rehearse opening, picking, storing and dispatching it. Check that identification, instructions and protection survive removal of the outer case. Record failures against an agreed packing specification for checks in China by Cambridge China Bridge.
Define what the customer will split
Ask trade customers whether they sell sealed inner packs, loose items or packs they assemble themselves. Record the smallest supplied quantity, how stock is shelved and what happens to the opened case. A factory shipping carton can arrive intact while its contents are awkward to count, identify or protect once opened.
Put the proposed pack hierarchy in the buying specification: outer case, inner pack and individual item. State contents, variants and which layers customers may remove. Resolve factory pack restrictions using supplier minimum packs; this check concerns what happens after those packs are opened.
Rehearse opening and picking
Ask for a fully packed sample using the proposed dividers, bags, labels and closures. Have someone unfamiliar with it open the case, remove the normal customer quantity and return the remainder to storage. Check whether opening cuts the goods, tears inner labels, scatters parts or leaves variants indistinguishable.
Try counting and scanning at the layer actually picked. An outer-case barcode should not lead a picker to book an inner pack as a full case. Check that accessories and instructions travel with each supplied set. Use pick and pack stock checks for warehouse controls; record pack design failures separately.
Keep identification and information with the goods
Remove the outer case and inspect what remains. Can the customer still identify the product, variant and batch, match it to the order and find its instructions? As a buying specification, ask for that information to remain with the supplied item or inner pack. Do not assume an invoice will stay beside stock on a shelf.
For consumer products, government guidance says manufacturers and importers need to provide adequate information for safe use and support traceability back to their business. Check the applicable label placement with product label checks. During the split-case trial, flag any warning, identity or instruction that disappears with discarded packaging.
Check protection after the case is opened
Leave the remaining goods in the proposed opened-case storage arrangement, then pick them again. Look for exposed surfaces, escaping small parts, unstable dividers and closures that no longer hold. Check whether removing neighbouring items allows the remaining goods to move or rub together.
Prepare the smaller outgoing pack exactly as the customer would. Check that it retains the necessary cushioning, separation and surface protection without relying on the discarded outer carton. Agree any replacement packaging and who provides it. Use packaging tests for your distribution route to assess onward delivery rather than treating an opening trial as transport evidence.
Turn the trial into a factory acceptance check
Keep an approved packed sample, photographs before and after opening, and written pass or fail conditions. Specify readable retained labels, complete supplied sets, usable closures and protection of the remainder. Treat missing instructions, unidentified stock and damaged inner packs as recorded failures rather than leaving inspectors to judge whether the carton looks tidy.
Ask Cambridge China Bridge’s own staff in China to repeat the agreed opening and picking trial on production-packed goods. Record the pack version inspected and any factory correction. If the factory changes bags, dividers, labels or closures, repeat the affected checks before accepting the change.
Frequently asked questions
Can I approve split-case packaging from photographs?
Photographs help define the pack, but use a packed sample to check opening, counting, retained labels and storage of the remainder. Ask for photographs of production packs after the same trial.
Does every inner pack need a barcode?
Specify a barcode where the customer scans that pack. Check which quantity it represents and whether the warehouse system recognises it. A barcode does not replace readable product and batch identification.
What if the batch label is only on the outer case?
Flag it before ordering. Agree how batch identity will remain linked to smaller supplied packs and loose stock. Check the applicable product rules before choosing where replacement information goes.
What should a factory split-case inspection check?
Repeat the agreed customer workflow: open, pick, identify, store the remainder and prepare an outgoing pack. Record lost information, missing components, damage and failed closures against the approved sample.