Factory refuses inspection over confidentiality?
Ask the factory to identify the sensitive information, then agree restricted areas, permitted photographs and confidential reporting before the visit. Keep inspector-selected goods, agreed tests and defect evidence accessible. Cambridge China Bridge can coordinate these boundaries with its own staff in China.
Ask what the factory needs to protect
Ask whether the concern is other customers’ products, machinery settings, process recipes, drawings or photographs leaving the site. Request specific restrictions against the inspection brief. A general claim that production is confidential gives you no workable boundary.
Reply: “We can agree limits around unrelated production information. Please identify the restricted areas and records, and propose how our inspector can still select goods from our order, perform the agreed checks and report the results to us.” Use the inspector selection guide when appointing the inspector.
Agree access that preserves the checks
A screened inspection area or escorted route can work for finished-goods checks. Ask the inspector to confirm that they can identify the actual order lot, select cartons themselves, access the selected goods and use the necessary equipment. Factory staff should not substitute prepared display samples.
If the brief includes production checks, identify the operations and records needed for each check. An inspection room cannot demonstrate an operation hidden elsewhere. Agree an alternative the inspector considers adequate, or record that check as unverified. Keep the approved product requirements in the sample-to-production guide as the inspection reference. For coverage evidence, see our guide to verifying full factory inspection coverage.
Set photography boundaries before arrival
Agree permitted subjects: your goods, defects, measurements, labels, packaging and evidence connecting the samples to the inspected lot. Exclude unrelated orders, employee faces and confidential machine screens where they do not support a check. Use screens or a clear background rather than photographing surrounding production.
Ask who may take photographs, where files will be stored and who receives them. Agree any masking before the visit. It should conceal unrelated information while leaving the defect and product identity assessable. If photography is prohibited, ask the inspector what alternative evidence they can provide and what the report will be unable to demonstrate.
Keep confidentiality compatible with reporting
The Intellectual Property Office guidance recommends restricting information use to a specific permitted purpose. Describe that purpose as inspecting the identified order and reporting findings to the buyer. Ask a solicitor to review wording that could stop the inspector communicating defects or retaining the agreed evidence.
Name the factory, buyer, inspection provider and permitted recipients. Agree how confidential files will be shared, retained and deleted, including access for an appointed laboratory or adviser where needed. Have the arrangements signed before sensitive information is shared. The sourcing-provider confidentiality guide covers the wider relationship.
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Record restrictions and resolve missing checks
Send the agreed access and photography plan to the factory and inspector before booking. Ask the inspector to flag any restriction that prevents a planned check. The report should distinguish completed checks, alternative evidence and checks not performed, with the reason. Do not describe a restricted visit as a complete inspection.
If essential checks remain blocked, seek revised access or another inspection arrangement before approving the goods. Handle shipment and payment under the agreed order terms rather than treating attendance as approval. Cambridge China Bridge’s staff in China can coordinate the access plan and unresolved points with the factory.
Frequently asked questions
Can a factory inspection happen without a factory tour?
Yes, if the inspector can identify the lot, select goods and complete the agreed finished-goods checks. A restricted inspection room cannot verify production operations elsewhere.
What if the factory bans inspection photographs?
Ask whether product and defect photographs are allowed against a screened background. If all photography is barred, agree alternative evidence with the inspector and record what it cannot demonstrate.
Should my inspector sign a confidentiality agreement?
Consider a reviewed agreement covering sensitive information, permitted use and named recipients. Preserve reporting to you and the agreed evidence retention arrangements.
Should I accept samples chosen by the factory?
Ask the inspector to select goods from the identified order lot. Prepared samples alone do not show what the inspector would find in the goods awaiting shipment.