How to manage production at sister factories
Approve each production site separately, keep batches identifiable by site, and release goods against evidence from the site that made them. Close the overlap with a signed record of remaining stock, unresolved issues and the authorised production boundary. Coordinate these checks with Cambridge China Bridge.
Agree the temporary overlap before production
Create a written overlap plan naming the original factory and sister factory by operator and physical address. Allocate products, processes and order quantities to each site. Identify where assembly, finishing, packing and storage happen, including any transfers between sites. State who can authorise changes and what ends the temporary arrangement.
Define separate buyer approval gates for site readiness, production and shipment. Shared ownership, staff or equipment should not automatically carry approval across to another address. Use the subcontracted production guide for the underlying approval process; the overlap plan should make clear which site may perform each activity.
Approve the sister site's actual production route
Ask for evidence from the sister site's proposed line: equipment, tooling, materials, work instructions, operators, checks and packing arrangements. Compare its trial output with the approved specification and reference sample. Record differences and the evidence needed to close them. Keep the original site's approval scope visible alongside the sister site's scope.
List the products and processes approved at each address, conditions still open, the approving person and the effective date. Ask your compliance adviser whether existing product evidence covers the proposed production changes. Treat site approval here as a buyer control, and document any product-specific compliance review separately.
Keep site identity through every stock movement
Official UK product-safety guidance identifies traceability as important for accountability. For this overlap, agree a batch reference that resolves to the actual manufacturing site, production period and specification revision. Keep that identity through packing, consolidation and warehouse receipt. Follow the supplier batch-record guide for the wider record chain.
Avoid reusing an indistinguishable batch code across sites. If goods move from the original factory to the sister factory for finishing or packing, retain the manufacturing origin and record the receiving site's work. Packing lists should distinguish the site batches even when they share a shipment. Hold stock whose origin cannot be resolved.
Inspect and release each site's batches separately
Brief the inspector with the site address, batch references, specification revision and stock available for inspection. Ask the report to identify where samples were selected, what was checked, photographs of batch markings, results and excluded stock. A visit to the original factory should not stand in for evidence from the sister factory.
Maintain a release log linking each site batch to its inspection report, outstanding defects, corrective action and buyer decision. If a shipment combines sites, show the release status of each batch before loading. Use the inspection coverage guide to check what the report actually covers. Keep held goods physically distinguishable from released goods.
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Close the overlap with a signed cutover record
Before closing parallel production, reconcile finished goods, work in progress, materials, rejected goods and rework at each site. Record the last authorised original-site batch and the batch or order boundary after which new production belongs to the sister site. Give remaining original-site stock an explicit disposition rather than treating the cutover date as shipment approval.
Have the buyer and responsible contacts at each factory acknowledge the cutover record. Attach approval scopes, inspection and release references, stock balances, open issues, owners and agreed actions. Update orders and warehouse instructions. Any later return to the original site should trigger a fresh written decision. Cambridge China Bridge's staff in China can help collect site evidence for the buyer's review.
Frequently asked questions
Does sister-factory ownership mean approval transfers?
Treat the sister address as a separate buyer approval. Confirm its production route, trial output and approval scope before allocating work.
Can both factories use the same batch code?
Use codes that distinguish the manufacturing sites. A shared order reference can sit above separate site batches, provided the records preserve their identities.
Can an inspection at the original factory cover both?
Ask for evidence tied to the actual production site and batches. Record any stock or processes excluded from inspection before deciding whether to release goods.
What should the final factory cutover record include?
Include the production boundary, site approvals, batch release evidence, remaining stock dispositions, unresolved issues and acknowledgement by the buyer and each factory.