Can UK sellers share a factory inspection?
Yes, if the inspector agrees the scope and each buyer's goods are ready at the same factory. Agree separate instructions, identifiable lots, sampling plans, acceptance decisions and private reports, plus the fee split before booking. Coordination with its own staff in China can be arranged through Cambridge China Bridge.
Confirm that sharing the visit is practical
Ask the inspector to confirm that the available time, equipment and access can cover every buyer's brief at the named factory site. Have the factory confirm that each order will be ready and accessible. Shared travel may reduce duplicated costs, but separate products and reports still require work.
Nominate a booking contact and give the inspector each buyer's direct contact details. Agree what happens if goods are unfinished, access is refused or a buyer withdraws. Request approval before replacing planned checks with a shorter scope. Our guide to inspection costs for trial orders covers reviewing an expensive inspection quote.
Give each buyer a separate inspection brief
Each buyer should submit their own order reference, specification revision, approved sample, packaging requirements and illustrated defect criteria. Identify which instructions apply to which goods. The booking contact should coordinate attendance without changing another buyer's requirements.
Name the person authorised by each buyer to answer questions, approve deviations and decide shipment release. Agree an escalation route for conflicting instructions or unclear findings. If that person cannot be reached, record the unresolved issue and hold the affected goods rather than let another seller decide. For disputed findings, see our guide to investigating conflicting inspection results.
Keep lots and sampling decisions separate
Ask the factory to mark and segregate each buyer's goods, with a register linking orders, product variants, production batches and carton locations. Do not combine buyers' stock into a sampling lot merely to reduce inspection work. Use our inspection lot guide to agree the boundaries.
Agree the sampling method, sample size, defect classes and acceptance limits for each defined lot before selection. Have the inspector select goods from the identified stock and record what was actually available. Keep defect counts and results separate. Our full inspection or sampling guide explains how to choose check coverage.
Request individual reports and private delivery
Ask for an individual report delivered directly to each buyer, identifying their brief, lots, sampled goods, findings, photographs, unfinished checks and inspection result. Keep each buyer's acceptance and release record separate from the inspector's findings. A result for another seller's goods should not become your release evidence.
Agree who may see specifications, artwork, prices, photographs and reports. Use private delivery channels and avoid including another buyer's cartons or documents in report photographs. Arrange for relevant findings about shared materials or processes to reach affected buyers without exposing unrelated commercial details.
Agree the quoted fee split before booking
Ask the provider to distinguish shared travel and visit costs from buyer-specific checks and reporting. Agree the allocation in writing, whether based on workload or another accepted method. Name who pays the provider and how each buyer settles their share. Cover cancellation, unavailable goods, extra work and return visits, with approval before additional charges.
At Cambridge China Bridge, factory audits and inspections are usually included in the quote; complex checks that need a third party are charged separately and agreed in advance. Ask whether sharing changes the quoted scope or total, then agree each buyer's share of any separately quoted inspection fee.
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Keep failure actions and safety evidence distinct
Agree that a failed lot remains identifiable and on hold while its buyer decides on rejection, correction or further checks. Before releasing another buyer's goods, consider whether the finding points to a shared material or process problem. Record any revised inspection plan and obtain approval for its costs before proceeding.
Businesses making, importing, distributing or selling consumer products in the UK remain responsible for their safety. Sharing the visit does not replace each seller's safety work. Keep specialist testing separate from ordinary inspection; use our shared product testing guide if you also want to share laboratory work.
Frequently asked questions
Can small UK sellers split a factory inspection fee?
Yes, if the provider agrees the combined scope. Agree the fee allocation, payment arrangements and extra-work approval before booking. Shared travel does not remove buyer-specific inspection and reporting work.
Can different buyers share the same inspection sample?
Do not pool stock just to save inspection work. If buyers need independent acceptance decisions, define identifiable lots and agree sampling and limits for each before the inspector selects goods.
Will the other seller see my inspection report?
Agree individual reports and private delivery before booking. Specify permitted recipients and how relevant shared findings will be communicated without disclosing unrelated specifications, prices or artwork.
What if the other buyer's goods are not ready?
Use the agreed unavailable-goods arrangement. Confirm whether your inspection can proceed unchanged, who pays any wasted work or return visit, and obtain approval before changing the scope or fee split.