Factory Audit in China: Desk Check £195, Visit £395
CCB checks who a Chinese supplier is and what its factory can evidence before you commit. Desk checks start from £195 per supplier and factory visits from £395 per visit, plus VAT. These are different scopes under the CCB Verification Standard; a visit is not automatically product certification or an accredited social audit.
We reply the same working day to confirm receipt and arrange next steps.
What to send us for a quote
Send the Chinese legal name, business licence or credit code, factory address, quote, payment beneficiary and certificate copies. Include product drawings or files, materials, finish, quantities, expected processes, market and destination so the visit checks capability for your product rather than a generic showroom.
What drives the cost?
Location, site count, process depth, document access, sampling and specialist requirements determine final cost. A factory visit starts from the identity record; if no desk check exists, we agree whether to include one. The starting prices do not imply that both scopes are bundled.
How is quality controlled?
Level 1 is the desk check: legal identity, public records, beneficiary matching and documents. Level 2 is the factory audit: observed processes, machinery, subcontracting, capacity indicators and QC records. Level 3 is pre-shipment inspection of a particular shipment, including agreed AQL sampling under ISO 2859-1. Audit the first-article and in-process controls; an audit does not itself inspect every finished unit.
What affects lead time?
Record access, cooperation, travel, production running on the day and specialist availability affect scheduling. The standard gives a desk-check report within 3 working days of payment and documents, and a factory-audit report usually within 48 hours of the visit; confirm scope and timing before starting.
What should UK importers check?
Confirm the commodity code, customs value, origin, importer of record and EORI with your broker. Duty depends on classification and applicable trade measures. Check product-specific UKCA or CE requirements where relevant; a component or factory certificate does not establish conformity of the finished product. Great Britain and Northern Ireland can follow different routes.
Standards and regulatory sources
Check the applicable market and agreed edition; naming a standard is not a certificate of compliance.
What you get
- A UK sourcing company with its own team in China, coordinating your brief and supplier questions.
- A written specification, acceptance criteria and delivery responsibilities agreed before commitment.
- Evidence and open questions recorded for your approval.
What we do
- Review your files and intended use; clarify specification, inspection scope and delivery.
- Compare supplier proposals or agree the check scope, including exclusions and required evidence.
- Coordinate samples or on-site work, record findings and obtain your approval before the next commitment.
- Arrange the agreed production follow-up, inspection, report and delivery paperwork.
Cambridge China Bridge in brief
- Buying from Chinese factories since 2021 (the company was incorporated in September 2022), for our own businesses and for clients on the same terms.
- Our own staff are based in China, at two bases: the Pearl River Delta (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan) and the Yangtze River Delta (Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu). They visit factories themselves.
- Quotes to suit how you buy: one delivered price, or an itemised quote with the factory cost, freight, duty and our service fee shown separately. Open-book detail is available on request.
- Audits and inspections are usually included in the quote for an order placed with us; complex checks that need a third party are charged extra, agreed first.
- Orders run from a first trial to scheduled full containers; the factory’s own minimum is stated in the quote.
- In one project, a UK EV charging operator cut unit cost by 70% and scaled 3× faster. In another, a multi-site Cambridge café chain saved 50% on packaging.
- A UK company in Cambridge and London: Cambridge China Bridge is the trading name of Piggy Pineapple Ltd, company number 14385590.
- Send 1–3 products you buy now and what you pay. We compare the same specification, quantity, inspection and delivery scope to establish a cost benchmark.
- A reference call with a past client can be arranged, with that client’s agreement.
How we charge
Quotes to suit how you buy: one delivered price, or an itemised quote with the factory cost, freight, duty and our service fee shown separately. Open-book detail is available on request.
Our margin is included in the quoted price or shown separately as a service fee. The service fee depends on the agreed scope, including products, samples, inspections and ongoing supply.
Questions buyers ask
Is a factory audit a guarantee of supplier performance?
No. The report describes evidence and observations at the time, with unverified points identified. It is not accreditation, certification, insurance or a guarantee that later production will match the sample.
What do you need before quoting?
Send the Chinese legal name, business licence or credit code, factory address, quote, payment beneficiary and certificate copies. Include product drawings or files, materials, finish, quantities, expected processes, market and destination so the visit checks capability for your product rather than a generic showroom.
What changes the price?
Location, site count, process depth, document access, sampling and specialist requirements determine final cost. A factory visit starts from the identity record; if no desk check exists, we agree whether to include one. The starting prices do not imply that both scopes are bundled.
How do you check the order?
Level 1 is the desk check: legal identity, public records, beneficiary matching and documents. Level 2 is the factory audit: observed processes, machinery, subcontracting, capacity indicators and QC records. Level 3 is pre-shipment inspection of a particular shipment, including agreed AQL sampling under ISO 2859-1. Audit the first-article and in-process controls; an audit does not itself inspect every finished unit.
When can the goods or report be ready?
Record access, cooperation, travel, production running on the day and specialist availability affect scheduling. The standard gives a desk-check report within 3 working days of payment and documents, and a factory-audit report usually within 48 hours of the visit; confirm scope and timing before starting.
How do I start an enquiry?
Use the contact page to send your brief and existing files. We clarify scope, evidence gaps, delivery and the next approval. Phone, WhatsApp or a Meet call can be arranged through that page.