Supplier onboarding checklist for procurement teams

For procurement, compliance and finance teams setting up Cambridge China Bridge as a supplier and approving the Chinese factories it proposes. Tick each check as it is done. Progress shows for each group and overall, and the summary lists what is ticked and what is still open, ready to copy into your onboarding record or print.

How to use the checklist

The checks are in six groups, in the order most teams work through them: the UK company you contract with, payment controls, approval of each factory, product compliance, responsible sourcing, and the checks on each shipment. Each check has a line on why it matters and, where this site explains it, a link to the guide or tool.

The company details in the first group are the same ones shown on our service pages and in the procurement brief. Your own policy decides which checks apply; leave the others open and the summary shows them as open.

Overall progress0 of 34 checks ticked

1. Supplier identity and contract0 of 8

You buy from a UK company. These are the details for your approved-supplier set-up.

Registered company name: Piggy Pineapple Ltd, trading as Cambridge China Bridge
Why: The registered name is the one that appears on the contract and on the invoice.
Supplier onboarding pack for a China sourcing partner
Companies House number: 14385590
Why: The public register confirms the company is active and shows its registered office.
The company on the Companies House register
UK VAT number: GB488899780
Why: HMRC's public service checks the number against the registered name and address before you set up the supplier.
Check a UK VAT number on GOV.UK
Registered office: 1 Anglers Way, Cambridge, CB4 1TZ, United Kingdom
Why: Your vendor record and the contract name the same address as the register.
The quote states whether we are the seller or your agent, who the importer is and the agreed delivery scope
Why: A seller and an agent owe you different things, so each order records which role applies.
Sourcing agent or seller: who you contract with
A contract with our UK company under English law
Why: If something goes wrong, your recourse is with a UK company.
What to check in a UK sourcing company's terms
Your NDA (confidentiality agreement) signed before drawings, designs or specifications are shared
Why: We sign your NDA, or can provide ours, so confidentiality is agreed before anything confidential is sent.
Procurement documents and the NDA process
Your supplier questionnaire or onboarding form, completed
Why: Send it with your enquiry and it comes back completed for your approved-supplier file.
Buying from China through a UK company

2. Financial and payment controls0 of 6

Checks your finance team runs before the first payment and keeps for every order after it.

Bank details for our UK bank account received on request and confirmed by a call-back to a number you already hold
Why: A call to a number from your own records, not one given in the same message, catches altered bank details.
Supplier email hacked: what to do before paying
Any request to change bank details confirmed the same way before any payment is released
Why: A change of bank details is a common route for invoice fraud.
Supplier bank transfer fraud: what to do now
Each order confirmed in writing before it is placed: price, scope and invoice details
Why: Finance then pays against the confirmed order, not against a request that arrives later.
Who can approve China orders and payments
Each invoice matched to the purchase order and the agreed quote before payment
Why: Matching the lines, quantities and earlier payments stops a payment that does not match the order.
China order invoice matching before payment
A UK VAT invoice from our UK company, paid in pounds
Why: The order goes through your accounts like any other UK purchase.
How buying through us works: the procurement brief
Quote format chosen: one delivered price, or an itemised quote with the factory cost, freight, duty and our service fee shown separately
Why: Open-book detail is available on request, so your team can see how the price is made up.
How quotes are presented

3. Factory approval0 of 6

For each Chinese factory we propose, the evidence your team approves before production.

Factory identity checked on the official Chinese register, starting from the 18-character credit code on its business licence
Why: It confirms the company exists, is the one named on the licence and is the one being paid.
China supplier ID checker
Factory or trading company established, with any subcontracted processes and production addresses disclosed
Why: You approve the site that makes your goods, not only the company that sells them.
How to control factory subcontracting
Factory audit or visit by our own staff in China, with a factory-audit report to the agreed scope where one is needed
Why: An audit asks whether the factory can make your product right, batch after batch.
Factory audit: what to check before you order
Samples approved, and a golden sample (the reference sample for production) kept
Why: Production and every inspection are judged against the sample you approved.
How to make bulk production match the sample
First-article report (measurements of the first parts made, before the full run) for parts made to your drawing
Why: Measurements are agreed first, so the full run starts only on parts that match the drawing.
Blank first-article report format
Material or process changes need your approval
Why: Reorders stay the same as the product you approved.

4. Product compliance0 of 5

What the product needs before it can be sold in Great Britain, checked for the exact model you buy.

The UK rules that apply to the product identified
Why: The product type decides the marking, the tests and the documents you need.
UK compliance requirements finder
Test reports from a laboratory accredited for the tests the product needs
Why: A report counts only if the laboratory is accredited for that test method.
Check a laboratory's accreditation for your tests
Each test report matched to the exact model, materials and components ordered
Why: A report for another model, material or component does not cover your order.
Does the factory test report cover your order?
The Declaration of Conformity checked, where the product needs one
Why: It names who is responsible and the rules and standards the product meets.
How to check a declaration of conformity
UK labelling checked before production: UKCA or CE marking where the product needs it, and the name and address and product or batch reference on the product or its packaging
Why: Labels and packaging are cheapest to correct before they are printed.
UK product label checklist

5. Responsible sourcing0 of 4

The checks your responsible-sourcing, ethics or legal team asks for on each factory.

A social audit of the actual production site (for example SMETA or BSCI), where your policy asks for one
Why: Third-party audits (for example social or ISO-based) can be arranged when a project needs them.
Ethical audits in China: SMETA, BSCI and retailers
Corrective actions from an audit followed up and closed
Why: An audit finding matters only once the factory has fixed it and the fix is checked.
Modern slavery and forced-labour due diligence recorded for the factory and any subcontracted processes
Why: If your organisation publishes a modern slavery statement, it covers your supply chains, so record the checks made on each site.
Sanctions checks on the parties, their owners, the banks and the goods
Why: Screening before an order or payment avoids a transaction you would have to stop.
UK sanctions checks when buying from China

6. Shipment and quality0 of 5

The checks on every batch before it leaves China and the documents that come with it.

Sampling plan and AQL (the acceptance limits for defects) agreed before inspection
Why: Sample size and accept or reject limits are fixed before anyone looks at the goods.
AQL sampling calculator
Pre-shipment inspection of every batch against the approved sample, by our own staff in China or by an independent inspection company when you require one
Why: Problems are found while the goods are still at the factory.
How to read a pre-shipment inspection report
Shipment released only on your approval of the inspection report
Why: Release to ship is a separate decision from passing inspection, and it is yours.
Does inspection approval authorise shipment?
Container loading check, where agreed
Why: It confirms the approved goods are counted, packed and loaded into the right container and sealed.
Container loading check in China
The shipping documents for the consignment and the product's compliance documents, such as test reports and the Declaration of Conformity where the product needs one
Why: Customs clearance and your own records both depend on documents that match the goods.
Documents for UK customs clearance

Setting us up as a supplier

Cambridge China Bridge is a UK company with its own staff in China, who verify factories, follow production and inspect goods before shipment. Send your NDA and supplier questionnaire with your enquiry and we return them signed and completed. Factory audits and inspections are usually included in the quote; complex checks that need a third party are charged separately and agreed in advance.

Sourcing for UK manufacturers and engineering firms
Sourcing for UK retailers and wholesalers
Qualifying a second supplier
How buying from China through us works: a one-page brief for your procurement or finance team
Procurement documents: NDA process, blank RFQ, inspection and first-article formats

The checklist lists checks; it records nothing and sends nothing. Ticks stay in this browser tab only. Your own procurement policy and legal advice decide which checks your organisation requires.

Questions about this tool

What do we need to set up Cambridge China Bridge as a supplier?

The registered company name, Companies House number, UK VAT number and registered office shown in the first group, a contract under English law, bank details for our UK bank account on request, your NDA signed and your supplier questionnaire completed.

Who do we contract with?

Our UK company, under English law. The quote states whether we are the seller or your agent for that order, who the importer is and the agreed delivery scope, and you receive a UK VAT invoice paid in pounds.

How do we approve the Chinese factories you propose?

For each factory: its identity on the official Chinese register, whether it is a factory or a trading company and which processes it subcontracts, an audit or visit by our own staff in China, and your approval of samples and, for parts made to your drawing, the first-article report.

Are factory audits and inspections charged separately?

Factory audits and inspections are usually included in the quote; complex checks that need a third party are charged separately and agreed in advance.

Can we keep a record of the checklist?

Yes. Copy summary puts every check, ticked or open, into text you can paste into your onboarding record, and Print summary prints the same list.

Ready to set us up as a supplier? Send your NDA and questionnaire with your enquiry.

Tell us the product, quantity and destination. Our own staff in China verify factories, follow production and inspect before shipment. We reply the same working day to confirm receipt and arrange next steps.

Discuss your sourcing project

WhatsAppBuying for a business? WhatsApp works too: send your company name, product, quantity and timing, and we will reply with the next steps.
WeChat: pineapplebuin2000
07410367251
enquiries@camchinabridge.co.uk
Cambridge & London