China quality inspection guide: PSI, DUPRO, AQL

Catalog photos are not an inspection. Xiamen Ajmal Seven Color Trading Co Ltd (Sourcing Center, sourcing.center) runs on-the-ground QC from the China desk: factory audits, during-production (DUPRO), pre-shipment (PSI), loading supervision, and photo/video defect packs. The published rate is USD 110 per inspector day. Inspectors walk the factory or the company warehouse — this is not a remote-only desktop review, and the site does not claim a third-party inspection accreditation.

Founded 2014. DUNS 509419282. Warehouses in Xiamen, Fujian and Dubai / Al Ain. Book a job from the inspection service page. Pair a first factory with a hosted 3-day visit when you need to lock the standard in person.

Factory audit

Audit before the deposit. A factory audit walks business license and export credentials, production lines, capacity and lead time, the quality system, and commercial terms. It answers whether the maker on the quotation is the maker on the floor. Use it on a first order, a new factory, or whenever listing photos are the only “proof” you have been sent.

The China team already runs this as part of factory verification. A longer importer checklist lives in factory audit checklist for first-time importers. Audits complement sourcing; they do not replace a lot-level PSI once production starts.

DUPRO (during production)

DUPRO samples the run while workmanship, measurements, and packaging can still be corrected. Book it when the PO is large, the spec is new, or a previous lot drifted. The inspector is on the line in China — not reviewing a folder of JPEGs from a hotel. Findings come back as a photo/video pack and a written defect list you can approve or reject.

Repeat POs with a locked spec often skip a full audit and go straight to DUPRO or PSI. First POs usually need the audit first, then DUPRO or PSI on the same maker.

PSI (pre-shipment inspection)

PSI is the finished-goods check at the factory or at Sourcing Center’s Xiamen warehouse. Carton marks, quantity, appearance, function, and packing against the golden sample. The desk can hold the ship until you sign off. That hold is the point: a failed PSI should not become a container claim two weeks later.

After a pass, goods can load to your forwarder or move into own 3PL stock in Xiamen or Dubaifor pick, pack, and later release — including dropship units from the same inventory.

Loading supervision

Loading supervision is carton count, stuffing, seal, and dock photos so the lot you approved is the lot that left. Use it when a mix-up would cost a full lane, when consolidations are messy, or when the factory has a history of “the other cartons.” It is a dock job, not a lab test.

Photo / video QC

Photo and video are the evidence pack, not the inspection method. Someone on the ground takes them. You decide from anywhere. Defect notes travel with the files. This is why “remote QC” as a product name is misleading here: the report is remote; the check is not. Compare paths in factory visit vs remote QC.

AQL

Sampling can follow an AQL-style plan when you specify one. Sourcing Center does not invent a default AQL on this site. If your retailer or brand book names a level (for example a single-sampling plan on appearance and function), put that in the inspection brief with the SKU, quantity, and what “fail” means. Without a stated plan, the inspector still reports defects with photos; you decide hold or ship.

Remote report vs on-the-ground check

On-the-ground: inspector at the factory or the Xiamen warehouse at USD 110 per inspector day. Remote-looking: you receive the pack. Hosted visit: you walk the line yourself on a 3-day Visit China program based out of Xiamen (airport coordination, verified factories, HQ warehouse, interpreter). Many buyers visit once, then run PSI or DUPRO on later lots. Inspection is complementary to visits and to 3PL — not a substitute for either when you still need capacity proof or storage.

How a day is briefed: SKU, spec, quantity, factory or warehouse location, photos of a golden sample if you have one, and what “fail” means. The inspector is on site. You get a photo/video pack and a written defect list. You approve, reject, or ask for a re-check. The published rate is USD 110 per inspector day; day-count is not guessed on this page.

The inspection page does not claim a third-party accreditation, a global laboratory network, or a default AQL. It claims inspectors on the ground in China, that rate, and the operations named above. Reviews and star ratings are not attached to this service in structured data. Buyer notes live on the reviews page as anonymized first-name comments; ask the desk for references. Example engagements are on case studies, labeled as examples, not as audited KPIs.

A fail should stop the lane. The China desk can hold goods until you sign off, then load or move the lot into 3PL. Inbound to our China hub in Xiamen is counted and photographed even on replenishment; a formal PSI is for when the risk is a container, not a carton. Dubai / Al Ain is the GCC stage, not a second factory-audit site — audits, DUPRO, and PSI for China production stay with the China desk. Private-label packing marks belong in the brief; see private label packaging and private label.

Brief the inspector the way you would brief a buyer on your own payroll. Attach the golden sample photos, the measurement sheet, the carton mark, and the defect language from the last lot if this is a repeat PO. If it is a first PO, say so — that is usually an audit plus PSI, not PSI alone. If you specified an AQL plan, paste it. If you did not, you will still get a defect list and a photo pack; you decide hold or ship. Day-count is confirmed against the factory address in China; the published rate remains USD 110 per inspector day.

Inspection sits next to the hosted visit, not instead of it. Fly when you need capacity, tooling, or a first handshake. Book inspection when you need a lot-level gate. Use 3PL when the lot should not leave China or the UAE the same week it passed. The operator is one legal entity: Xiamen Ajmal Seven Color Trading Co Ltd, founded 2014, DUNS 509419282, warehouses in Xiamen and Dubai / Al Ain. How to run the full path is in how to source from China.

Inspection schedule

Rate for on-the-ground inspection: USD 110 per inspector day. Confirm how many days with SKU, factory or warehouse location, and spec. Email info@sevencolortrading.com or WhatsApp +86 180 5926 2730 (China) / +971 58 906 1969 (UAE).

After a pass, inbound can sit in Xiamen or Dubai 3PL and leave by sea, air, or express. How to source end-to-end: how to source from China.