The visit is won before it starts
An unprepared live visit produces an hour of pleasant footage and no decisions. A prepared one produces evidence, because the three or four claims that actually matter to your order were identified in advance and the camera went looking for them. This guide is the full preparation-execution-follow-up cycle; the compressed version lives on our checklist page.
Before: pin down the ground truth
The exact address, in Chinese characters. Not "the factory in Dongguan" — the street address the representative will stand at, confirmed by the supplier in writing. A remarkable fraction of visit value comes from this one step, because it forces the supplier to commit to a location before anyone travels. If the address that arrives differs from the address on the PI or the registry, you have your first finding before the visit begins.
Whose name is on the gate. Ask in advance: "when we arrive, what company name will be on the building?" Multi-company sites, group names and landlord signage all have innocent explanations — but asking first means the answer on the day is checkable against a commitment, not improvised.
Consent and scope. What may be filmed, what may not, and whether recording (beyond live streaming) is permitted. Getting restrictions stated in advance converts them from awkward on-site surprises into agreed boundaries — and makes any additional on-the-day refusal stand out as the signal it is.
Your three claims. Write down the three supplier claims your order most depends on — "in-house SMT", "we own the tooling", "200 workers", "export cartons in stock for EU orders" — and design the route around testing them. Three is a discipline, not a limit: a visit that definitively tests three claims beats one that grazes ten.
Logistics. Session time in both time zones; who attends from your side; a fallback (recorded walkthrough against your checklist) if the stream fails; your spec sheet and sample photos ready for on-camera comparison.
During: outside-in, and let refusals be data
Work the site from the perimeter inward. The sequence matters because each layer contextualizes the next.
1. Exterior. Gate signage (photograph it), building scale, yard activity, trucks, neighbouring units. Does the name match the commitment? Does the scale fit the claims?
2. Entry and office. Certificates on walls — photograph them; issuing bodies can be checked later. Product displays: does the range match the storefront, or is this a different business?
3. Production floor. The heart of the visit. How many lines exist, and how many are running? What is being made today — your product category, or something unrelated? Machine brands and age. Work instructions posted at stations. In-process checks visible. People: rough headcount versus the claim, and whether the host walks the floor like someone who belongs there.
4. Warehouse. Raw materials in, finished goods out. Whose labels are on the cartons — the supplier's, or a parade of other companies' brands consistent with trading rather than making?
5. Packing area. Export cartons, labelling process, care in handling. For FBA sellers, this is where the FNSKU conversation happens with the evidence in frame.
6. Samples. Your product, close up, against your spec sheet, on camera.
7. Questions. Put your prepared questions to the host on the floor, where the answers can be checked against the surroundings: which processes are subcontracted; where the tooling lives; lead time for your quantity; what happens when a batch fails inspection.
Throughout: direct the camera. The host has a route in mind; you are allowed a different one. "Could we go back to that line on the left" is the entire advantage of a live visit over a video the supplier edits.
And record refusals precisely — what was asked, what was declined, what reason was given. A confidentiality refusal on a customer-specific line is normal; a refusal to show any production at all "for safety reasons" reframes the whole session. Neither should be argued with on the day. Both go in the notes.
After: turn footage into a decision
Write the three lists while memory is fresh: what was seen, what was refused, what remains open. The second list is routinely the most informative.
Verify what was photographed. Certificates against issuing bodies; the gate name against the registry; the visible scale against the documentary indicators you gathered before.
Send the unresolved questions in writing. The post-visit email — "we noticed X, could you clarify" — is where a good supplier distinguishes itself with specific answers, and where a staged performance starts to fray.
File everything with the order. Footage, notes, photos and the follow-up thread are your evidence trail. If a dispute ever arises, the difference between "they told us it was their factory" and a timestamped recording of the gate is substantial.
Decide. Proceed; proceed with amended terms (an inspection stage, revised payment triggers); ask more; escalate to a formal audit; or walk away. A visit that ends in "walk away" is not a failed visit — it is the cheapest bad-order avoidance you will ever buy.
What this checklist cannot do
A live visit shows one site, on one day, within consented boundaries. A prepared area can be presented; a quiet day proves little; and nothing visible on camera verifies a quality system — that is audit territory — or your batch's conformity, which is inspection territory. The checklist's job is narrower and worth doing precisely: making sure that what can be established by looking, actually is.