Quality control is a mandatory part of the process when importing products from China, regardless of the order volume. Hence, finding the right quality control partner is crucial. In this guide, you will find some of the leading quality inspection companies, with offices in China.
We compare them based on capability, pricing, and customer focus – to help you choose the right partner for your quality assurance needs in China.
Listed Companies
- Sofeast Limited (Qualityinspection.org)
- QIMA (Formerly Asiainspection)
- Asia Quality Focus
- Bay Source Global
- InTouch Manufacturing Services
- V-Trust
- SGS
- KRT Audits
- HQTS
- Pro QC International
- ATI
- Tetra Inspection
- China Inspection Service
- STC Group
- Bureau Veritas InSpec
Sofeast Limited
Sofeast is a Shenzhen-based project management and quality assurance company that offers a wide range of QA services to importers, buying from suppliers in China. The range of their services includes in-depth factory auditing, quality consulting, and assessment of technical documents.
In addition, the company also provides project management software specifically designed for importers – which makes Sofeast rather unique.
The company is founded in 2006 by Renaud Anjoran, from France, and is well known for his blog – qualityinspection.org.
Sofeast is a full-service quality agency, helping all types of business. We have worked with Renaud’s team for several years, with fantastic results. Inspections start from $299, which is slightly lower than many of Sofeast’s competitors.
Our Asia Import Platform customers can request a free quotation from Sofeast, directly via the Dashboard.
Services
- Product inspection
- Factory audit
- Social compliance audit
- Quality assurance consulting
- Supplier background check
Address: Hon Kwok Center, No.3031, Shennan Middle Road, Futian District, Shenzhen
QIMA (Formerly Asiainspection)
As it is an accredited lab by European and North American countries along with major standardization authorities, getting your products tested and certified from QIMA provides your products easy access to North America and the EU.
QIMA offers inspection services for consumer goods and food products. Other services include pre-shipment inspection, production monitoring, during production check, initial production check, container loading check, and food inspections.
Other than inspection services, QIMA also offers a wide range of supplier audit programs, lab testing, and certifications. Some of the tests, protocols, and standards they check products for are ISO 9001, EN-71 for toys, California Prop 65, REACH, C-TPAT, SA8000, Sedex, etc.
QIMA is accredited by the China National Service Accreditation for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) and is also authorized by AQSIQ to conduct laboratory tests and inspections.
The regional offices of QIMA are situated in Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Wenzhou in China in addition to their head office that is situated in Hong Kong.
The pricing details are as follows:
a. Product inspections from $309 per man-day for Zone A which includes China and other neighboring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, etc. The rate for Zone B countries which include Europe, North America, Brazil, and some other Asian countries is from $409 per man day.
b. Supplier audit programs are offered for $649 per man-day for Zone A including China while for Zone B, the rates are $849 per man day.
c. The prices for laboratory tests are based on the type of tests you want to conduct.
The industries they cover include garments & apparel, footwear, textiles & fabrics, cosmetics, electrical & electronics, eyewear, jewelry, promotional products, toys & recreational, fresh produce food items, processed foods, seafood, meat & poultry, beverages, food containers, machinery, automotive parts, and precision tooling.
QIMA is a good option for medium and large importers. If compared to other similar companies, the prices offered by QIMA are average in the industry. However, they have no minimum requirements, and welcome startups and small businesses.
We also cooperate with QIMA as our lab testing partner. Our customers can log in and request a free quotation directly from a QIMA sales manager in Shenzhen, via the Dashboard.
Services
- Factory audit
- On-site inspection
- Remote inspection
- Pre-custom clearance inspection
- Quality assurance training
Address: Sino Plaza, 255-257 Gloucester Rd, East Point, Hong Kong
Asia Quality Focus
Established in 2007 as China Quality Focus, the company was renamed Asia Quality Focus in 2011 when it extended its services to 13 more Asian countries other than China.
Based in China with multiple offices in different Chinese cities, the company offers a wide range of inspection and quality control services to importers in China.
Some of these services include social audit, supplier qualification audit, extensive factory audit, environmental audit, pre-production inspection, during production inspection, pre-shipment inspection, container loading supervision, defect sorting, production monitoring, US safety compliance testing, and EU safety compliance testing.
The products and industries they offer their services include textiles & garments, bags & accessories, footwear, fabrics, furniture, homeware, kitchenware, building materials, automotive parts, household electronic appliances, consumer electronics, lighting, children or baby toys, and pet toys.
The company is also accredited by major organizations and governments in the world. It is currently accredited by AQSIQ and ISO 9001.
The company has two head offices located in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
It fits well with the needs of small and medium businesses.
Services
- Supplier qualification audit
- Pre-shipment inspection
- During production inspection
- Container loading supervision
Address: Office 909, 9th Floor, Jintian Building, 1199 Heping Road, Luohu, Shenzhen, Guangdong
Bay Source Global
Bay Source Global is a US-based company that offers a wide range of services from contract manufacturing to quality control and focuses more on importers who want to import Chinese products to the US.
The company focuses on outsourcing manufacturing. This includes managing offshore manufacturing, product design improvements, and coordinating shipping and logistics for manufactured products.
They offer quality assurance services as the secondary service so probably not suitable for large and medium businesses looking for a primary quality control and inspection company.
The head office of the company is situated in Tampa, Florida, but also has a strong presence in China.
Services
- Quality assurance consulting
- On-site inspection
Address: Building 15, 3F, 271 Qianyang Road, Shanghai
InTouch Manufacturing Services
Mainly known as InTouch, the Quality Control and inspection company is based in Shenzhen, China. Established in 2008, it provides quality control services to factories and importers in China along with a wide range of inspection services.
It was founded in 2008 by an American, Andrew Reich, in China to provide high-quality inspection and Quality Control services to Chinese importers to the US.
Andrew, who was working in China as a quality control inspector since 2003 was not satisfied with some of the industry practices, and eventually created his own inspection company to provide better services where others were lacking.
Its services include product-specific inspections, social compliance audits, supplier verification, automotive production inspection, factory audit services, QC document development, production monitoring, Pre-production inspection, and more.
It is also a good fit for small and medium-sized importers looking for high-quality standards for their products.
Services
- Supplier qualification audit
- Pre-shipment inspection
- During production inspection
- Container loading supervision
Address: Office 909, 9th Floor, Jintian Building, 1199 Heping Road, Luohu, Shenzhen, Guangdong
V-Trust
V-Trust is another China-based Quality Control and Inspection company that offers a wide range of QC services to Chinese importers. The head office of the company is based in Guangzhou with a number of offices in other Asian countries like Vietnam and India.
Established in 2003, the company under CEO Dr. Ted Zhang becomes one of the top choices for importers due to its high-quality inspection services.
In addition to inspection services, their other core services include laboratory testing, certifications, and supplier evaluation.
Other services include pre-shipment inspection, during production inspection, production monitoring, container loading supervision, factory audit, and social compliance audit.
The products and industries they provide their services for include hard goods, electrical & electronics, industrial products, soft goods, mineral products, bakery goods, cosmetics, fabric, apparel, etc.
The prices of their core services are as follows:
- $268 per man-day for product inspection
- $498 per factory audit
- $368 per basic factory audit
- $298 per credit audit
- $498 per social compliance audit
Due to their low prices compared to some larger companies, they are also a good fit for small and medium-sized importers who are looking for average quality standards.
Services
- Pre-shipment inspection
- During production inspection
- Container loading supervision
- On-site tests
- Factory audit
- Social compliance audit
Address: 1107-1109 West Tower, Poly World Trade Centre, 1000 Xingang Road E., Guangzhou
SGS
SGS is one of the oldest, well-known, and most recognized quality control and inspection companies in the world. Established more than a century ago with head office based in Geneva, Switzerland, SGS provides its services to importers in all parts of the world with hundreds of its offices established in China striving to provide high-quality services to Chinese importers.
As one of the leading and largest quality control companies in the world, SGS offers certification, testing, verification, and inspection services to Chinese importers. It is a good fit for medium and large importers who are looking for the best quality standards.
The company has near to one hundred thousand employees and over two thousand offices and laboratories in different parts of the world with China as their main focus.
You can find their office in every industrial city of China that include Beijing, Huizhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Ningbo, Qingdao, Beihai, Qingdao, Qinzhou, Shenzen, Dalian, Fangchenggang, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Yantai, Zhanjiang, Nanchang, Changchun, Changzhou, Jinan, Nanjing, Ningbo, Lianyungang, Shanghai, Wuhan, Suzhou, Tianjin, Wuhan, and Zhengzhou.
The services offered by SGS include inspection, testing, certification, and verification of product quality.
SGS is also accredited by the FDA as well as FCC, which means food and electronic importers to the US and Europe can use its services.
Established initially as a grain inspection house, SGS now offers quality assurance services to a wide range of industries that include energy and finance, consumer goods, logistics, life sciences, industrial manufacturing, agriculture and food, construction, chemical, oil, and gas, and automotive and aviation.
Services
- Product quality inspection
- Quality inspection training
- Factory audit
- Social compliance audit
Address: A-16/F Century Yuhui Mansion, No.73 Fucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing
KRT Audits
KRT Audits is a US-based company that offers a wide range of quality control and inspection services to importers in China and other Asian countries.
The company was established in 1990 and offers its inspection and quality control services in China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
KRT Audit is most active in China with most of its offices located in China. The regional head offices within China are situated in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tianjin.
The wide range of services offered by KRT Audits includes final shipment inspection, in-process inspection, container loading supervision, first article inspection, manufacturing process monitoring, defect sorting inspection, complete factory audit, complete reseller audit, basic factory audit, complete social audit, business license check, and anti-terrorism audit.
The products and industries they cover include textiles, garments, footwear, food, pharmaceuticals, electronics, appliances, eco-environmental, physical properties, and children’s toys.
KRT offers some of the lowest rates in the industry for Chinese importers that make them a good fit for small and medium importers.
The details of their prices are as follows.
- $195 for quality control inspection for first-time clients
- $295 for quality control inspection for other clients
- $348 for factory audit
In addition to low rates, KRT audit also offers 12 hours inspection work-day instead of 8 hours workday, which means importers can get additional samples checks during a one-day inspection.
Services
- Factory and supplier audit
- Product and shipment inspection
- In-process inspection
- Defect Sorting Inspection
- Supplier background check
Address: XTD Trade Tower, 159 Madang Road, Level 5, North Block, Shanghai
HQTS
HQTS was founded in 1987 as a division of the Fujian Inspection and Research Institute (FCII) for Product Quality, which is a research and testing facility accredited for over 2,000 types of products. Today, the company has offices in over 20 locations worldwide including the EU, the US, Brazil, India, and China.
The company provides an end-to-end service for monitoring the production process at every stage, including sampling, pre-production, pre-shipment, and loading inspection. They can also provide customized service solutions to meet your business needs. In addition, they also provide testing services for REACH, RoHS, and CPSIA.
Services
- Sample checking
- Pre-production inspection
- Pre-shipment inspection
- Metal detection
- Loadinga and unloading supervision
- Factory and supplier audit
Address: 152 North Jianxin Road, Second & Third Floors, Fuzhou, Fujian
Pro QC International
Pro QC International has over 30 years of experience in quality control, and today it offers services in over 88 countries, including the US, EU countries, and most Asia countries. The company employs skilled engineers and auditors that are fluent in both English and local languages.
They specialize in the furniture, electronics, automotive, apparel, and footwear industries. They offer one-stop quality assurance services including product quality control, factory and supplier audits. In addition, they provide guidelines for quality management system audits (e.g. ISO 9001, IATF 16949) on their website.
Services
- Factory and supplier audits
- Vendor compliance check
- Pre-production inspection
- Pre-shipment inspection
- Supplier management
Address: 2/F, Jonsim Place, 228 Queen’s Rd E, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
ATI
Located in Shanghai, ATI has offices in 10 cities around the world and more than 100 qualified inspectors. The company offers inspection services for products such as textiles, kitchenware, toys, and machinery.
They offer factory audit services to verify the factory’s capabilities before placing an order, and social audits to verify social compliance against global standards. In addition, they can also provide lab testing services at different stages of production, for example, sample lab testing.
Services
- Factory and social audits
- Pre-production inspection
- During production inspection
- Pre-shipment inspection
- Container loading supervision
Address: Room 611A, 6/F , New Pioneer Business Center, No 1146, West Yan’an Road, Changning District, Shanghai
Tetra Inspection
Tetra Inspection is a Hong Kong-based inspection company that offers quality inspection services for a wide range of products, including furniture, children’s products, and household appliances. They cover several Asian countries, including China, India, and Vietnam.
They provide inspection during the pre-production, production, and container loading stages. You can find sample reports for inspection and loading supervision on their website. Also, they offer fully customizable solutions including video live to chat with inspectors, GPS coordinates, and live defect review.
Services
- Factory and supplier audits
- Pre-production inspection
- Pre-shipment inspection
- Container loading check
- Amazon FBA inspection
- Pre-customs clearance inspection
Address: Suite 1404, Tung Wai Commercial Building, 109-111 Gloucester Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
China Inspection Service
China Inspection Service provides factory audits and product inspection services focusing on small and medium-sized importers. They cover most consumer products including watches, jewelry, electronics, and health products.
They claim that their QC inspectors cover 30+ major cities in China, and each inspector has at least 4+ years of quality inspection experience.
Services
- In-production inspection
- Pre-shipment inspection
- Container loading supervision
- Factory audit
- Social accountability audit
- Quality engineering support
Address: Room 4-1-3602​​, Heng Da Hu Fu, Guancheng District, Dongguan, Guangdong
STC Group
Standards and Testing Centre (STC) was established in 1963 as the first independent and not-for-profit testing, inspection, and certification organization in Hong Kong. They are accredited by CNAS, CPSC, SATRA, and more. Nowadays, they have offices in China, Germany, Vietnam, Japan, and the US.
Their product scope includes textiles, medical devices, electronics, and children’s products. Their main services include inspection, testing, and certification during different production stages. Also, they claim that they cooperate with internationally recognized inspection bodies in Asia, the EU, and the US.
Services
- Factory and social audit
- Factory inspection
- Inline production checks
- Final random inspection
- Loading supervision
- Inspection training service
Address: 68 Fumin Nan Road, Dalang, Dongguan, Guangdong
Bureau Veritas InSpec
Bureau Veritas is a leading testing and certification company that’s been around for almost two centuries. They launched BV InSpec in 2019, an online quality inspection booking platform that enables importers to schedule inspections in just a few minutes – up to one day before the inspection.
Platform Overview
1. InSpec by BV is an online product inspections booking platform powered by Bureau Veritas. BV’s dedicated product inspection specialists are located in close to 20 countries around the world, including China, Vietnam, and India.
2. You can book your product quality inspections weeks in advance, or even for the next day, and receive your inspections report on the day of inspection. In addition, the platform helps you to reschedule your inspection as necessary.
3. We carry out over 400,000 inspections and audits every year. Our product inspection team undergoes weeks of intensive training and yearly refresher courses on the latest technologies and processes. Included in this training and the courses are reminders and reinforcements of BV’s Code of Conduct
4. Our inspections are carried out using BV inspection protocols which are based on our best practices and decades of experience from assessing millions of factories and products. All our protocols are optimized to meet today’s requirements.
Services
- Initial production inspection
- During production inspection
- Pre-shipment production inspection
- Factory audit
- Quality inspection training
Address: 168 Guanghua Road, Zhuanqiao Town, Minxing District, Shanghai
FAQ
How do I find the best quality inspection company?
Quality inspections are today a commodity service. Most established QC companies share the same qualifications, served areas and product expertise, making them more or less equals in most aspects. Pricing is also standardized, so don’t expect to see much difference between quality inspection companies in China.
In my opinion, it mainly comes down to the quality control checklist that you provide, and whether you prefer to use an online booking platform or talk directly to an account manager.
How do I know if they are experienced enough for my product?
Essentially all established quality inspection companies can handle everything from textiles and accessories to electronics and machinery. Companies like Sofeast, QIMA, and Bureau Veritas are generally not specialized in a single product category but may use specialized QC staff when needed.
What is the standard quality inspection price in China?
Most quality inspection companies charge from $180 to $300 per quality inspection. This also includes transportation and the creation of the checklist. Some QC companies also offer discounts if you book an inspection a few days in advance.
Hello,I would like to manage a quality control of storage containers during production in Qingdao. Any recommendable inspection company, please
Thanks Fredrik for sharing this detailed info. I’d like to suggest another inspection partner in China: TESTCOO. Not only in China, they are also specialized in QC inspection/factory audit in Sourtheast Asia like Vietnam and Cambodia as well as Americas like Brazil and Mexico.
suggest third party inspection services for compound casting material NDT check.(UT and MPT. Who perform and check by their own machine and qualified person.
Hi Fredrik.
A really informative article.
I want to know:
Is Alibaba monitoring service enough for small orders? They are also offering good price USD 48.
Regards
Syed
Hi Syed,
No idea what they do for 48 USD but I doubt it’s on par with a standard quality inspection
looking for QC inspections for Vinyl window factory in Qingdao
Hi Donald,
I suggest you contact Sofeast limited (www.sofeast.com)
Hi Fredrik,
Testcoo inspection is also a reliable 3rd party inspection company in China. Within 24 hours to get the report and $149/MD in China and $259 in Southeast Asia.
https://www.testcoo.com
HQST is one of the oldest and largest QC established in China.
The factory just finishing making us 1,000 table top book stands next week. We need to inspect each one to make sure the quality is correct. I can send video and pictures explaining. The factory is located 119 Qianyao village Qinghe subdistrict office Cao county Shandong
Hi Joseph,
I suggest you contact one of the listed companies directly.
hI
Why Sunchine Quality Control Technology Service (Trade Name Sunchine Inspection) who is accredited ISO/IEC 17020 and also TIC Council full member is not mentioned in your inspection company list in China.
For information there is only 6 China founded inspection companies that are full member of the TIC Council.
i m still working at AGI as a asst quality auditor incharge inline and final audit
Excellent article Fredrik, very informative.
Thank you Bina!
Hi Fredrik. Thank you for this blog. Do you know if any of those companies speak Spanish? Thank you
Hi Camilo,
You could try Sofeast. Their French founder, Renaud Anjoran, is from the border area.
We are purchasing KN95 mask from a supplier in China and we wanted to know whether any reliable inspection company can do a US Compliant “Fit” Testing pre-shipment?
Hi Anthony,
QC companies cannot do lab testing if that’s what you’re referring to
If you are looking for qualified Inspectors for your Inspections based in India, you can contact INSPECTIONS INDIA. They have rich expertise in Inspection Services, like: Container Loading Check | During Production Inspection | Factory Audit | Final Random Inspection | Full Inspection | Initial Production Inspection | Production Monitoring | Social Audit | Supplier Verification | …
Dear Mr/ Ms/
I require a person to communicate with a fabric company which I have paid portion of amount and they given 3 times promise to finish the production and they have not so far. The last promise date is 8th of January 2020 which I also have doubt to keep their promise. would you please get in touch with them and let me know if they will keep their promise and supply on 8th. And now The are not replaying to my calls. Awaiting for your favorable answer.
Hi Ismail,
Please use the contact form and we can discuss this further.
Thanks for this post.
Maestro Compliance Initiative is also a 3rd party inspection company in Asia http://www.mcipk.com
which one is best to use? could you recomend? we are going to hire someone to inspect our goods ready soon.
Hi David,
I’d say all companies on this list are quite good. But, we cooperate with http://www.sofeast.com so I will always recommend them.
Just send them your requirements and compare the services and prices, then you will choose the satisfied one.
we’ve tried many but ended up choosing V-Trust which has a very responsive customer service. the point is that we had some bad experience in the past which our contact at other QC companies couldn’t understand our requirements properly, but our account manager at V-Trust really knows our product category well
Glad to know you have a satisified QC company to work with together
I knew https://aqiservice.com also a reliable China inspection company too. Thanks AQI
I’m sure they are
Thanks Wender for your such positive comments about our service.
we use vtrust, too. We chose them because of their technical support also. Run away from companies that BS you with “sorry”, “maybe”, “not our fault” for every concern you might have.. we expect solution, not excuse after excuse.
Vtrust inspection.. pricey though.. but in this industry you really get what you pay for
So much valuable information but you always have to look for companies that follow up with services all the time. I found Tetrainspecetion to be terrific in communicating with clients all the time.
Thank you for the recommendation! we used http://www.tetrainspection.com service for our last Amazon FBA shipment from China, we were impressed by the quality of their work.
They have a specific service for Amazon FBA sellers which we couldn’t find anywhere else.
Hi,
I have 20 years of experience in inspection field. I have good knowledge of inspections of consumer products like soft line, hard line, leather products, shoes, surgical and beauty items, socks, rock salt products, Furniture etc.
Currently I am associated with Two international companies for inspections and audits in Pakistan. I have a network with experienced inspectors and auditors for Lahore, Karachi, Sialkot and Faisalabad and all over Pakistan.
I wish to join some companies as a free lance inspector.
Thanking in anticipation.
Syed Qalab Abbas Jafri.
Another awesome article. Very detailed and informative. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you!
Hello! Thank you for this information. Do you happen to know reputable inspection companies in Ganzhou province (Jiangxi, China)? Thank you!
Hello Ava, I think Sofeast also operate there!
Yes, Sofeast Limited can help you with that.
Thanks for sharing helpful information.
Hello Fredrik,
I enjoyed reading your various suggestions for Quality Inspectors.
I have a question. What’s the difference between “Chinaimportal” vs “Sofeast”
I would appreciate clarification.
Regards,
Angel Hortiz
Dear Angel,
Sofeast is mainly an agency that offer quality inspections, factories inspections and similar.
Chinaimportal is a platform that offer you all the tools you need to manage the importing process by yourself (with our help and the help of our partners). You find a lot of more details here (including videos): https://www.chinaimportal.com/ and here https://www.chinaimportal.com/about/
we have a requirement for third party pre shipment inspection for our client in oil & gas sector. email your company profile and client/ project reference list. my contact details are given below
Great post with useful information! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Miles,
I see that you are based in Shenzhen.
Do you suggest any other companies for this list?
CCIC inspection is also a reliable 3rd party inspection company in China.
Thanks Fredrik for the mention! Glad to see such positive comments about our service. :-)
It’s well earned!
Dear Fredrik
Thank you for your informative article. Very helpful!
Do you also have info on the company name CIS
CHINA INSPECTION SERVICES ?
Pls advise,
Guido
Hi Guido,
Never heard of CIS. There are so many QC companies in China that I probably can’t name more than 5% of them.