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Pre-shipment inspection
A pre-shipment inspection is an independent check of the goods before the container is sealed. An inspector attends the factory or warehouse, samples against your specification, watches the loading and reports what they saw. It is the last point in an order where a problem is still cheap.
The essentials.
- What it covers
- Quantity, packing and marking, workmanship against your specification, and sampling for any parameter the contract names.
- Who does it
- An inspection company instructed by you, or by us on your behalf. It is the buyer's instrument and it is paid for by the buyer.
- When
- When production is finished and before the container is sealed. Earlier and there is nothing to see, later and the point has passed.
- What comes back
- A report with photographs, the sampling method, the results against the specification, and a clear position on whether to release the shipment.
Who asks for it.
This travels with the goods wherever they go. Either Indonesia requires it on the way out, or it is an ordinary trade document that any buyer, bank and carrier expects to see.
What it does not cover.
It samples, it does not open everything
An inspection covers a statistical sample. Agree the sampling plan in the instruction rather than leaving it to the inspector, because the plan decides what the report can honestly tell you.
It is not a guarantee
The report says what an inspector observed on a date. It reduces risk sharply and it does not transfer it. Your remedy for goods that fail on arrival still lives in the contract.
Questions buyers ask.
Is it worth it on a small order?
Compare the cost against the value of the container and against the cost of a rejected consignment sitting at your port. On a first order with a new producer it is almost always worth it, and it is the cheapest evidence you will hold if anything goes wrong.
Can the supplier arrange it?
They can, and then it is their inspection. An independent check instructed by the buyer, with the inspector reporting to you, is a different instrument. The distinction matters exactly when there is a dispute.
Need this document for a real shipment?
Tell us the product and the destination port. We come back with the full document set for that route, who issues each one, and how long it takes.