Sourcing - sgbathroom.com

The Eight-Station Walk on a Factory Visit

Eight stations, in order: what to look at on a sanitaryware factory visit, what each one proves, and the questions to ask standing there.

Inspection can settle conformity to a written specification. It cannot settle design, fit, or everything you did not write down.

Private label, OEM and ODM are three different questions: who owns the design, the tooling and the paperwork. Picking the wrong one costs twice.

TT or LC, deposit or balance: how payment terms work on a first ceramic order, and which structure protects both sides.

A factory audit you can run from your desk: what to ask for, which documents settle each question, and what no document can answer.

A sample settles questions a catalogue cannot, and leaves several open. What to approve, what to record, and how it bridges into a first container.

What private-label work actually looks like at a ceramic factory — the four stages, the terms you can plan around, and where projects lose weeks.

No minimum on white-glaze models, thirty pieces on coloured ones — the reason sits in the kiln schedule, not in a promotion.

A practical checklist for importers and project buyers — what to verify before you place your first order.