Most Chinese factories have never tested your product. A report does not prove it, only the presence on site shows it.
When a manager wants to ensure that his Chinese supplier tests his products well, he does what he knows how to do from France. He asks for a test report. A certificate. Sometimes a photo of the bench, or a video during a call. He receives the documents, they are clean, stamped, and he is reassured. The supplier tests, the proof is there.
The proof is not there. And this is the problem I see most often on this topic.
I will start from a real case, a factory that I visited for a client. But let’s start with what no one says about testing in China.
Testing is not the norm, it is the exception
In the idea of a French manager, a factory is testing. This is obvious on his side of the world, because in his factory, we test.
On the Chinese ground, the reality is the opposite. The majority of factories don’t really test. They check that the product turns on, that it doesn’t make any abnormal noise, sometimes a quick visual check, and they ship it. The real, measured test, documented from a real measurement, is the exception, not the rule.
You have to be fair. Not all products require the same level of testing, and a factory that does not do extensive testing on a simple item is not being dishonest. The subject is not there. The issue is that the manager believes his level of requirements is acquired by default, even though it is rare. And above all, he believes he can verify it remotely.
What a Really Testing Factory Looks Like
The case. I source heat pumps, these units that heat water by taking calories from the outside air. A product whose entire value lies in a single question: does it perform well when conditions get tough.
The factory I’m visiting is actually testing. And not for the photo.
First station, a performance bench. It doesn’t just check that the machine starts. It measures water flow, inlet temperature and outlet temperature, with the setpoint and actual value displayed next to each other. Concretely, it verifies that the device delivers the promised heating power, not just that it turns on. A product can start very well and never achieve its performance. This bench catches that.
Second post, and it’s the one that stood out to me. A climatic chamber dedicated to the conditions of Mohe, the coldest city in China, set at minus 43 degrees. They run the heat pump there continuously. For this product, it is the test in its harshest condition, since its job is precisely to function when it freezes. A factory that invests in a room at minus 43 degrees to test its machines in prolonged operation is not a factory that ticks a box. It’s a factory that wants to know before you do what’s going to break.
This is what a real test looks like. And that’s why it’s rare.
Why you can’t check it from France
Now the disturbing part. None of what I have just described can be read in a document.
A test report proves that a relationship exists. It does not prove that your product has been tested. A report is completed in five minutes, with credible figures, without any machine being used on any bench. A certificate validates a type of product, a model approved once, it says nothing about your production units released this week. A photo of the bench proves that the bench exists in the factory, not that your series has been there. A video during a call shows you what we wanted to turn the camera towards.
Everything that happens to you remotely has been chosen for you. It is the same reflex as that of mold maker who doesn’t cheat, he simply sends you his best parts. We’re not necessarily lying to you. We show you the version that reassures. No file will give you the difference between this version and the reality of your order.
Documents are not useless, however.
I’m not saying to throw away the reports and certificates. That would be wrong and stupid. A serious factory has these documents, knows how to produce them, and their absence is a real warning signal. The leader who demands them is right to do so.
He is wrong about only one thing, but it is decisive. It takes a necessary condition for a sufficient condition. Having the papers does not prove that the work was done. It proves that the factory knows how to do the paperwork. It’s not the same thing, and this gap is exactly where the unpleasant surprises lie.
What changes when someone is in the room
The only thing that stands out is the presence. See the bench turn on your series, not on another. Read the control sheet taped to the unit, the one that follows the machine position by position. Enter the room at minus 43 degrees and see that it is useful, that it is not a decoration for visitors.
This is the difference between a PDF and a witness. The PDF tells you what we want to tell you. The witness sees what is happening. And on a technical product, this difference is worth everything, because a performance defect is not visible either when switching it on or in a photo. It is seen on a bench, to a certain extent, at the right temperature.
The real question is not about having a relationship
When you want to know if your supplier tests your products, stop asking if they have a report. The answer will be yes, and it will teach you nothing.
The real question is elsewhere. Has anyone seen your product actually being tested. Not a product, yours. Not once, on your production. From France, the answer is almost always no, and no document will fill this no.
A test in China cannot be verified in a file. It is verified in the room where it takes place, or it is not verified at all.
Field agent in China for 11 years, Nicolas Allard is the eyes on site for managers who have their products manufactured far from home. He supports them with Easybuyrpc.
