10 Questions to Ask a Factory Before You Commit to an Order

A factory call tells you more in thirty minutes than a brochure tells you in thirty pages — if you ask questions that cannot be answered with a slogan. Here are the ten we use, and how to read the answers.

1. What percentage of last year’s output was my product category?

Good answer: a number, plus the main client types. Warning sign: “we produce all kinds of products” — a catalogue without a centre of gravity.

2. Which mills supply your fabric, and can I see a recent mill certificate?

Good answer: mill names and a certificate within minutes or a same-day follow-up. Warning sign: “we buy from the market depending on price.”

3. What is your current line loading, and when could my order actually start?

Good answer: “Lines 3 and 5 open in week 42.” Warning sign: immediate “we can start tomorrow” from a factory you contacted cold.

4. Walk me through your in-process quality checks — at which stations, recorded how?

Good answer: named stations (cutting check, first-piece approval, mid-line audit, final packing check) and where the records live. Warning sign: “we have strict QC” with no stations named.

5. What was your last failed inspection or claim, and how was it resolved?

Good answer: a specific story with a resolution and a process change. Warning sign: “we have never had a problem” — statistically impossible and conversationally closed.

6. How do you price revisions — sample rounds, mould changes, artwork tweaks?

Good answer: a written policy with numbers. Warning sign: “don’t worry about small costs,” which becomes large costs at revision three.

7. Who will be my contact during production, and how often will I receive line photos?

Good answer: a named merchandiser and a cadence (weekly, per milestone). Warning sign: “contact me directly anytime” from an owner who travels — your messages will queue behind his airport lounges.

8. What are your payment terms, and what changes them?

Good answer: standard 30/70 with conditions for variation stated plainly. Warning sign: 100% upfront requests, or terms that shift mid-negotiation without reason.

9. Which compliance documents do you hold for my target market, and how recent are they?

Good answer: document names, issue dates, testing lab. Warning sign: expired certificates offered as current, or confusion between a factory audit and a product test report.

10. If my order runs two weeks late, what exactly happens — and what is your compensation policy?

Good answer: a recovery playbook (extra lines, air-freight split for launch quantities) and a written late-delivery clause. Warning sign: silence, then “we will never be late.”

Using the answers

Score the call, not the vibe. Two warning signs on commercial questions (6, 8, 10) outweigh five charming answers on capability questions. And put every good answer into the purchase confirmation in writing — an answer that survives being written down was never a slogan.

We run this question set on every factory before it enters our active network, and we share the annotated answers with clients on request. If you have a call scheduled with a factory this week, send us the agenda — we will mark the questions your product class needs added.