What should a diaper supplier show you during pre-shipment inspection of a first order?

Before the balance payment, ask your diaper supplier for four things: an AQL sampling report, a performance test sheet, carton and barcode verification, and a dated photo record taken before the container is sealed. A pre-shipment inspection costing a fraction of a percent of the order value is the only point in the transaction where you still have leverage — after the container sails, your remedies are slow, expensive and rarely worth the freight.

Specification drift on a first order is normal rather than exceptional. Film thickness, SAP loading, elastic tension and carton quality all move slightly between the sample you approved and the production run, and the drift shows up in the container, not in the sample box. Pre-shipment inspection is how you find it while it is still the supplier's problem.

What does a pre-shipment inspection actually check on diapers?

Four groups: appearance and workmanship, dimensional consistency, functional performance, and packing accuracy. A competent inspector works through all four and reports each against the approved specification rather than against a general impression.

• Appearance — print registration, film wrinkles, contamination, adhesive residue, leg cuff and waistband symmetry.
• Dimensions — length, width, tape position and thickness, measured against the approved sample.
• Performance — absorbency under load, rewet, leakage at the cuff, tape peel strength and refastenability.
• Packing — piece count per pack, packs per carton, carton printing, barcode readability and shipping mark accuracy.

Barcode scanning deserves its own line in the report. A carton that will not scan at the retailer's distribution centre becomes a manual handling charge, and that charge is passed back to you.

Which sampling standard should the report reference?

ISO 2859-1, the attribute sampling standard that most inspection firms use to translate a batch size into a sample size and an acceptance number. If the report cites no standard at all, it is an opinion rather than a measurement, and an AQL sampling table that cannot be traced to a lot size is not worth arguing over.

The important part is agreeing the AQL levels before production, not after the report. A typical structure allows zero tolerance on critical defects such as contamination or a non-functional tape, a tight limit on major defects that would cause a leak, and a looser limit on cosmetic minors. Write those numbers into the purchase order so rejection follows automatically when the sample exceeds them.

When should inspection sit inside a T/T 30/70 schedule?

After the goods are produced and packed, and before the 70% balance is released. Under the T/T 30/70 structure common in this category, the deposit starts production and the balance clears documents, so the gap between finished production and balance payment is your only window of real leverage.

Book the inspection window when you place the order, not when the supplier announces completion. Inspection firms are busy at month end, and a three-day delay can push the report past the date you were contractually due to pay — which converts a quality finding into a commercial argument you will lose.

Who pays for inspection, and who chooses the inspector?

The buyer pays and the buyer chooses. The cost is commonly quoted per man-day plus travel, which is trivial against a container of baby diapers, and independence is the entire value of the exercise.

If a supplier offers to arrange inspection through a firm of their choosing at their cost, accept the report as information and not as verification. A second, buyer-appointed check on the first container is worth the duplication; after two or three clean shipments you can move to periodic rather than every-order inspection.

What does container loading supervision add?

It closes the gap between a product that passed inspection in the warehouse and a container that arrives with the right goods inside it. Loading supervision records the cartons actually loaded, the pallet or floor-load pattern, container condition, and the seal number applied at the door.

Three details in that record earn their keep: photographs of the container interior before loading, the seal number photographed on the closed door, and a count of cartons matched to the packing list. Those three make a short-shipment or substitution claim arguable instead of unwinnable. On a first diaper wholesale order, they are the cheapest evidence you will ever buy.

Which records should you keep after the container sails?

The inspection report with its sample sizes and defect counts, the performance test sheet, the container loading report with its photographs, the seal number, the packing list and the commercial invoice. Keep them for at least two years, and keep them together rather than in three folders.

They serve a second purpose beyond disputes. When you review a diaper supplier for a second order, the defect trend across inspection reports is far more informative than the supplier's own quality presentation, because it is measured the same way every time.

What happens if the inspection fails?

You stop, and you use the report rather than your frustration. A failed inspection at AQL level usually means a defined subset of defects exceeded an agreed limit, and the practical remedies are rework, replacement of the affected cartons, or a price adjustment — in that order of preference.

Rework is the cleanest outcome when the defect is cosmetic and the schedule allows it. Replacement of specific cartons is faster when the defect is isolated to one production run. A price adjustment is the worst option and should be a last resort, because it converts a quality problem into a margin problem and leaves the defective stock in your warehouse. Record whichever route you take in writing, and reference the report number. If you are still selecting a supplier, the supplier selection checklist and our distributor application page set out what a first order file should contain.

Frequently asked questions

Four questions buyers ask before commissioning their first inspection.

Sources and further reading

• Intertek, pre-shipment inspection scope, sampling and reporting practice (accessed 2026): intertek.com
• Bureau Veritas, container loading supervision and quantity verification services (accessed 2026): bureauveritas.com
• TÜV, product inspection and factory assessment methodologies (accessed 2026): tuv.com

Bottom line: inspect before you pay the balance, appoint the inspector yourself, and add loading supervision on the first container. The report is worth more as a defect trend across shipments than as a single verdict on one. Sampling levels, test methods and acceptance criteria here are industry practice to be agreed in the purchase order, and any commercial terms remain subject to formal quotation.