HomeCasesCaught at Pre-Shipment: Packaging That Would Not Survive Cases /Factory Audit Caught at Pre-Shipment: Packaging That Would Not Survive Goods met specification; the cartons did not. A drop test on packed units before loading changed the packaging, not the shipment date. 5 min read Reading time October 26, 2026 Updated Factory Audit Filed under On this page9 sections Background The problem Scope What we did What we found Deliverables Result Limitations Next step Quick read · Factory Audit The product passed every check. The carton did not, and the carton was what the customer would see first. Typical scenario. Assembled from recurring project patterns, not a single client record. No client name or order value is disclosed. Background Small appliances, repeat order, buyer shipping to retail distribution. Deliverable: pre-shipment inspection. Timeframe: one visit plus follow-up. The problem Previous shipments had arrived with crushed corners and a small but consistent damage rate. The factory considered it normal for export packing. Scope Verify the finished goods against specification and assess whether the packing could survive the stated distribution route. No packaging redesign by us. What we did The inspection followed the agreed sampling plan for the product, then added a step the plan did not include: packed cartons were dropped from the height the route implied, and opened afterwards. Units were intact. Inner dividers had shifted, and two of five cartons showed corner deformation beyond what the buyer’s retail partners accept. The factory’s position was that goods left the plant undamaged, which was true and irrelevant. The finding was written as a defect class with photographs, not as an opinion. A revised divider and a stronger corner board were specified and tested on the same day. What we found Product conformity and packaging conformity are two separate verdicts. Most inspection plans only define the first. Deliverables Inspection report with defect classification, drop-test photographs, packaging change specification, and a re-check record on the revised cartons. Result Packaging revised before loading; the shipment left on the original date with the revised cartons. Basis note: no damage rate is claimed as an improvement, because a single shipment cannot establish one. Limitations No product, factory or buyer is identified. The drop height used depended on the stated route; a different route produces a different test. Next step If damage has been “normal” for several shipments, define the packaging acceptance criteria before the next inspection. Supply chain execution covers the checkpoint scope. Related reading Factory Audit The Marks Did Not Match the Packing List Documents were assembled in the last week. Checking ma… Read the full case → Factory Audit Two Factories Overstated Capacity Two shortlisted factories described capacity they coul… Read the full case → Factory Audit Peak Season Delay, Found Four Weeks Early A two-week slip was visible in the bottleneck process … Read the full case → Same kind of request? Tell us the category, quantity and target city. Scope, schedule and pricing basis reach you within 24 hours. Submit a request
