The risk
The Ghost Factory
A platform profile can belong to a trading shell or an entity with no production at the stated address. We verify the legal entity and factory claim before a deposit.
Verify a supplier →
China supply chain risk intelligence · Shenzhen
What you don't see about your China supplier is what costs you the most.
The most expensive China supply chain failures are often caused by risks buyers cannot see from overseas. Procubility independently verifies suppliers, investigates manufacturing claims, audits factories and inspects production for overseas buyers.
Office
Shenzhen · Futian District
Mobilisation
Timing confirmed after scope and location review
Coverage
Pearl River Delta · Yangtze Delta · Bohai Rim
Independence
No commission. No supplier kick-back.
The reality check
What overseas buyers cannot verify from a quotation.
Four recurring risks can remain hidden when buying from China. Independent checks help a buyer understand them before payment, during production and before shipment.
The risk
The Quality Fade
Materials or process controls can change after an approved sample. In-line and pre-shipment inspections test the actual production against the agreed specification.
Book a quality inspection →The risk
Hidden Subcontracting
Production can move to an undisclosed workshop outside the approved scope. An on-site audit looks for capacity gaps and evidence of subcontracting.
Audit a factory →The risk
The Compliance Trap
International compliance obligations depend on evidence from the producing site. We collect and assess the records available within the agreed scope.
Compliance support →Live from the field
This week, on Chinese factory floors.
Anonymised intelligence from active investigations across the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze Delta. Updated weekly by our Shenzhen auditors.
Dongguan · Electronics
Trading company posing as PCBA factory — registered floor space did not exist at the listed address. Deposit blocked.
2 days ago
Foshan · Furniture
Subcontracted finishing line discovered 14 km from the audited factory. Unvetted, no fire-safety certification.
5 days ago
Ningbo · Industrial
Material certificate forged — supplier provided 304 stainless cert for 201 stock. Lab pull confirmed substitution.
1 week ago
Shenzhen · Consumer
Geotagged production line photos delivered to EU client within 72 hours of supplier nomination.
1 week ago
The Procubility Risk Score
An example supplier risk assessment across five dimensions.
This anonymised example shows how evidence can be organised into a red, amber or green decision. Sources and weighting depend on the agreed scope; a score is a dated assessment, not a guarantee of future performance.
Run the 5-minute self-test on your supplier →Example Procubility Risk Report
Illustrative format · No real supplier identified
Legal & corporate identity
92/100
Production capacity (verified)
78/100
Quality system & process control
64/100
Subcontracting transparency
41/100
ESG & social compliance
70/100
Composite: 69 / 100 — Watch. Subcontracting flag must be cleared before deposit.
Evidence-grade
What you actually receive
A sourced audit report your internal teams can review and act on.
- Geotagged and time-stamped photographs from the areas included in the audit scope
- Machinery details and serial numbers where visible and relevant to the capacity claim
- Workforce and labour records where access is authorised and included in scope
- Material certificates checked at source, with independent laboratory testing arranged where required
- Subcontracting findings and named production sites where evidence permits
The Procubility Edge
Independent, buyer-paid supplier intelligence.
Procubility works for overseas buyers who need to understand a Chinese supplier before committing funds. Our role is verification, investigation, factory audit and production inspection from inside China.
We are paid by the buyer and accept no supplier commission or transaction-based kickback. That incentive structure supports independent findings, including a clear statement when evidence is unavailable or inconclusive.
On-the-ground Presence
Direct China-side risk control. Auditors based in Shenzhen, mobilised across the Pearl River Delta within 72 hours.
Evidence-Based Reporting
Independent supplier assessment using dated source records, site observations and photographs within the agreed scope.
Compliance Expertise
Specialised awareness of international manufacturing law — CSDDD, CBAM, UFLPA, REACH and CE — collected at the source.
Sectors we protect
Where in China matters as much as what.
Different products, different regions, different fraud patterns. Our auditors are specialised by industrial cluster — not by spreadsheet.
Consumer Electronics
Shenzhen, Dongguan, Huizhou. PCBA traceability, IP-leak prevention, EMC and battery-safety evidence.
How we audit this sector →Industrial Machinery & Parts
Ningbo, Suzhou, Qingdao. CNC, casting and forging — process-capability and material-cert verification.
How we audit this sector →Home & Lifestyle
Foshan, Yiwu, Quanzhou. Social-compliance and chemical-safety risk on textiles, furniture and houseware.
How we audit this sector →Forensic case files
What we found during real supplier investigations.
Real investigations conducted for overseas buyers. Client names are withheld where confidentiality requires it.
Consumer Electronics · Sweden
Ghost Factory: $50K deposit stopped 24 hours before wire
The Alibaba Gold Supplier was a 12-person trading shell. Our Shenzhen visit caught it before the bank transfer cleared.
Read the case →Industrial Machinery · Germany
Hidden Subcontracting: 40% of production was leaving the factory at night
A second site visit and capacity reconciliation identified unauthorized tier-2 production in a non-audited workshop.
Read the case →Home & Lifestyle · Netherlands
Quality Fade: how a $200K reorder almost failed EU REACH testing
Material substitution on the third reorder. Lab pull caught SVHC drift before the container shipped.
Read the case →Free download
Use the same checklist our auditors use on the factory floor.
Twenty-five evidence checks across legal, capacity, QMS, social and ESG. Use it before you wire a deposit, sign an MoU, or commit tooling.
25-point checklist Red-flag scoring
Start where it hurts
The investigations importers reach for first.
The 5 China Supplier Scams
Ghost factories, bank swaps and sample-bait: recurring patterns buyers should recognise before payment.
Read →Hidden Subcontracting
Why your audited factory can ship product made in an unaudited workshop next door.
Read →Quality Fade
The slow material downgrade that costs importers more than outright fraud.
Read →Why Factory Audits Fail
Four reasons a passing third-party audit still ships you a defective container.
Read →Electronics Factory Audit
PCB, BOM, battery and CE/RoHS forensics for Shenzhen and Dongguan OEMs.
Read →EU Importer Compliance
CSDDD, CBAM and UFLPA-grade evidence — captured at the source, in Shenzhen.
Read →
Stop hoping the supplier is real.
Start verifying it.
Tell us the supplier name, city, product and decision you need to make. We will confirm the appropriate verification scope and expected timing before work starts.