Product specification: the tech pack the factory follows

In China, production starts from a document, not an intention. When a detail is missing from the specifications, the factory chooses the cheapest solution for itself: a thinner material, a simplified finish, standard packaging. It produced what was written, nothing else. The burden of proof then falls on you: without a signed document, that proof does not exist.

This state of affairs surprises many European importers. With a nearby supplier, a phone call can catch a forgotten instruction. With a factory in multiple time zones, where the sales team often speaks English better than the workshop, every oral instruction gets distorted along the way. The only lasting element remains a dated, translated document signed by both parties.

A tech pack, or product specification sheet, brings together in a single document everything the factory needs to know to manufacture without asking questions. It does not describe the product: it defines it. Large export factories are used to it, because their industrial clients require one from them; they treat a buyer all the better when his document is complete. A single page leaves gaps; a point-by-point list gives concrete handles.

A specification is judged by the proportion of adjectives it contains. 'Strong', 'high quality', 'careful finish' mean nothing to a workshop manager, and even less after translation. Each requirement is converted into a measurement: a thickness in millimeters, a breaking load in kilograms, a shade in color code, a number of stitches per centimeter.

Tolerances complement measurements. No factory produces two strictly identical pieces: a serious document therefore states a target value and the maximum allowed deviation around it, for example 'length: 100 mm ± 2 mm'. Without a written tolerance, each measurement becomes negotiable, and the debate takes place after production, when the goods are already paid for and loaded.

Inspections rely on the ISO 2859-1 standard, which defines sampling plans and AQL levels, i.e. acceptable defect thresholds. This standard is only useful if the specification defines what a defect is: a scratch of what dimensions, on which face, does it count? The document therefore classifies defects into critical, major and minor, with examples specific to your product.

This list serves two purposes. Before production, it sets the boundary between acceptable and rejectable: the factory knows what it risks. At the time of pre-shipment inspection, the inspector compares the goods to the document, not to an impression. A dispute is then settled on a stamped page, not on conflicting memories.

A product specification sheet only protects those who read French. On a production line in Guangdong, instructions circulate in Chinese: the version that counts is the one the workshop understands. Have the document translated into the technical vocabulary of the trade, not word for word, then have both versions co-signed by an authorized manager, with date and company stamp.

The company stamp is a legal commitment in China: a stamped document is far more binding than an email from a salesperson whose authority to commit the factory you cannot verify. Then attach the document to the purchase agreement and include a sealed golden sample: the text describes, the object proves, and each refers to the other.

Every production run involves adjustments: an unavailable color, a discontinued component, packaging to revise. The danger is not change, it is oral change. A decision made in a thread is soon contradicted by another message, and each party defends their version. Meanwhile, the goods may have already taken the wrong path.

The rule is a single sentence: each modification results in a new version of the document, numbered and dated, re-signed by both parties, with the previous version explicitly cancelled. The golden sample evolves with the text; otherwise the document and the physical reference contradict each other. That contradiction always benefits the party that has an interest in not taking back the goods.

Sorva is a brokerage and sourcing firm active between Europe and China. Our sinophone team in Guangzhou writes and translates product specifications into the technical vocabulary of the trade, has them stamped by factory management, and then checks during pre-production that the outgoing production complies. You receive a bilingual document ready to be attached to the contract, along with dated reports at each step, and a single point of contact in Europe.

In most cases, you pay no fees: you open a file, we negotiate the goods for you, and we take a volume commission calculated on its ex-works value. Open a file with your product, even at the sketch stage: we will tell you what level of documentation the project requires and what needs to be locked in before the first down payment.