China Automation Supplier Visit Checklist

It should not be treated as a general tour, hospitality event, or opportunity to see impressive robots.

Automation companies know how to prepare showrooms. A polished demonstration can be useful, but it does not prove that the supplier has the engineering depth, project ownership, controls discipline, documentation, testing process, or overseas support required for your machine.

Use This Checklist When

You have already identified several potentially suitable Chinese suppliers and need the visit to produce evidence before a deposit or final shortlist.

Do Not Visit Until Each Supplier Has Something Specific to Prove

A weak visit begins with:

“Please show us your factory and tell us about your company.”

A stronger visit begins with a written list of project risks.

For example:

• Can the supplier handle product variation?
• Has it built a similar feeding system?
• Who owns the vision software?
• Can it support the required PLC brand?
• How will cycle time be proven?
• What happens if FAT fails?
• Who will travel overseas for installation?
• What source files will be handed over?

Send the supplier the project summary before the visit.

Ask it to prepare:

• Relevant engineering personnel
• Comparable machines or active builds
• Drawings or concepts
• Sample test results
• Controls architecture
• FAT approach
• Documentation examples
• Overseas support plan

What to Inspect

1. Engineering Ownership

Look for:

• Named mechanical engineer
• Named electrical engineer
• PLC and HMI owner
• Robot programming owner
• Vision engineering owner
• Project manager
• Clear communication between disciplines

Warning signs:

• Sales answers every technical question.
• Engineers are brought in only briefly.
• No one owns the complete system.
• Programming is outsourced but not disclosed.
• The supplier cannot explain who supports the machine after shipment.

Useful questions:

• Who designed the mechanical concept?
• Who will write the PLC and HMI software?
• Who owns the robot and vision programs?
• Who has final responsibility for cycle time?
• Which engineer will attend design reviews?
• Who will support FAT and installation?

2. Active Machine Builds

Look for:

• Machines currently in assembly
• Mechanical drawings available at the build
• Labeled wiring
• Organized cabinets
• Defined test procedures
• Version-controlled documentation
• Clear project status tracking

Warning signs:

• Only completed showroom machines are shown.
• Active projects are unrelated to the supplier’s claimed specialty.
• Wiring and pneumatic routing are inconsistent.
• Engineers rely on memory rather than drawings.
• No build or test records are visible.

3. Comparable Experience

Ask for evidence that is close to your process.

A supplier that has built a palletizing cell has not necessarily proven precision assembly.

A supplier that has built camera inspection equipment has not necessarily proven cosmetic defect detection on reflective surfaces.

Request:

• Machine videos
• Product types
• Target cycle times
• Actual achieved output
• Installation year
• Current operating status
• Main technical difficulties
• Changes made after installation

The most useful question is often:

“What went wrong during the last similar project, and how did you correct it?”

Capable suppliers usually have an answer.

4. Controls Standards

Review:

• PLC and HMI architecture
• Alarm structure
• User access levels
• Recipe handling
• Data logging
• Safety logic
• Remote-access method
• Backup procedures
• Version control
• Source-code handover

Warning signs:

• “We can use any brand” without explaining experience.
• Controls are selected after mechanical design.
• No standard alarm structure exists.
• Program backup is informal.
• Remote access depends on an engineer’s personal laptop.
• Software ownership is unclear.

5. FAT Capability

Look for:

• Dedicated testing space
• Sample storage
• Runtime tracking
• Data collection
• Written punch lists
• Formal sign-off
• Ability to simulate line interfaces
• Safe access for buyer inspection

Warning signs:

• FAT means a five-minute demonstration.
• The supplier has not requested enough samples.
• No pass-and-fail criteria exist.
• Cycle time will only be “confirmed later.”
• The test area cannot accommodate real operation.
• Shipment is scheduled immediately after the first successful run.

6. Documentation

Request examples of:

• Operation manual
• Maintenance manual
• Electrical drawings
• Pneumatic drawings
• Mechanical drawings
• Spare-parts list
• PLC backup
• HMI backup
• Robot program
• Training checklist
• FAT report

Do not accept “we will provide everything later” as sufficient evidence.

Ask to see a documentation package from a completed project.

7. Overseas Support

Clarify:

• Installation responsibilities
• Visa and travel arrangements
• Daily engineering rates
• Travel expenses
• Response times
• Remote-support hours
• Language support
• Spare-parts availability
• Warranty exclusions
• Local service partners

Many Chinese suppliers are capable of overseas service, but the commercial and operational details vary widely.

A verbal promise of “24-hour support” is not the same as a written escalation process.

Realistic Visit Example

A Southeast Asian food manufacturer visited three automation suppliers near Shanghai and Suzhou for a secondary packaging project.

Supplier A had the largest facility and presented several new robots. However:

• The displayed cells were standard demonstrations.
• PLC programming was outsourced.
• The company could not identify who would own overseas commissioning.
• FAT was described as “testing until the customer is satisfied.”

Supplier B had a smaller factory but showed:

• Two active packaging machines
• Electrical and pneumatic drawings
• A documented build schedule
• A controls engineer who explained fault recovery
• A previous FAT report
• A written overseas installation plan

Supplier C had strong mechanical capability but limited experience with the buyer’s required safety and controls standards.

The visit did not produce a simple winner. It clarified which risks required further validation.

Supplier B moved forward for detailed quotation. Supplier C remained under consideration if paired with a more experienced controls partner.

That is a useful outcome from a factory visit.

Simple Scoring Method

Score each supplier from 1 to 5 across:

• Technical fit
• Comparable project evidence
• Engineering ownership
• Controls quality
• Active-build discipline
• FAT readiness
• Documentation
• Overseas support

Do not rely on the average score alone.

One critical weakness can outweigh several strong impressions.

For example, a supplier may score highly on mechanical design and price but still be unsuitable if it cannot provide the required PLC platform or credible FAT plan.

Practical Rule

If the supplier cannot identify the top technical and execution risks in your project, it probably does not understand the project well enough to own it.