Factory Audit Checklist for Furniture Importers Visiting India

The factory audit is the single most useful day in the entire sourcing process — if you know what to look for. A polished showroom and a well-lit meeting room reveal nothing. The yard, the kiln area, the finishing bay and the QC desk reveal everything. This is the checklist we hand to buyers visiting us, and the same checklist they should be using anywhere they audit.

Before you arrive

• Ask for current certifications and their expiry dates (ISO, FSC, BIFMA, GREENGUARD as applicable)
• Ask for a list of three reference buyers in your destination market
• Ask for the factory's production capacity in CBM/month for your product category
• Ask for the supplier code (IEC, GST in India) and verify on iceport / Indian export authorities
• Confirm the address — Google Maps the location, look for an industrial estate, not a residential address

Walk-through — what to actually inspect

The yard / timber storage

• Is timber stacked with stickers (separators) and roof cover?
• Is there a visible moisture meter and are readings recorded?
• Are FSC-tagged stacks separated from non-FSC stock?

Kiln / drying area

• Are there active kilns or just one decorative one?
• Are kiln cycle records kept?
• What's the target moisture content for export programs?

Machine shop

• Are machines maintained and clean? Sawdust accumulation is a fire-safety red flag
• Is dust extraction in operation? Cyclone or bag filtration system visible?
• Are the table saws, planers and CNC routers commercial-grade or domestic?

Finishing bay

• Spray booth or open spraying? Spray booths with extraction = serious workshop. Open spraying outdoors = walk away
• VOC labels on finishing materials. Low-VOC stocks visible
• Are finishes being applied in dust-free conditions?

Upholstery section

• Foam densities labelled and stocked separately
• Fabric storage clean and humidity-controlled
• Stitching machines maintained
• Frame jigs visible

Quality control desk

• Is there a dedicated QC area or is QC done on the production line?
• Are QC sampling rates documented?
• Sample retention shelf — do they keep approved samples to compare against bulk?

Packing / loading bay

• Carton stock organised, labels printed in-house or pre-printed
• Pre-loading photo discipline
• Loading area accessible to a 40' container

The questions worth asking

• Who owns the company? Who is on site daily?
• What percentage of capacity is committed to current PO book?
• Show me your last three recent export invoices and packing lists
• What's the most common defect you find in QC, and what changed last year to reduce it?
• Show me a recent reject pile — what's in it?
• What is the staff retention in the finishing section?

How a supplier answers these is usually more informative than the answer itself.

Red flags

• A "factory" address that turns out to be an office, with production outsourced
• Refusal to show certain rooms ("under renovation")
• Reluctance to share recent export invoices copies
• All references in domestic Indian market, none in your destination
• Photos on the website that look more polished than the actual workshop
• A WhatsApp-only communication style with no email trail

Green flags

• A workshop floor that looks like it has been busy all week, not cleaned that morning for your visit
• Owners present on the floor, not just in the office
• Active sample retention shelf with dated tags
• Visible QC reject pile (means QC is actually rejecting)
• FSC paperwork in a tidy folder, ready to be photographed
• Specific answers to specific questions

What we do at D' Emporio

Both directors are architects and on the floor most days. Factory audits are welcome — bring a checklist, walk every section, photograph freely. We do not stage a factory.