The How and Why to Visit Your Foreign Factory

Home | China Law Blog | The How and Why to Visit Your Foreign Factory Table of Contents Toggle Visit Your Overseas Factories One of the things my law firm's international manufacturing lawyers always tell our clients is to visit their overseas factories, if at all possible. Factory Visits Show You Care Such a trip is critical for the following four reasons: Visiting your foreign factory emphasizes that you care. Why should your factory care if it doesn't believe you care? Visiting your foreign factory makes you a human being, not just a purchase order. This decreases your chance of getting bad or late products. Visiting your foreign factory is a great opportunity to see and work on product quality. The value of what you learn from such a trip will exceed the cost of taking it. The Benefits of Factory Visits Companies that visit their factories have fewer factory problems than those that don't. Now before you challenge this, note that we as international manufacturing attorneys do not make a penny more from our clients that make these visits. In fact, we make less, and yet here we are making clear how important this is. I have had countless clients go on and on about how much they learned from visiting their factories, but literally not one single person has ever told me they regretted having made such a visit -- not even those whose visits convinced them to cut ties with their existing factory. How to Maximize the Value of Your Factory Visits The most important thing you should do on your factory visit is to spend time getting to know your foreign counterparts as this is what will help you down the road. This is also a great opportunity for you to see what your factory can do. Can it make your next generation widget, or should you be looking elsewhere? Does your factory look efficient, or does it look like it has no clue? Does it look and feel financially healthy, or should you be concerned about your next order? Chinese manufacutring companies are shutting down left and right so you should look closely at this. Additional Resources on Factory Visits For more on factory visits, I urge you to check out the following: 24 questions to ask during a factory visit Lessons Learned From 7 Years of China Factory Visits Factory Visits – Benefits of Visiting Check Out Our China Law Services Share Twitter Facebook LinkedIn E-mail Comment Dan Harris Dan Harris is a founding member of Harris Sliwoski, an international law firm where he mostly represents companies doing business in emerging market countries. Most of his time is spent helping American and European companies navigate foreign countries by working with the international lawyers at his firm in setting up companies overseas (WFOEs, Subsidiaries, Rep Offices and Joint Ventures), drafting international contracts, protecting IP, and overseeing M&A transactions. In addition, Dan writes and speaks extensively on international law, with a focus on protecting foreign businesses in their overseas operations. He is also a prolific and widely-followed blogger, writing as the co-author of the award-winning China Law Blog. Harris Sliwoski Attorney Read more posts [email protected] Read More International Manufacturing Related Posts September 15, 2026 Your AI-Drafted China Contract Says It Needs a Lawyer. Listen to It. September 11, 2026 Forensic Accountants in China Business Litigation: How True Numbers Can Tell the Wrong Story September 4, 2026 China NNN Agreement or Trademark Registration? You Usually Need Both September 1, 2026 AI Didn't Replace Lawyers. It Gave Us the 48-Page Contract. August 27, 2026 Do I Need a China NNN Agreement or a China Manufacturing Agreement? Usually Both. August 26, 2026 China’s New Overseas Investment Rules: Can Your Chinese Investor Actually Get the Money Out? August 24, 2026 International IP Protection for Startups: What to Protect and Where August 19, 2026 The Documents Are the International Deal August 19, 2026 China Supplier Fraud in Yiwu: Why We Recommended the Police, Not a Lawsuit August 17, 2026 China Trademark Registration: Why U.S. Companies Need More Than a Filing Agent August 10, 2026 Buying Expensive Equipment from China: Seven Questions to Answer Before You Pay August 7, 2026 DDP Shipping Risks: What Boise Cascade’s Guilty Plea Means for U.S. Buyers August 6, 2026 Protecting Your Artwork Internationally: What Artists Need to Do Before the Work Travels August 5, 2026 Your China Employee Signed the Vacation Policy. You Can Still Lose. July 29, 2026 The RedNote Contract Lesson for Companies Doing Business in China Leave a comment Cancel reply