Most quality failures in apparel are not discovered at the point of discovery - the warehouse receipt or the customer return. They are created at the factory and travel through the supply chain unchecked until they land somewhere expensive. A three-stage inspection system intercepts them at the cheapest possible point: while the garments are still at the factory. (Getting the factory match right in the first place matters just as much - see our Tiruppur factory selection guide for how a mismatch causes most of the quality problems QC later has to catch.)
Tradio's QC runs three stages: inline inspection at 20% production (catches systemic issues early enough to fix the remaining 80%), final inspection before packing using AQL 2.5 statistical sampling - the same standard H&M and Next require - and pre-shipment inspection checking carton counts and pack contents before the container is sealed. If a defect passes our QC and gets rejected at the brand's warehouse, we absorb the cost - which is the financial incentive that keeps our 99%+ acceptance rate a business outcome, not a marketing claim.
Stage 1: Inline inspection at 20% production
The inline inspection happens when approximately 20% of the order quantity has been produced. This is the most valuable intervention point in the quality process because it is the earliest at which a systematic problem can be detected and corrected before the majority of units are affected.
The inline inspector checks against the approved sample for: measurements across key dimensions, seam quality and tension, colour matching against the approved shade card, label placement and accuracy, and fabric defects (holes, barre, shade variation). Any findings are logged with photographs and reported to the factory's production manager on the same day.
The purpose of the inline inspection is not to reject units - it is to catch systemic issues early enough that corrective action on the remaining 80% of production is still possible.
Stage 2: Final inspection before packing
The final inspection happens after 100% of production is complete and before garments are packed into polybags and cartons. This is a formal audit using the ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 sampling methodology - the industry-standard statistical sampling plan that determines how many units to inspect from a given lot size to achieve a given confidence level.
Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) 2.5 is our standard for major defects - meaning we accept no more than 2.5 defective units per 100 inspected on major quality criteria. This is the same standard used by H&M, Next, and most major EU retailers.
The final inspection report is uploaded to TextilMarkt with photographs of inspected units, a defect breakdown by type and frequency, the accept/fail decision, and corrective action requirements if any defects are found.
Stage 3: Pre-shipment inspection
The pre-shipment inspection happens after packing is complete and before the container is sealed and loaded. At this stage, the inspector checks packed carton counts against the purchase order, verifies carton marks and labels, opens a sample of cartons to verify pack contents, and confirms the garments match the approved sample on final presentation.
The pre-shipment check is the last line of defence before the goods become freight. Any failure at this stage is escalated to both the factory and the brand with a hold on shipment release until resolved.
What each stage typically catches
The three stages are not redundant checks on the same issues - each is positioned to catch a different class of defect at the point it is cheapest to fix.
- Inline (20% stage): systemic issues that will repeat across the full order if not corrected - a mis-calibrated sewing machine causing consistent seam tension problems, an incorrect trim substitution, or a colour shade drift starting to emerge across dye lots. Catching these at 20% means the remaining 80% of production can be corrected before it happens.
- Final inspection (100% complete, pre-pack): unit-level defects that inline sampling would not statistically catch - individual stitching flaws, measurement outliers, and finishing defects like loose threads or stains that occur at the individual garment level rather than systematically.
- Pre-shipment: packing and logistics accuracy rather than garment defects - wrong carton counts, incorrect size-colour ratios against the purchase order, mislabelled cartons, and packaging damage that occurred after the final inspection was already completed.
A programme that skips inline inspection and relies only on a pre-shipment check will catch packing errors but miss the systemic production issues that inline inspection is specifically designed to intercept - by which point the correction cost has already multiplied across the full order quantity.
What happens when a defect is found
A finding at any stage triggers a defined escalation, not an ad hoc conversation. At inline stage, findings are logged with photographs against the specific defect category (per AQL major/minor classification) and reported to the factory's production manager the same day, with a required corrective action response before the next production block is approved to continue. At final inspection, a failed lot is segregated, root-caused, and either reworked or, in the case of endemic quality issues, escalated to a full re-inspection after correction. At pre-shipment, any discrepancy places an automatic hold on the shipment release until resolved - the container does not get booked until the hold is cleared.
Every finding, corrective action, and resolution is logged in TextilMarkt against the order, giving the brand a full audit trail rather than a single pass/fail summary at the end of the process.
The accountability structure
The three-stage system works because of how accountability is structured. If a defect passes our QC process and results in a rejection at the brand's warehouse - or worse, a consumer return - we absorb the rework or replacement cost. This is not a contractual nicety; it is the operational incentive that makes our QC team rigorous.
Sourcing agents who earn commission on FOB value have no financial stake in the quality outcome. If the batch is rejected, the agent has already earned their margin. The brand bears the cost. Under our model, quality failures cost us directly - which is why our 99%+ acceptance rate is a business outcome, not a marketing claim.
If your current sourcing programme does not have inline inspection - if QC only happens at the pre-shipment stage - you are catching problems after they are expensive to fix. Talk to us about a QC audit of your current factory relationships. And if you're still scoping order sizes, our MOQ strategy guide covers how volume and QC cost interact at different brand stages.
FAQ
What AQL level does Tradio use, and can brands request a stricter standard?
Our standard is AQL 2.5 for major defects, matching what most major EU retailers require - brands with stricter quality requirements can request AQL 1.5 or tighter, which increases inspection sample size and cost accordingly.
How is inline inspection different from a factory's own internal quality checks?
Inline inspection is performed by an independent QC team reporting to Tradio, not to the factory's own production management - which removes the incentive misalignment of a factory grading its own work.
What happens if a shipment fails pre-shipment inspection close to the ship date?
The shipment is held until the issue is resolved, even if that means missing the originally booked vessel - we treat a documented quality failure as a higher priority than a shipping deadline, since the cost of a late but correct shipment is lower than a returned or rejected one.
Does the three-stage system add meaningfully to lead time?
Inline and final inspection run in parallel with production rather than adding sequential time - the only stage with dedicated lead time is pre-shipment, which typically adds one to two days before container booking.