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— 01 / Inside —
[INSIDE] CHINA.eu
From the factory floor
China sourcing & trade intelligence

We stand on the factory floor before you sign anything.

One contract. One accountability — under EU, Hong Kong, or China-side jurisdiction. We verify suppliers in person, manage production, and handle shipping and customs — from quotation to your warehouse.

Categories
Pharma · Chemicals · Batteries · Industrial sourcing
On the ground
Hangzhou · Sanya · Hong Kong
Delivery
Anywhere in EU · DDP available
Minimum engagement
From $30,000
Already evaluating a Chinese supplier? Send us their company name. We'll tell you what we see from the ground within 24 hours.
Send supplier name
— 02 / What we do —
What we do

Three categories where the stakes are highest.
And everything industrial in between.

Pharma, chemicals and batteries — regulated, quality-critical industries where supplier verification decides whether a batch works or gets recalled. Beyond those three, we source across all major manufacturing sectors under the same operational standard.

— Have something else in mind? —

Tell us what you need from China.

We'll tell you what we see from the ground.

Send the category and target volume. Within 48 hours you get a feasibility memo — supplier shortlist, indicative price band, lead time, regulatory note. Free of charge. No commitment.

48 hours · feasibility memo
Free · no commitment
From $30,000 · order value
Send a category brief
Send the category, target volume and country of delivery. We respond within one business day.
— The three categories with dedicated teams in China —
01

Pharmaceutical APIs & excipients

GMP-audited manufacturers for EU generic pharma and CMOs. On-site verification of capacity, batch consistency, and documentation chain.

GMP auditedCoA verifiedEU GDP
02

Industrial chemicals

REACH-compliant sourcing for paint, coating, cosmetics and chemical processing. Full SDS documentation and customs classification.

REACHSDSHS code clarity
03

Battery cells & components

Verified Tier-2 manufacturers for EU e-mobility and storage. Cell-level testing, UN 38.3 certification, lithium-class shipping handled.

UN 38.3Tier-2 verifiedClass 9 shipping
— 03 / Trade shows —
On-the-ground representation

We go to Canton Fair so you don't have to.

— Canton Fair —
Three days at Canton costs European buyers $4,000 in flights and a week out of the office. We're already there.
Our team attends on your behalf — runs first conversations in Mandarin, sends live video from the booth, ships samples back. You stay in your office. The relevant suppliers still reach you.
— And every other fair in China —
We don't only cover Canton. Tell us your category — we find the right show and attend it.
Pharma, chemicals, batteries, packaging, electronics, coatings — each has its own circuit of trade fairs across China. We map them to your sourcing plan and go where your suppliers actually exhibit.
Examples by category — all in China
Pharma & APIs
CPhI China · Shanghai API China · Spring & Autumn PMEC China · Shanghai Bio-Pharm China
Chemicals & coatings
ICIF China · Shanghai Chinaplas China Coat · Shanghai Shanghai Chemical Expo
Batteries & energy
CIBF · Shenzhen China Battery Industry Expo China Energy Storage Battery Show China
General industrial
Canton Fair · Guangzhou CIIF · Shanghai East China Fair · Shanghai Industry-specific on request
01

Remote Trade Show Representation

Our representative attends the fair physically in China. Targeted booth visits, supplier shortlist, photo and video, sample collection, post-show memo.

FairsCanton · CPhI · CIBF · ICIF
EngagementPer fair · on request
OutputLive updates + memo
02

Specialty fair sourcing

Regional and category-specific Chinese fairs — Yiwu, East China Fair, vertical exhibitions in your niche. We go where your suppliers actually exhibit, not only the headline shows.

CoverageAll Chinese trade fairs
Match byCategory & sourcing plan
OutputVetted shortlist + notes
03

Virtual Trade Show Intel

Canton Fair Online and similar platforms. We monitor categories, contact suppliers, collect quotations and specifications, deliver a structured report.

CoverageCanton Online · Made-in-China
ModeRemote · async
OutputSortable supplier database
Before the next fair
Tell us your category and timeline — we match the show and prepare the supplier shortlist. Indicative shortlist before the slot is confirmed. Slots typically close 2–3 weeks before the fair opens.
Brief us before the next fair
— 04 / Process —
How it works

From your brief to your warehouse.

You stay in the loop without managing the chain. Supplier shortlist, factory visits, samples, production milestones, shipment tracking — all visible to you.

01 / 04

Brief & feasibility

You send specifications, target volumes, regulatory requirements. We respond within 48 hours with feasibility, price band, and a supplier shortlist.

02 / 04

Factory verification

Our team visits shortlisted manufacturers in person. Capacity, equipment, certifications, batch records — all documented with photo and video.

03 / 04

Contract & production

Contract is signed under the jurisdiction you choose — EU, Hong Kong, or one of our China entities. We manage payments, QC, and production timeline.

04 / 04

Shipping & customs

Sea, air or rail — whichever fits your timeline. Full EU customs clearance, DDP available. Goods arrive with complete documentation.

What you get in 48 hours

A feasibility memo.

Free of charge. No commitment.
  • 3–5 verified suppliers matching your specification, with capacity and lead-time estimates
  • Indicative price band EXW and DDP, based on current market and prior shipments
  • Regulatory note — GMP, REACH, UN 38.3 or whichever standards your category triggers
  • Logistics outline — recommended route, mode, lead time, customs requirements
What to include in your brief
Product specificationMaterial, grade, dimensions, key tolerances — anything that defines "acceptable"
Target volumePilot order, monthly draw, or annual contract — be honest about scale
Destination & IncotermsCountry, port or door, EXW / FOB / DDP — whichever applies
Regulatory requirementsGMP, REACH, CE, FDA, UN 38.3 — anything customs or your QA team needs
TimingRequired delivery date, or earliest you can plan against
ContextNew supplier search, backup, or replacement of a problem vendor
— What if it goes wrong —
Five things we do before goods leave China.
  • 01
    Factory verified on-site, not by phone. Our staff walks the production floor. Equipment, capacity, certifications, batch records, documentation chain — all photographed and reported back. No verification report, no contract.
  • 02
    Sample approval before mass production. You sign off on a physical sample, sealed and matched to the bulk specification. Production proceeds only after written approval.
  • 03
    Pre-shipment QC inspection. Independent quality inspection at the factory before goods are loaded. AQL standards or your custom checklist. Deviations halt the shipment.
  • 04
    Payment staged to milestones. Standard structure: deposit on contract, balance against shipping documents or post-inspection. We hold no funds beyond the project. No payment if the QC fails.
  • 05
    You contract with us, not the factory. If goods fail on arrival, you file the claim with our entity — under EU, Hong Kong, or Chinese jurisdiction depending on the contract you chose. We then deal with the manufacturer.
— 05 / Who we are —
Who we are

Operators, not intermediaries.

INSIDE was built by people who spent the last decade working with Chinese manufacturers and moving containers between China and Europe. Over the last three years we have built dedicated teams inside Chinese manufacturing hubs — Hangzhou, Sanya, Hong Kong.

We do not pass requests to anonymous agents. Our staff visits the factories. Our company signs the contract. Our logistics network — sea, air, rail — moves the goods. If the batch is wrong, you call one number.

13yrs
Founder track record
cross-border logistics
10yrs
Founder track record
working with China
3
Operating cities
in Greater China
3
Jurisdictions for
contracting
— Why we call ourselves INSIDE —

In the double-slit experiment, electrons behave as waves — until someone observes them. They exist in superposition: anywhere at once. The moment an observer appears, the wave collapses into a point.

Chinese factories work the same way. While no one is watching, quality, timing and price stay in superposition. They could be excellent. They could be catastrophic. This is what European buyers gamble on every time they order sight unseen.

Our job is to be the observer.
We appear on the factory floor, and reality collapses into certainty.

Buyers we work with
Generic pharma · CMOs · Paint & coatings · Cosmetics · E-mobility · Energy storage · Industrial SMEs
— 06 / Questions —
Common questions

Things buyers ask first.

What does the minimum engagement of $30,000 cover?
That is the minimum total order value, not a fee. It covers supplier verification, contracting, production management, QC, shipping and EU customs clearance — under a single contract with us. Below that volume, the per-unit overhead makes the model uneconomic for both sides.
Who are we contracting with?
With one of our entities — depending on your preference. EU contracting is available through our Latvian company, Hong Kong contracting for buyers preferring that jurisdiction, and China-side contracting where it fits the product category. You sign one agreement; we handle the rest.
How do you verify a supplier?
A staff member visits the factory in person. We document equipment, capacity, certifications (GMP, ISO, REACH where applicable), batch records, sample production, and the chain back to raw material sources. You receive the report with photos, video, and written assessment.
What if the goods arrive defective?
You file the claim with us, not with the factory. Pre-shipment QC is built into every order; deviations halt the shipment in China. Anything that passes inspection and still fails on arrival is our contractual problem — we then deal with the manufacturer.
Can you handle categories outside the three listed?
Yes. Pharma, chemicals and battery cells are where we keep dedicated teams and pre-vetted manufacturers. For other industrial categories — metals, components, packaging, machinery parts — we run a tailored sourcing process with the same operational standards: on-site factory verification, contracted production, pre-shipment QC, full customs clearance.
Can we start with trade-show representation before committing to sourcing?
Yes — trade-show representation is a separate engagement, priced per fair on request. It is often how new buyers work with us first: we attend Canton Fair or a China Homelife event, deliver a vetted shortlist, and you decide whether to convert any of those leads into a sourcing project.
What does the feasibility memo actually cost?
Nothing. The 48-hour memo is free, with no commitment. It's how we confirm we can actually serve your category before either side invests further. If the fit is wrong, we say so.
— 07 / Contact —
Get in touch

Tell us what you're sourcing.

Send a brief description — product, target volume, country of delivery. We respond within one business day.

Response time
Within one business day
Send a sourcing brief
Send a sourcing brief