What Arrives with a Contract Furniture Shipment: The QC Report, Loading Report and Shipping Documents
What the receiving team gets, what to compare it against and what to do on arrival.
When a contract furniture order leaves China, three kinds of record travel with it: the quality control report, the loading report and the shipping documents. For an FF&E contractor or a project buyer, they are the working tools for the receiving end, not paperwork to file. They tell the receiving team what should be in the container, what condition it was in before it left, and who issued the documents.
This article explains what each record is, what to compare it against, and how to prepare the receiving team. It follows the process described in our FBM Furniture Sourcing Guide. It does not state delivery times or prices, and your project’s own contract terms still decide who is responsible for what.
The three records that come with a shipment
The QC report. Before shipment, our own QC team checks quantities, dimensions, finish, fabric and foam, hardware and packing against the signed-off specification. You receive a QC report with photos and video. Any item that does not meet the agreed standards is recorded in the inspection report. This is one inspection, carried out after bulk production is complete and before shipment, and your own project team is welcome to attend it with us.
The loading report. We arrange container loading, sea freight and documents, normally with our own forwarder, and send a loading report so unloading is easy. If you nominate a forwarder, we book with it.
The shipping documents. All quotations, invoices and shipping documents are issued by FBM Sourcing. Ask early which documents your building team, insurer and forwarder need, so they are on the list before the container is loaded.
What to compare the QC report against
A QC report is only as useful as the reference behind it. The reference is the signed-off specification: the approved drawing, material, fabric and finish for each item, and the quantity on the order. If those references were not recorded when they were signed off, neither the inspection nor your own receiving check has anything to compare against.
Before the inspection, make sure your file holds the approved item code, the sample or finish reference, the drawing revision and the quantity for every line. When the report arrives, read it line by line against that file. Our guide to samples, finishes and approvals explains how those references are signed off, and our FF&E schedule checklist explains how to number items so that a report, a carton label and a drawing all use the same code.
Prepare the receiving file before the order ships
Send your item schedule and approved references, and tell us what your receiving team and forwarder need.
How the receiving team can use the loading report
The purpose of a loading report is to make unloading easy. For a project, that means being able to match what is in the container to your schedule without opening every carton. Ask for the report to let your receiving team identify the items and cartons by the item codes on your schedule, and tell us in advance if you need cartons marked by unit, room or floor.
Plan the receiving end before the container arrives: who unloads, where cartons are stored, and who checks them against the schedule. Our guide to flat-pack and assembled commercial furniture explains how the packing choice affects the receiving work. If your project is a multi-unit development, see also our page on apartment furniture packages, where unit-type marking matters most.
A receiving checklist for the FF&E contractor
- Check the carton count against the loading report before the container is emptied.
- Check that carton labels match the item codes on your schedule.
- Open a sample of cartons for each item code and compare the item with the approved reference.
- Photograph or film any damage as it is found, with the carton label visible.
- Send us photos or videos of any damage within 3 working days of arrival, so that a claim can be raised with the carrier, insurer or factory.
- Keep the QC report, the loading report and the shipping documents together with the signed-off specification in the project file.
The 3-working-day window comes from our Guide. Check it against your own contract and your insurer’s terms, since they may set their own notice periods.
Reading the QC report line by line
The QC report covers six areas: quantities, dimensions, finish, fabric and foam, hardware and packing. Read each one against the signed-off specification and decide what a pass means for your project before the report arrives.
- Quantities: compare the quantity per item code with the order, and ask how each quantity was checked.
- Dimensions: compare the measured sizes with the drawing. If a fit with a wall, a door opening or another trade matters, tell us which dimension is critical before the inspection.
- Finish: compare the finish with the approved sample. Ask for a photograph that shows the finish in daylight-like conditions where the finish colour is important.
- Fabric and foam: compare the covering with the approved reference, including direction and pattern where they were specified, and look at the report’s notes on the upholstery build.
- Hardware: check that visible hardware matches the reference and that moving parts work.
- Packing: check that the packing matches what you agreed, including how cartons are marked.
Photos and video in the report are evidence for your project file. Name the files by item code when you store them, so that a later question about one item can be answered from the same folder.
Questions to settle with your forwarder, insurer and building team
The shipping documents are issued by FBM Sourcing, and your own parties will each have their own requirements for them. Before the container is loaded, ask each of them what they need and write the answers on one page.
- Forwarder: who receives the documents, in what form, and by when. If you nominate a forwarder, we book with it, so tell us its contact early.
- Insurer: what the policy requires as evidence of condition at loading and on arrival, and how long the notice period is.
- Building team: when the site can receive the container, how cartons will be stored, and who is responsible for checking them.
- Installer: which items they need first, and whether they want cartons marked by room or floor.
Our own process has one fixed point: sea freight is quoted before shipment and the documents come from FBM Sourcing. Everything else is easier when the receiving parties have been asked in advance.
When several factories share one container
A furniture package often combines items from different factories. We ship a full container only, and categories of the same project can share containers; we do not ship loose cargo. When one container holds items from several factories, the loading report matters more, because the receiving team will unload cartons that look different and carry different labels.
In that case, ask that the schedule item code appears on every carton, whichever factory packed it, and that the loading report lists the contents by item code, not by factory. This keeps the receiving check tied to your schedule. Our guide to splitting a contract furniture package across factories explains how to organise the schedule for that.
After the receiving check: handover to installation
When the receiving check is finished, hand the result to the installer in a form they can use: which items passed, which are damaged, which are missing from the count and which cartons have been moved to which room. Keep a short list of open points and send it to us with the photos so that any claim has the evidence in one place.
The same file also supports the project’s own completion process. If a client or consultant later asks which items were inspected, when, and against which reference, the QC report, the loading report and the signed-off specification answer it together.
Where records usually go wrong
Four gaps cause most of the confusion. First, the approved references were never recorded, so the QC report cannot be compared with anything. Second, carton labels use a different numbering from the schedule, so the receiving team cannot match them. Third, the project has nominated its own forwarder but nobody has agreed who sends the documents to whom. Fourth, damage is reported late because nobody was assigned to check cartons when the container was opened.
Each of these is cheap to prevent before shipment and expensive to fix after arrival. Agree the numbering, the document recipients and the receiving responsibilities while the order is still in production, and write them into the project file.
For the main-site view of the same loading record from a building-materials and FF&E procurement perspective, see what a container loading report should show for a commercial project.
Frequently asked questions
Who inspects the furniture before it ships?
Our own QC team checks quantities, dimensions, finish, fabric and foam, hardware and packing against the signed-off specification, and you receive a QC report with photos and video. The inspection takes place once, after bulk production is complete and before shipment.
Can our project team attend the inspection?
Yes. Your own project team is welcome to attend the inspection with us.
What happens if items fail the inspection?
Any item that does not meet the agreed standards is recorded in the inspection report, which reaches you with photos and video before shipment.
What is the loading report for?
We send a loading report so unloading is easy. Ask for it to let your receiving team match the contents of the container to your item schedule.
When should damage be reported?
Send photos or videos of any damage within 3 working days of arrival, so that a claim can be raised with the carrier, insurer or factory. Check your own contract and your insurer for any other notice period.
Prepare the receiving file before the order ships
Send your item schedule and approved references, and tell us what your receiving team and forwarder need.