Supplier verification, sampling and inspection are cheaper than the shipment you have to write off.
Most sourcing failures are not manufacturing failures. They are specification failures — a product built exactly to an instruction that was never precise enough.
A controlled sourcing process starts with a written specification, moves to supplier shortlisting on verifiable capability rather than catalogue photos, and only then requests samples.
Pre-shipment inspection is the final and most under-used control. Checking goods before they leave the factory costs a fraction of resolving a dispute after the container has sailed.
For buyers in Africa and the Gulf, having representation on the ground in China is the difference between managing a supplier and hoping one performs.