To avoid mixed grades, get the factory's grade definition in writing, put it in the purchase order, and have the boxes inspected at the factory before loading. A grade name alone protects you from nothing, because each factory defines its own grades.
Mixed grades are hard to spot until the tiles are being laid. By then the installer has opened dozens of boxes and the claim is difficult to prove.
Why grades get mixed
Morbi factories sort their output after the kiln into grades, usually Premium (sometimes called Export or AAA), Standard and Commercial or Economy. The definitions vary by factory. What one plant sells as Premium, another may sort as Standard.
Mixing happens in a few ways. A factory may top up a short Premium run with Standard tiles to meet the date. A trader may buy from several plants and pack them under one label. Or sorting may simply be careless on a busy line. For what each grade usually means, see Premium, Standard and Commercial grades.
What to put in writing
- The factory's own written definition of the grade you are buying, attached to the purchase order.
- The maximum number of defective tiles allowed per box, and which defects count, such as pinholes, chips, print faults or warping.
- The rule that each design ships as one batch, one shade and one calibre, with codes printed on every box.
- The approved sample, with a matching sealed sample kept at the factory as the reference.
- What happens if the inspection fails: re-sorting at the factory's cost, replacement, or a right to refuse the boxes.
How the inspection should work
The inspection should happen when production is finished and packed, but before the container is loaded and before you pay the balance. The inspector should pick boxes at random from every design, not the boxes the factory sets aside.
Each opened box is checked against the sealed sample for shade, size, flatness and surface defects. The inspector records the batch, shade and calibre codes, counts defects per box, and photographs anything outside the written limit.
If you want independent proof of technical performance as well, have a lot tested to ISO 10545 by an accredited lab. Our guide to reading a lab certificate explains what the report should show.
Signs a load is mixed
If you suspect a mixed load on arrival, stop using the tiles and check the box labels first. Different batch, shade or calibre codes within one design are the clearest evidence. Then lay out tiles from several boxes side by side in daylight and photograph them next to your sealed sample.
Keep the unopened boxes, the packing list and the photos together. A claim is far stronger when it shows the written grade definition, the box codes and the defects counted against that definition. Without those, the factory can simply say the tiles were within its own standard.
At loading
Grades can still be swapped after inspection if the inspected stock is not the stock that is loaded. Ask for loading to be supervised, with box codes checked against the inspection record as pallets go into the container. The container seal number should be photographed and noted on the report.
Next step
We write the grade terms into your order, inspect before balance payment and supervise loading, then send you the report and photos. To have your next order checked this way, book a free sourcing review.