Sourcing glossary
Purchase order
Also known as: PO, 采购订单, 발주서
The buyer's formal written order to a supplier stating products, specifications, quantities, prices, Incoterm, payment terms and delivery date, which becomes binding once the supplier accepts it.
When buying from China, the PO is your best record of what was agreed. Include the specification or a reference to the approved golden sample, packaging and labelling requirements, the inspection standard (for example AQL levels), the ship date and what happens if goods fail inspection or ship late.
Many Chinese suppliers work from their own proforma invoice instead. That is fine, but check that the PI matches your PO line by line and have the supplier sign or stamp the PO. See how to pay Chinese suppliers.
Related terms
Guides that use this term
Suppliers
How to Write an RFQ Chinese Suppliers Will Actually Answer
What to put in a request for quotation so a Chinese supplier can price it: the fields, the specs by category, a copy-paste template and a WhatsApp first message.
Updated 2026-10-19 · 7 min read
Compliance
Is Your Order Too Small to Import from China? A Break-Even Test
Why 20 units or a US$100–500 budget rarely pays to import from China: per-shipment fixed costs, a simple break-even test, and six options for small buyers.
Updated 2026-10-19 · 7 min read
Compliance
Buying Branded Goods from China: Counterfeits, Trademarks and Customs
Why Chinese sellers offer 1:1 replicas, what customs does with counterfeit imports in the US, EU and South Africa, and the legal ways to sell branded or own-brand goods.
Updated 2026-10-19 · 8 min read
QC
Factory Audit in China: What It Checks, What It Costs and When to Order One
Factory audits in China: audit vs inspection, the five audit types, what the auditor checks on site, published cost per man-day, how to order one and read the report.
Updated 2026-10-14 · 7 min read
Suppliers
Is My Chinese Supplier a Scam? 12 Patterns and the Checks That Catch Them
The twelve supplier scams importers meet in China, from the bank-account switch to the vanishing deposit, the check that exposes each, and what to do if you already paid.
Updated 2026-10-14 · 8 min read
Suppliers
China's Biggest Wholesale Markets: What Each Sells and Which One to Visit
The wholesale markets that matter for importers, by product: Yiwu International Trade City, Guangzhou's clothing, bag and toy districts, Huaqiangbei, Keqiao and Guzhen.
Updated 2026-10-14 · 6 min read
Part of Incoterms & Payment.