Where we work
GROUNDWORK is run from within China. That single fact shapes how coverage works: remote research can reach any part of the country on the same day, and on-site days only depend on how far the target city is from our base.
There are two modes of coverage, and they behave differently. Read them as a whole so there are no surprises on a quote.
Remote coverage: the whole country
For remote research and checks, location is not a constraint. Registry lookups, company and supplier verification, online sourcing, document and background checks, and phone or email follow-ups are done from our own desk and cover all of China, including cities we have never physically visited.
Remote requests are a fixed $129 per request, which is one eight-hour remote working day, and are delivered within two business days. No travel is involved, so there is no travel cost on a remote job.
On-site coverage: we travel to your city
For anything that has to be seen in person, a factory, a shop, a property, a market, a pickup or a delivery, we go there. The on-site day rate is $239 per working day, billed from departure, with travel time counted as work time.
We are set up to travel across the country by high-speed rail and road. Cities reachable from our base for an on-site day include Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Hangzhou, along with the manufacturing and wholesale districts around them. If your task is in a city not on that list, say so when you brief us; we confirm feasibility and any difference in travel before anything is booked.
Travel and logistics, in the open
Cross-city and overnight trips are billed at actual cost, never marked up. Transport and accommodation are itemized in the written quote, and we confirm them with you before work begins, so the number you approve is the number you pay.
For a single nearby city, one day usually covers the round trip within the day rate. For remote locations, multi-day itineraries, or trips that need an overnight stay or a local representative, we quote travel separately and clearly rather than folding it into a daily rate.
Operating from inside China
Not a broker abroad. Remote checks and on-site travel both start from a real base in the country, which is why coverage is national rather than city-limited.
All of China, same day
Registry, supplier, sourcing and document research reaches every part of the country with no travel cost and a two-business-day turnaround.
Actual cost, no markup
Transport and accommodation are itemized in the quote and charged at what they actually cost us. You see the lines before you approve.
Billed from departure
An on-site day starts when we leave, and travel time is work time, so the day rate reflects the whole job rather than only the hours on site.