How do you know your products are up
to the quality level?
- ·
How can furniture importers ensure their
products don’t have chipping issues?
- ·
How do cookware importers verify the
quality and the thickness of the Teflon coating on their pans?
- ·
And how do garment importers confirm
that product dimensions meet their sizing tolerances?
The answer is most often product quality inspection – the final quality check.
Pre-shipment
inspection of the product is one of the common ways to ensure that an
importer’s expectations and the product’s
quality are well met.
Sometimes the buyers will rely on
factory QC inspectors to conduct inspection before shipment. These staff work independently
as production workers. They typically test and inspect the product at various
stages/ process during production, assembly, and packing. And they can help the
production staff improve
the quality, avoid quality
problems, and they have the power to directly affect production schedules
by stopping production lines if a serious issue is found.
However, for some small workshops,
small factories, they don’t have Quality Control Dept, and they will let the
production workers make their own decisions.
Relying on the factory’s own QCs to conduct inspection can
be a solution for some importers. But for many others, factory staff alone
don’t provide the clarity and insight they need. Let’s look at some of the
popular reasons why some importers continue to let the factory handle inspections, and why most others insist on having
someone else to do QC
check.
Why some importers count on the factory in QC inspection?
Relying on factory QC inspections may be a reasonable option for
an importer that consistently receives high-quality products with few or no
serious defect issues. For importers and suppliers who share this kind of
relationship, it’s no surprise that it’s often built on a solid foundation made
up of several factors including, but not limited to:
•
The factory have stable workers.
•
A detailed QC
checklist to clearly note how the goods should be evaluated and
what tolerance the importer has for particular defects and other issues.
•
Approved samples, or golden samples,
available for comparison against mass-produced units at the factory; and
•
Clear communication between the
importer and supplier ensuring that expectations are understood and no
questions are left unanswered
But the problem with this
relationship is that it doesn’t happen instantly. Suppliers and
importers need time to develop a mutual understanding of product quality needs and issues. An importer
typically needs repeated success and consistency with a particular supplier
before they can confidently rely on the factory’s own QC staff for inspection.
Higher
tolerance for quality issues
in lower cost products
Often an importer of low-cost
products will feel they don’t need outside
inspection help because they don’t have strict quality requirements. For
example, an importer of promotional sunglasses might assume that end-consumers
won’t expect high quality. So they might
simply clarify specifications for the product to the supplier and allow QC staff at the factory to check before shipping.
Fear
of shipping or production delays
Importers that have promised their
customers to deliver goods within a certain deadline may feel compelled to
forgo outside inspection and take the risk.
Arranging final inspection could delay the
order, especially when the factory is working on a tight schedule already. So
some importers may decide to let the factory handle QC in an effort to avoid delays.
But quite often, importers can use final random inspection, if arranged in advance
of a deadline, to keep production on-time. By seeing a report of their order,
they can estimate issues and address them with the factory to prevent delays.
Cost
Issues:
Budgetary constraints account for
another reason why some importers rely on the factory alone to carry out preshipment inspection. Many importers
working with a low-margin product may feel they can’t afford the extra
expense of paying for a third party inspection.
The potential problem is that these
importers can end up paying more to repair or rework goods when they receive
them defective. And there are several simple ways that importers can cut inspections costs to meet their budget.
Supplier
resistance to outside inspection
Another reason why importers may
rely on the factory to carry out inspection
is pressure from their supplier. Occasionally, an importer might want to bring
in 3rd party inspection but is
convinced otherwise by the supplier. And in cases where an importer has already
sent their own inspectors, the supplier might complain about the inspection staff. They may suggest the inspectors
were “rude” or “unprofessional” during their time in the factory.
The supplier may also complain about
not having time for inspection. But regardless
of your choice to use outside 3rd party inspection,
resistance from the supplier is a red flag. It often indicates the supplier may
be trying to hide something, like substandard working conditions or poor quality.
Risks of relying solely on factory QC inspectors
Despite the reasons for buyers choosing
to let the factory make their goods also check their quality, there are several
risks by doing so. As we’ll see here, most importers don’t rely on factory QC
staff for preshipment inspection due to
several reasons.
Bias
of self-assessment:
Inspections
are most based on the inspectors’ experiences, judgments, and opinions. A third
pair of eyes would help in all inspections;
Some of the defects might be neglected
during the in-house inspection;
Manufacturing
cost:
The higher quality for the products,
the costly for the factory, More QC processes
and more inspectors mean more cost for the
factory.
The stricter the standards during the inspection, the more defective
products would be pick out, the more time the manufacturing would take.
Diligence:
People sometimes would let
themselves down, and would be vigilant as they supposed to be;
Information
lost or twisted, or misinterpretations:
Requirements, drawings, artworks, instructions
might get lost, misunderstood, outdated etc.
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