Trust but verify is the rule for China quality control -- trust that the supplier will deliver the quality you've defined in the purchase order, but verify the quality as well.

Manufacturing processes and inspection criteria
Regardless of which inspection method you use, one of the most important things you can do is clearly manage expectations about what constitutes quality and ensure the supplier understands what this means. This can include:

• Inspection document for finished product: putting together quite an extensive document that precisely describes color, finish, tolerances and every other detail of the product, which is important for a final inspection. No detail is too small to include.
• Inspection document for components: Similar details may be required for the individual components that go into the final product.
• Detailed Manufacturing Process: Just as important are details of the manufacturing process itself, as well as periodic sign-off by the manufacturing personnel that they followed the steps as described. If a problem occurs, these sign-offs help confirm whether the problem was due to mistakes in following the manufacturing or assembly process, or omissions in the details of the process.

In one case, a Shenzhen based contract assembler was creating foam inserts for a child’s ride-on toy. When some of the products were arriving at the retailer’s warehouse with somewhat deformed seats, the assembler was able to go back and confirm that all the steps in the manufacturing process were correctly followed. Upon further investigation, the assembler found that when the foam seat was set in high humidity, and subsequently sat in a hot container on a ship while being shipped to its destination market, it would get slightly deformed. Upon figuring this out, the assembler was able to take remedial action to improve the manufacturing process to prevent the same problem from recurring in the future. And, because the assembler had documented that all steps were being followed, the two parties could mutually seek a resolution rather than pointing fingers at each other.

Rely on the supplier
Rely on the supplier: If you’re placing a small order, you may choose to trust the supplier. If you have in-country resources, you may have those resources conduct quality control inspections on the products on your behalf. If you’re placing a larger order and need the products inspected, you may use a third-party inspection company. Depending on the size and complexity of the shipment and inspection process, this will cost from $200 up.

Use a third party
There are a variety of third parties you can use to do inspections on your behalf. The key to successfully using an inspection service is to very, very, clearly define the inspection criteria. This can includes not just functional checks, but also checks for scratches, imperfections in finish, etc. Each of these areas needs to be defined as objectively as possible.

One thing to be aware of is that local inspectors (who are probably paid $200 per month) get many, many offers for bribes to provide passing inspections to products that should fail. When working with a third party or an inspection agency, ask them what they do to counteract this problem and judge for yourself whether these practices are really sufficient to ensure goods are inspected and only pass inspection if they meet your inspection criteria.

To minimize your risk, have the inspectors take digital pictures of everything in order to validate the work they did and the inspection they performed. Another method of mitigating risk is to hire a western person based in China to carry out the inspection. This will be more expensive, but for higher risk or higher dollar value orders can be very valuable.

Use in house resources
If you are building an office in China, you may have your own quality control staff that can do inspections. In fact, you’ll have the same risk of suppliers attempting to bribe your inspectors. You’ll need to put in place processes that can be independently verified after the fact to determine whether or not a shipment should have passed inspection. This can be as simple as the inspector indicating exactly which items he inspected, so that they can either be spot inspected later. Alternatively, an additional spot inspection can be done after the goods have been picked up, but prior to the goods shipping.

A failed inspection, now what?
What do you do if you’ve paid your 30% down, and the supplier hasn’t passed inspection? First, getting to this point suggests that there wasn’t enough up-front communication to avoid this problem. Regardless, you are at this point. This is where the buyer-supplier relationship will be put to the test. First, if it is the buyers’ fault because he didn’t clearly specify his manufacturing or inspection requirements, the buyer should take the blame and absorb any necessary increased costs. If it is the supplier’s fault, then typically a negotiation will start. The supplier may attempt to lower quality standards, or may indicate that it costs more to meet the buyers expected quality level. This is where the original purchase order becomes important -- if everything was spelled out in the original purchase order, and the supplier signed and initialed all the key paragraphs, you as a buyer will be in a better position to persuade the supplier to fulfill the commitment he originally agreed to.

One buyer puts it this way: your negotiating leverage is as big as your next order. If you are a large retailer, you can tell the supplier to fix the problem, at their cost, or they won’t get any future business. If you are a smaller buyer, you’ll have less leverage and will have to rely on the supplier keeping their word and your negotiating and persuasion skills. Worst case, you as a buyer absorb the cost, get your order at a somewhat higher cost than originally expected, and find a new supplier for your future business. It’s all business -- don’t lose your temper with the supplier and don’t get mad. Just learn and keep building your business.

Search Verified Suppliers on Global Sources Popular Searches:  China Flying Disk, China Toy Dog, China Carnival Costumes, China Kites Global Sources - Comprehensive search results and verified suppliers

---

No one has commented on this article.

Please keep your comments brief and on topic, and remember that this is not a discussion thread.
Name :
Title :
Website :
Comment(s) :
Verify :
	There are how many letters in the word SPAM ?

J! Reactions 1.09.04 • Professional Site License
Copyright © 2006 S. A. DeCaro