Why quality controls are important:
There are many variations of the famous statistic that a dissatisfied customer tells X number of people about their experience. This number varies from 9 to 30 people. We will never be sure of the exact number, but there is one thing we know for sure: “an unhappy customer does not come back”. This dissatisfaction has very little to do with the price of the product purchased and everything to do with the overall QUALITY of the product. In fact, today, people are willing to pay a very high price when they trust quality.
Today, thanks to technological advances, excellent manufacturing processes and quality control systems, you can import high quality products from China. It’s true, Chinese products are competitive in international markets. And yet, “poor quality” or “non-conformity” of products are the recurring problems for many importers. This is often due to the fact that companies do not set up a specific quality control program. They often rely on the quality control performed by the suppliers. The supplier’s internal audit may be biased and there is no guarantee that the goods will meet your requirements.
That’s why some companies decide to take matters into their own hands by doing the audit themselves. Sometimes they inspect the products once they are delivered to their warehouses. Needless to say, post-delivery quality control can be very expensive or impossible if you have to send the defective goods back to your manufacturer in China. Any good quality control strategy requires that you perform both in-process and post-production inspection directly at your manufacturing facility in China. This is not a viable option for many companies wishing to source from China, and in any case, it is not recommended unless you are an audit expert. That’s why companies use a third party, a sourcing agent, to perform this audit on their behalf.
What to do when you notice a defect in the production process:
You report it to your supplier and follow up to see if they have fixed the problem. You also need to pay attention to the consistency of the quality of the finished products. Your manufacturer may have changed raw material suppliers, which could have resulted in a lower quality product. Therefore, inspection is not a one-time process; it must be done at several stages of the production process. If your manufacturer has not complied, you must replace them.
What to do if you notice a defect after the delivery?
What you do after the goods reach your warehouse depends on the extent of the problem. You don’t want to return a batch of thousands of goods for a few imperfections on a limited number of them. However, small imperfections and scratches are also defects that should not be repeated and you should report this to your supplier.
You also need to set a ratio of defective products accepted. Exceeding the ratio means there is a more serious production problem. For example, how many defective / non-conforming electrical wires in a batch of 10,000 vacuum cleaners is an alarming problem?
In any case, you should not wait for the product to arrive at your door to perform the first quality control. As we mentioned before, in case of a major defect of your goods, sending them back to China is very expensive and many suppliers refuse to refund you. In this case you will be left with a stock of defective goods.
Ensuring product compliance always starts with finding the right supplier (hyperlink article 1). The most crucial step is to find a reliable supplier who can meet your requirements. You can ask your supplier to perform a quality control at any time. However, if they are reluctant or unwilling to comply with your requirements, this is a red flag and you may want to reconsider your choice of supplier. One way to ensure that your manufacturer understands your expectations is to send them a sample of the product you wish to import beforehand. This will help define the minimum deviations allowed on the product.
A sourcing agent takes care of all this on behalf of your company. From finding the right supplier to inspecting every step of the production process. The sourcing agent takes into consideration many factors and variations, such as: size, packaging, color, functionality, and any other visual specifications of the product you wish to import.
At RM China sourcing, quality control is performed at different stages of production:
- Inspection during the production process to verify standards and specifications.
- Post-production inspection.
- Inspection before and after packaging.
- Pre-shipment inspection.
Our compliance services also provide laboratory testing if necessary, depending on the product and country requirements. We will find the right laboratory in China to perform the tests. We will then provide you with the results and the final detailed report. Our experts provide you with the necessary consultations to make the right decisions based on the laboratory tests. RM Sourcing will manage all documentation and certificates related to the audit process. To know more about RM China sourcing, click on (hyperlink contact page)
RM China sourcing is your sourcing agent that can help you source and manufacture your products in China. We are a team of French-Chinese experts who work with e-tailers, such as Amazon sellers, importers and other companies. If you have any questions about sourcing in China, please contact us at contact@rm-sourcing.com.