Manufacturing and Quality Control blog

Depending on the circumstances, a supplier might refuse your business. Find out why that can happen and how you can avoid this problem in the first place.

Topics: Sourcing, supplier audit

Knowing these three complications of sub-suppliers can help you maintain a very reliable and socially compliant supply chain.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

You may feel that monitoring and improving environmental management systems comes secondary to manufacturing a quality product. But nowadays more and more brands think that protecting the environment needs to be an important part of their supply chain. Not only can environmental compliance open doors to working with other retailers for distribution, it can also give stakeholders assurance that you’re taking responsibility to protect our planet from destructive business practices.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

Indicating to the supplier that you care about the relationship is a step in the right direction to improving it. But just saying you care is not enough. Time and well-placed effort are ultimately what create strong supplier relationships. Here are a few tips to help you foster a stronger business partner.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

It’s easy to trust your suppliers to do the right thing. But in doing so, you might end up running into common China sourcing mistakes that harm your firm.

Topics: Sourcing

Rework sometimes comes at a considerable cost, can delay shipping and can even create more defects than it fixes. But sometimes it can also fix minor, major, or critical defects affecting your order. The final decision to rework or not depends on your situation and ultimately rests in your hands.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

The hazardous potential of lighters makes QC inspection by professionals all the more important before your product reaches the hands of the end-consumer. These five tests for lighters will help you determine if your product is safe enough for distribution to the public. Ensuring there are no issues with components and assembly will help protect the people that ultimately use your product and help you avoid a product recall.

Topics: Special Inspection Tests

A non-compete agreement can safeguard the relationship you have with your vendor and also give you the factory access you desire to improve your products.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

Sometimes you are lucky and find what seems to be a perfect Chinese factory. Their prices are reasonable and you haven't noticed any defects - at least not yet. While everything might appear fine on the surface, a recurring (and usually hidden) issue that plagues factories in China is social insurance violations. This problem might not seem significant at first, but it could be a red flag to your clients' social compliance programs and signify other problems with the supplier you are trying to work with.

Topics: Social Compliance

Eliminating disruptions to manufacturing in China is not always entirely possible, but armed with this information they are at least less severe.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice