Carrying out product inspection before shipping can tell you a lot about the status of your order and the quality of your products. But it’s important to understand what a product inspection report will not tell you. You should use the report to make more informed decisions regarding your product and shipment, as opposed to expecting the report to solve all of your problems on its own. If you have questions about what to expect from a product inspection report, don’t be afraid to ask your inspector directly.
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Product Inspection
A lot of buyers express frustration in getting accurate information from their supplier. Supplier miscommunication can lead to shipping delays, quality problems and a host of other issues. Communication by phone, email or even through a face-to-face meeting at the factory can leave a lot of room for interpretation. Maybe your supplier is unwittingly sending you the wrong message.
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Manufacturing Tips & Advice
Quality control inspectors do everything from weigh and measure products to check production samples and conduct on-site testing. They act as your eyes and ears, and their mission is a reflection of your expectations. There are certain characteristics to inspecting products that are inherent to effective QC inspectors.
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Product Inspection
No one likes product defects, including your supplier. How can you, as an importer, make sure you're addressing product quality issues directly?
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Manufacturing Tips & Advice
Beijing faced an air quality index of 250, that’s 10 times higher than what the WHO considers “healthy” levels. How has China's pollution come to this?
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Manufacturing Tips & Advice
How can you afford to spend a little extra on inspections to ensure the quality of the finished goods? With these five ways to cut inspection costs.
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Product Inspection
The soapy water tank leak test stands alone in its simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness. Make sure leak testing is performed on any imported tanks.
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Special Inspection Tests
Chinese factory workers still face the same issues that have affected many others of nations strengthened by growth in manufacturing. Some continue to live with poor working conditions, safety concerns and a lack of collective bargaining rights. But factories are adapting and improving following increased pressure from brands and retailers to adhere to social compliance standards. Wages are rising. People are leaving a life of poverty and joining the ranks of a growing middle class. And China continues to see consistent economic growth built on manufacturing might.
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Sourcing
Supply chain negligence can cost you dearly. Importers can learn a lot from the failures of major brands – how to avoid issues with food safety and forced labor and how to correct them. An internal investigation by Nestlé S.A. found slavery in their own supply chain in Thailand, made headlines last week. How does Nestlé’s story stand out as an example for importers of supply chain mistakes? And what lessons can you learn from its telling?
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Social Compliance
If you’re importing from a supplier overseas it can be difficult to find transparency. The SA8000 standard has requirements for investigating forced labor, child labor, health & safety and many others common to major brand and retailers. Certification in the SA8000 standard can go a long way in showing you what’s really going on in the factories that manufacture your products.
Topics:
Social Compliance
