Manufacturing and Quality Control blog

Walmart released a statement to all its suppliers, dated Janunary 22nd, outlining a new Ethical Sourcing and Zero Tolerance policy regarding unauthorized sub-contracting that is in effect as of March 1st, 2013. This update to Walmart’s Ethical Sourcing initiative comes in the wake of a horrific fire that tore through a Walmart supplier’s facility in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, reportedly killing as many as 120 people. Tragically, the letter was released just days before another blaze would claim 7 more lives at a factory in the same city.

ctIf you’re planning on having your next order of made-in-China goods inspected by a 3^rd party QC company – and we strongly recommend that you do – you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the most out of the inspection. The key to guaranteeing that your inspections are as effective as possible is to make sure that all parties involved – you, your supplier, and your QC team – understand your quality requirements.

International attention focused on unethical manufacturing practices when in 1996, Kathie Lee Gifford was rocked by a scandal. It was revealed that children as young as 12 years old in Honduras, El Salvador, and China were sewing “Kathie Lee” brand garments destined for Walmart shelves. These laborers worked 14 hours a day in very poor conditions, earning just 22 cents an hour.

Today it is easier than ever to find a Chinese supplier for just about any consumer or industrial product. Websites like Alibaba, MadeInChina, and GlobalSources connect buyers all over the world with factories in China and throughout Asia.

As experienced buyers have come to know, it's important to stay close with your Chinese suppliers. That means visiting your suppliers in China from time to time.

Chinese manufacturing has recently been in the news again due to dangerous levels of cadmium found in jewelry products imported from China.

We interview hundreds of potential quality inspectors each year, only accepting the finest candidates to join our team. So how do we determine who makes the cut? That depends on a recruitment screening process which starts from the very first interaction we have with the potential candidate. But even if a candidate does actually make it to the interview round (not an easy feat based on our super strict pre-screening criteria), you can bet that they are asked a set of interview questions which have been designed to quickly and effectively identify the All-Star candidates. Here are the five most important questions we ask:

Have you ever placed a large order with a factory for a product you’ve toiled over for months or years, only to receive a shipment late, substandard, completely different or all of the above?

If you suddenly needed to announce a massive recall of your core product, what would be the effect on your company's reputation?

La tabla AQL es bastante compleja especialmente cuando se define el muestreo para la inspección de calidad. Todos conocemos lo básico: identificar el muestreo según la cantidad total del pedido, sin embargo ¿estamos todos conscientes que el tamaño del muestreo por tipo de defecto crítico, mayor y menor puede ser diferente?