Manufacturing and Quality Control blog

You’ve placed a few orders with a new factory, and things are going well. You’ve got the makings of a healthy supplier relationship, but what can you do to maintain and further grow the relationship in the long term? A lot of buyers if Chinese-made goods struggle to get the products they want at the quality their customers expect. Learn about four ways to work better with your supplier, not against it.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

If you ever come to China, you might be surprised to find that China has one of the most advanced and efficient transportation networks in the world. A major overhaul of the country’s infrastructure in recent decades has made traveling domestically easier and cheaper than ever. Let’s take a look at some of the most common ways your China QC team is getting from point A to B.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

How affective is product inspection in China really? How far does quality inspection go in making sure the products you receive meet your requirements? In this article, we’re going to be frank about the true value that quality control inspections deliver to your products. .

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

How simple is it really to arrange and carry out a product inspection? And where is your hard-earned money really going when you pay a third-party QC company to inspect on your behalf?

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

Knowing full well how important communication is to quality reporting, I approached Andrew Reich, Managing Director of InTouch and an expert in the quality control industry, who agreed to answer some pressing questions. In the extensive podcast interview that followed, Andrew revealed four signs that buyers can look for as indicators of effective communication in a QC company. The following is an abridged transcript of that interview.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

Booking a product inspection at one of your suppliers, particularly in China and other East Asian countries, is rarely so easy. And assuming that inspection will be booked smoothly the moment your 3rd-party QC company and supplier have been introduced is one of the most common mistakes made by buyers. In this article you’ll learn about three factors that affect scheduling a product inspection and ways you can minimize their influence.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

Have you ever wondered how the person assigned to inspect your product spends his workday? Or maybe you’re curious about what they do before and after they perform a product inspection? Let’s take a step-by-step tour with one of InTouch’s own inspectors to find out what’s going on behind the scenes. You may be surprised at what’s involved.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

Should I hire a 3rd-party to inspect my products? This is a common question among buyers. And it helps to understand the basic functions of a product inspection company in order to answer this question. In this article, I’ll give you a rundown of the main functions – and a couple limitations – of a 3rd-party inspection company.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

What are the best ways for a Western company to monitor quality at a contract Chinese manufacturer? What groundwork should you lay before working with a Chinese supplier? You'll learn the answers to these questions and more in this bulletin article.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

Most importers have heard a supplier complain about an inspector asking for special treatment or maybe even a bribe. And while this is unfortunate – and maybe even true – importers need to be cautious when evaluating such claims.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice