I just posted a guest article about the basics every importer should be familiar with, on the China Sourcing Blog. They do a great job publishing very informative and practical posts. My article was a little on the long side, but I don't … [Read more...]
The importer’s dilemma: legal risks or higher costs?
Importers often play a delicate balancing act between reducing quality control expenses on the one hand, and minimizing product liability risks on the other. Many small importers are cornered in a situation where they have to sacrifice … [Read more...]
Forgot to have quality inspected before shipment?
In my last post I explained why inspecting quality earlier is better. The idea was: you should have your production checked before/during production if possible, and you should definitely not let your supplier ship some goods that were … [Read more...]
Inspecting quality earlier is better: the 1-10-100 rule
There are many misconceptions about quality control. One of them is the source of many problems: importers think QC inspections should take place at the end of production, just before shipment. In practice, it's true that most … [Read more...]
Defect sorting job (100% check)
Last week, a local trading company called me for checking thousands of products, one by one. They had found defects on several batches, and instead of repairing them, they had just put them aside. They were probably planning to sell them on … [Read more...]
Final product inspections: should the whole order be ready?
Most product inspections take place after production is finished, and just before shipment. It is a convenient way of checking whether all the product and packaging requirements are met. However, timing is usually tight. The importer … [Read more...]
Trading companies and efficiency
Some large retailers purchase their goods directly from Asian manufacturers, who in turn buy the components and process them. That's about as "direct" as it can get. It allows buyers to avoid the margins of all kinds of … [Read more...]
In defense of third party inspection companies
Third-party quality control (3PQC, or 3PQA) has gotten a bad name in some circles. It might be deserved in part. But I feel there is a lot of misunderstanding. I am going to explain the basics of our job, so that non-experts can make their … [Read more...]
China low quality: the underlying reasons
The Economist just published an excellent article entitled “The flaws in Chinese business - Time to change the act.” The beginning of the article focuses on the impact of the current downturn on Chinese business. Then it goes on to explain … [Read more...]
Why quality can be so bad in China
There are all kinds of factories in China. A few are truly world class (think of the joint ventures producing luxury cars, for example). Others are good enough for the core (and the low-end) of Western markets, in dozens of … [Read more...]