Sometimes a client does everything he can to ensure that inspections will take place in good conditions. They send me clear specifications about the product, they pass the right message to the supplier, and they keep a couple of days between the inspection and the ex-factory date.

And yet… All sorts of unpredictable things happen. Delays from the factory side, of course. Or changes in shipment plans due to urgencies on the customer’s side. Or power cuts that last for 5 days. Or a cancellation of order. The list can go on and on.

In some cases it means we have to spend more time, or allocate more inspectors than we originally planned when the quotation was prepared. For example, if an order is cut in two partial shipments, it takes more man-days to get the two batches of goods inspected.

There are basically two ways to deal with this.

First, the quality control firm can re-issue a quotation based on the new information. That’s what the “majors” of the industry do: “please send us a new booking form and we’ll issue a new quote”. Sometimes it is the right thing to do: if the supplier is causing some troubles, let him pay for all the extra charges he incurs.

The second way is to think “we are here to help the client, and it’s not his fault if plans change”. I often do it with my good clients, and I am certainly not the only one. I might lose a bit of revenue in the short run, but the client remembers it and appreciate the ease of dealing with QC issues.

It is a little dangerous, though. Suppliers can easily abuse the system–I always say it is “exceptional”. Chinese suppliers are quick to see a favor as a given…

Let’s take an example. Last season we maintained a quotation unchanged even though the shipment was split (a bit before Chinese New Year, and the rest after). This season, the same supplier fails to present 1 reference to us because production was late.

Their reaction? They told us “but last time you accepted to come twice”. What I reminded them is that, if they confirm a certain quantity for a certain day and they don’t keep their promise, we don’t come back for free to inspect a second time. Not for free, anyway. And usually at their charge!