Some importers are totally disorganized, and they don’t give clear instructions to their Chinese manufacturers.
Here is a funny drawing that gives a good idea of the general process:
Source: OnQuality.
Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China
This is especially a problem for new or small (cough, unprofessional) importers. They see a product on alibaba or Canton Fair and place an order and figure that the MFR will “know” what the customer’s standards and expectations are.
Thanks Peter… That’s very common.
Thanks for sharing my post… that image is sadly funny 🙂
Keep in touch
Jimena Calfa
onquality.blogspot.com
Love it ! Compare to some real cases, at least this is funny
Renaud, excellent website. I have shared it with all of the purchasing and quality staff at my organization. We are using insight gleaned from your posts in dealing with our quality inspector oversears. Your point on clarifying specifications is very important and can easily translate into a disaster if not done correctly, especially in the area of packaging. I have seen my fair share of issues, where we specified everything correctly except for packaging.
Keep up the good work!
Rindge Leaphart
Thanks Rindge! I had a look at your blog and it’s full of interesting articles!