In the industry, we estimate that 80% of importers don’t do control the quality of what they buy (i.e. either by one of their employees, or an external inspector). Even when the goods are headed to demanding markets like Europe or the US.
Is it an economic problem? Sometimes. It seems weird to spend $300 to verify the quality of a $1000 shipment, especially with a regular supplier.
Is it a timing problem? Sometimes. The buyer is in a rush and pushes the supplier to ship “ASAP”. Anything that might delay the operations, even by one hour, is dismissed.
However, I think most importers who don’t do quality control do not do it because of a lack of education about the way their products can be checked in the producing country.
I thought about it when reading this section, in Designing the obvious:
[A fast food chain’s marketers] asked a bunch of people if they would find appealing the idea of ordering a low-carb version of their hottest-selling cheeseburger. Resoundingly, people said they would… The marketers knew they were onto something. So they whipped up a plan, sent the recipe-makers into action, and released the sandwich… The sandwich failed miserably.
The sandwich failed to live up to its promise because the promise was based on meaningless conversations with people who thought they would do the smart, responsible thing and make the healthy choice.
It rings so true to me… In met with hundreds of buyers, on trade shows, who said “Very good, we’ll call you next time we have a shipment” enthusiastically. And they never even responded to my email, 6 months after.
Some of them contact me a while later and say “you were right and I should have followed your advice. I got a really bad experience, I lost a lot of money and also the trust of a customer”. Then they are willing to make the effort to make quality control part of their working method.
The point is that people make the choices they know how to make.
Taking the initiative to do quality control is something many buyers don’t know how to do. The first time they are not comfortable about it. They don’t know how to tell their established suppliers. They don’t know how much money and time it is really going to cost them. They don’t know who can help them.
If you are in this situation, feel free to read these articles:
4 steps to start doing quality control
4 proven ways to enforce your quality standard
Quality Control basic concepts
I have had many of the same experiences, and I believe this is all about misunderstanding the risks involved (or perversely, thinking you are somehow trying to bait them), and that the 300USD fee you are offering is seen as an expense vs. an investment.
Next time you get a “shit, we should have used you”… tell them, “yeah, you should have, but now it’s too late.. but do your friends a favor, and tell them to call me before they make the same mistake you did”
R
Hi Rich,
You are right, the risks are not clearly perceived (see this article: http://www.qualityinspection.org/forecasting-production-problems/). I totally agree with you.