What are manufacturing organizational charts and what are the key things that importers can learn from would-be suppliers' org charts during the sourcing process? The tips given here will help you avoid bad suppliers and be aware of common … [Read more...]
Environmentally Conscious Product Design Strategies
We share almost 40 strategies that can help you design products with a lower environmental impact from the IEC 62430:2019 standard for environmentally conscious product design. Greener manufacturing is increasing in popularity and being … [Read more...]
9 Key Quality Management Challenges in China
Managing quality in China is tough when you outsource production to a manufacturer (your 'supplier'). There are a number of quality management challenges to be aware of that can trip up buyers and we're sharing 9 key ones here. Thanks to … [Read more...]
A Guide… To Guiding! How To Be Effective As A Quality Audit Guide? (with special focus on IATF 16949)
Guest post by Brad Pritts - a followup to How To Prepare For A Factory Audit? Note from Renaud: Let's say your factory is undergoing a quality audit requested by your customer. The auditor will arrive and you are advised to have a … [Read more...]
How To Prepare For A Factory Audit?
From time to time, someone asks me for advice on how to prepare for a factory audit. Since we have run an auditing service for years, we have a few ideas about this. I collected some of my usual advice in this article*. *(I am assuming … [Read more...]
What Is the APQP? (Advanced Product Quality Planning Process)
The APQP, or Advanced Product Quality Planning, is a proven approach for developing a new product to be made in high volume and under strict quality, timing, and cost requirements. It was developed by the North American automotive … [Read more...]
The Concept of Quality: Little q VS Big Q.
Take a deep dive into the concept of quality. A lot of importers focus narrowly on if the products they're getting from their manufacturers/suppliers are within tolerance (little q). But without a wider view that looks at the entire … [Read more...]
What Manufacturing KPIs Show if a QMS is Performing Effectively?
Many factories are proud of their ISO 9001/ISO 13485 certificate, but a look at their quality management system (QMS) and manufacturing KPIs reveals serious issues. I wrote before about how some companies get certified with a very poorly … [Read more...]
Engineering Change Notification and Approval: a Vital Process
A lot of quality/reliability issues are the result of a poor engineering change notification & approval process or the complete lack of such a process. That's especially common in the context of OEM/ODM manufacturing. Let's uncover … [Read more...]
Manufacturing Organizational Chart: Top 7 Common Mistakes To Avoid
One of the first things we look at, during factory audits, is the supplier’s manufacturing organizational chart. And it often points to serious operational dysfunctions. Here are the top 7 common mistakes that you don’t want to see your … [Read more...]
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