There is one concept in quality inspections that is quite simple and yet widely misunderstood: the sampling lot. The ISO 2859 standard calls it a "lot". It may or may not include different products based on how different they … [Read more...]
How To Cooperate With Your Chinese Supplier, Part 11: China Suppliers: from Problem Reporting to Solution
By Fabien Gaussorgues I must have read or heard “this information should be provided by the customer” hundreds of times. It comes from manufacturers, traders, sourcing agents -- all living in China, whether they are Chinese or … [Read more...]
Using a Continuous Sampling Plan for Your China Production
If you purchase products from Chinese factories, I guess you have used acceptance sampling based on the concept of AQL. In simple terms, an inspector draws samples from the whole batch, checks them, and the batch is either accepted or … [Read more...]
How Amazon FBA Sellers Should Control Quality in China
As more and more companies buy products in China and then sell them on Amazon, many of them are finding it hard to control quality. The problem is, there is a big disconnect. A relatively low proportion of defective pieces (say 3%), … [Read more...]
Real-Time Inspection Updates on Wechat/Whatsapp? Really?
More and more potential clients ask us, 'can your inspector do real-time updates, in photos or videos, on Wechat or Whatsapp?' I thought it was an interesting topic. That's one of those ideas that sound nice but that are actually bad 99% … [Read more...]
Sampling Is an Important Part of a Random Inspection
When I go to factories I like to observe quality inspectors from buying offices or other QC agencies. Sometimes I see an inspector come in, ask the factory for a certain number of pieces, and get to "work" right away. By "work" I mean … [Read more...]
A Control Chart You Can Ask Your Chinese Suppliers to Keep Track Of
A few days ago I introduced a basic statistical tool (the capability index) that is simple and can be represented visually, so that any Chinese factory can understand it and try to improve it. Today I want to introduce the p chart. It is … [Read more...]
China Management Best Practice: Always Give Some Context
One thing that always amazes me is the lack of understanding of the average Chinese worker of his/her context. Let me give a few examples and it will become clear. In the West, the airline counter lady can pull a lot of information … [Read more...]
The Magic Triangle: Product Specifications, Sample Reviews, and QC Inspections
Recently I was asked what the "20% of efforts that give 80% of results" are when it comes to quality control in China. Interesting question. Well, first is to find the right supplier. That's probably the most important thing you can do, … [Read more...]
Archives of Useful Articles about Buying & Inspecting in China
I listed the useful articles I published between 2009 and now. This page is long! Feel free to keep scrolling to choose the categories and articles that interest you, or hit the links just below to quickly skip down to their respective … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- …
- 11
- Next Page »