Michael Michelini wrote about Amazon packaging, and he mentioned the FBA prep services. I discovered a whole industry popped up and is probably growing fast. What do they do? In Mike's words: Basically, a third-party prep service does everything on your behalf, including: Inspect your items to ensure there is no damage, especially if you’re selling “new” products. Carefully remove any stickers from the products, if there are any. Prepare the inventory according to … [Read more...]
When AQL Sampling Plans Can’t Find Defective Products
A reader sent me this interesting question: I would like to better understand AQL usage and more precisely whether inspections based on AQL are effective in situations where the distribution of defects is not homogeneous within the lot. Let's say the lot is 25,920 pieces split in 36 boxes. From previous observations, most of the pieces in the lot are OK, but a few pieces (200-500) are not OK and they are physically located in a focused part of one or 2 boxes. Is an AQL inspection the … [Read more...]
What Simple Checklist for More Reliable Quality Inspections?
A simple checklist to follow day in, day out, is a highly undervalued tool. Here are a couple of examples where the value of checklists has been recognized: In aviation, checklists have been used for more than 70 years and have undoubtedly avoided many accidents. In healthcare, a study showed that following standard checklists saved 40% of lives. What is another activity where someone might forget something important? A quality inspection in a supplier's facility! People ask you … [Read more...]
What is the “AQL” (Acceptance Quality Limit) in simple terms?
What Does AQL Mean? 'AQL' stands for 'Acceptance Quality Limit', and is defined as the "quality level that is the worst tolerable" in ISO 2859-1. It represents the maximum number of defective units, beyond which a batch is rejected. Importers usually set different AQLs for critical, major, and minor defects. Most Asian exporters are familiar with this type of setting. For example: "AQL is 1.5%" means "I want no more than 1.5% defective items in the whole order quantity, on average over … [Read more...]
Buying Food Ingredients from China? Can You Trust that Info?
The 'China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance' just decided that 6 types of fish can now be classified as "salmon" when sold within China. Amazing but true. According to the BBC, here is the background: New rules introduced in China mean rainbow trout can now be labelled and sold domestically as salmon. Why? Because a media report earlier this year caused a splash by revealing that rainbow trout had for years been labelled as the similar-looking fish. Authorities … [Read more...]
Evaluating a Battery Manufacturer in China for Consistent Quality
Over the past 3 months, we have heard of more problems with batteries than with any other electrical component. Our team in Shenzhen has been busy evaluating battery manufacturers, recently. And the average level of those manufacturers is much lower than I expected. A bad battery means the entire product doesn’t function (and, worse, it might explode or catch fire). And yet, few buyers have focused their efforts on working with a good supplier. What to evaluate? A battery manufacturer … [Read more...]
US Compliance Documents When Importing from China: Q&A With an Expert
American importer often ask us questions about the compliance documents they need when importing products from China. I thought it would be interesting to ask Fredrik Gronkvist, from Chinaimportal.com, to answer the most frequent questions we get asked about US compliance. He has a firm grasp on this complex topic that can seem complex and confusing. 1. Do I actually need some documents to prove that my products are compliant with US safety regulations? Documentation is in many ways part … [Read more...]
What To Do If You Are Afraid of Poor Quality from Your Chinese Factory?
A client asked for my advice about a common situation: They are about to give a relatively large order to a factory. They had a bad experience with that same factory in the past. They had too many defective products and it was quite costly. I have met with many importers in this situation. Here is what I usually tell them. First, why keep working with the same factory? Have they promised they would improve? On what basis? In most cases it doesn't happen, and the next production run … [Read more...]
Why a First Article Validation Can Save an Entire Production from Quality Issues
Planning the start of production so that a first article can be made and checked before the rest of mass production takes place... That's not something the average Chinese factory does, unfortunately. I am not referring to the pre-production samples, but to the first piece out of 'real' mass production. By real mass production, I mean this piece has to be made in the same material and/or components, on the same equipment, by same people, etc. as mass production. Why do many … [Read more...]
How To Start Working with an Inspection Company Without Ticking Suppliers Off
Many buyers are fed up with quality issues that went unnoticed and ended up being shipped out, and they know something needs to change. One obvious way to contain issues is to check quality before shipment. At same time, they are afraid of shocking the manufacturer with a mark of distrust. They are afraid everything goes downhill from there. Are you in this situation? Then this article is for you. I collected the tips I usually offer to the new clients of our quality assurance … [Read more...]
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