I see new-to-China importers make the same mistake, over and over. They focus on nice samples (which are NOT indicative of mass production's quality) and on the unit price. And they completely forget to ensure that production will be up … [Read more...]
A realistic dynamic inspection plan for checking China production
Last week I pointed out the limits of QC inspections based on random sampling. My conclusion was: If having 3% of defects in a batch can incur very high costs (likely to wipe your margin out and cause a loss in customer confidence), random … [Read more...]
Limits of QC inspections based on AQL & random sampling
I wrote many times that QC inspections before shipment are a good way of keeping quality problems where they belong: in the factory. It is a good tool. But pointing to its limits is important. Misinterpreting its reliability is very … [Read more...]
Articles about QC inspection statistics & procedures
A few people told me recently that they had spent hours going through the archives of this blog to find articles on a certain theme. So I gathered all the good articles I published over the years about the statistics, and more generally … [Read more...]
Product specifications template for importers in China
Some importers send information about the product they expect through many different channels: Email threads; Skype or QQ conversations; In the form of samples, or validations of counter-samples; Drawings and explanations in … [Read more...]
Importers should not rely too much on Chinese suppliers
As I wrote before, it is the buyer's responsibility to pay for independent quality control before shipment. When this is not the case, the importer is relying totally on his Chinese suppliers... and is taking maximum risks. In this … [Read more...]
Are you unsatisfied with your internal QC inspectors?
I know many buying offices here in China that have hired their own inspectors. In some cases it works very well. But, in other cases, defective batches are regularly allowed for shipment and everybody wonders how it happened. My friend … [Read more...]
Should you inspect during production or before shipment?
Inexperienced importers usually ask the same questions, one of which is: when should we inspect the quality of our products? There are mainly two types of inspections: Inspection during production: very useful to catch problems early, … [Read more...]
Laboratory testing in China: ideas for optimization
A few weeks ago, Jean-Etienne Alain, deputy director of Canal Toys Asia, was a speaker in an EU Chamber of Commerce in China seminar. He explained the way his company managed to optimize the laboratory testing process. I found it very … [Read more...]
Core quality tools in the automotive industry
Over the past couple of years, I noticed some very interesting comments on some articles on this blog. They came from Brad Pritts, a consulting engineer and six sigma black belt who works primarily in the auto industry. I asked Brad a … [Read more...]
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