QualityInspection.org

Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China

  • Home
  • Articles
    • How To Manufacture A Product In China (without losing your shirt)? [Importer’s Guide]
  • Best Of
  • About Us
  • Contact us
X

Don't miss a post

It's easy to subscribe to our newsletter where you'll receive weekly updates for professional importers and manufacturers on better understanding, controlling, and improving manufacturing & supply chain in China, India, Vietnam, and beyond.

You are here: Home / Supply Chain / Reviewing Samples in China to Save Time & Money

Reviewing Samples in China to Save Time & Money

April 11, 2014 by Renaud Anjoran

A reader asked me recently how to reduce their Fedex/DHL/UPS bill. They spend thousands of dollars every month just for receiving samples to approve.

The good news is, there are ways to reduce that cost. And my company already provides these solutions to a few clients, so we have a clear idea of how to do it. 

How does it work?

For pre-production Samples

The question about pre-production samples is always “have they understood what we want?”. So we follow this procedure:

  • Supplier sends at least 2 sets of samples to us.
  • We review them. If they are not acceptable, we send a report to the client and we wait for the decision (usually: send them back to the supplier).
  • If they are fine, we send the worst one(s) to the client and we keep the best one (to be sent to the inspector).
  • As an option, we can use the sample we have in hand to prepare the specification sheet.

For production samples

The question is always “have they respected the requirements?”. But, in terms of sample review, it is the same thing. So the same procedure as above can be followed.

Benefits for the importer

Obviously we send the samples only once or twice a week. There are several ways it reduces the total UPS/DHL bill:

  • On average more samples get sent in a package
  • Fewer samples get sent for nothing, since the bad ones are rejected at the sample review stage

Another benefit is faster reaction to suppliers. If samples are rejected, the supplier can start working on new samples right away.

Maybe some readers have other tips to offer?

Filed Under: Supply Chain


Weekly updates for professional importers on better understanding, controlling, and improving manufacturing & supply chain in China.

This is the official blog of Sofeast.com.

This blog is written by Renaud Anjoran, an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer who has been involved in chinese manufacturing since 2005.

Hit the button below to get in touch:

Contact Us!

Subscribe to our email newsletter

Connect with us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
sofeast
sofeast
sofeast

Latest Articles

  • Looming EU Sustainability Requirements Will Force You To Get Visibility Into Your Supply Chain
  • The ISO Certification Industry’s Dark Side
  • 5-Step Process Reliability Engineers Follow To Fix Product Returns
  • Product Recall Program: How to do it in case of a Safety Issue?
  • Environmentally Conscious Product Design Strategies

Categories

  • Quality Control Tips
  • Sourcing New Suppliers
  • Supplier Management
  • New Product Development
  • Process Improvement
  • Ethical Sourcing

Archives

© 2023 QualityInspection.org