QualityInspection.org

Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China

Why Pay Close Attention To Your Factory Managers’ Personalities?

  A few years ago, I wrote an article on '7 Common Mistakes Revealed by Factory Org Charts'. I described two issues I have seen many times in Chinese factories: Mistake 1: not having a quality department Most small workshops don’t have personnel dedicated to checking quality on a full-time basis. The problem is, very often nobody checks quality at all! That’s a serious problem and only importers who can station inspectors on site 24/7 should do business with such … [Read more...]

New Importer from China? Beware the Credulous Foreigner Syndrome!

After about 40 years of openness, and about 15 years of 'direct trade' without Hong Kong trading companies, one might expect that foreign buyers take more precautions when dealing with Chinese suppliers. And, to be sure, some buyers do pay attention to risks. They have heard a few horror stories. They have read about common misconceptions, typical pitfalls, assumptions to avoid, and best practices for supply chain management. Unfortunately, it seems that a majority of people who haven't … [Read more...]

How a China-Based Buying Office Can Add Value

If you source and buy consumer goods from several suppliers in China, your experience probably looks like this: Some suppliers are good, some are not so good and not improving When there is a quality issue, it is much better to detect it while the goods are still at the factory... and yet, sometimes, that factory plays the "do nothing and wait" game -- it means they do a very light sorting job and tell you "all is good now", simply because they don't want to do rework and discard some … [Read more...]

28 Common Problems Chinese Suppliers Cause Importers

I was thinking of the most common problems Chinese suppliers cause for importers, especially those developing their own products. And I noticed something interesting. Most of them all linked to the way information is managed. … [Read more...]

21 Assumptions To Avoid When Buying From Chinese Suppliers

Many buyers tend to make assumptions that are seldom valid in China, and it can be quite dangerous. When I started spending a lot of time in Chinese factories, what I saw blew my mind. A foreign buyer simply can’t imagine what is sometimes going on behind the scenes. I'll say that China is the land where everything is possible... from the worst to the best. I wrote 21 common assumptions below, in categories, along with my comments. … [Read more...]

Would Liability Insurance Protect You when Buying Product from China?

If your company sells products on the US market, and in the unfortunate event some of these products cause consumer injuries, there is no cap on the damages you might be forced to pay. The cost of recalls and/or the amount of damages might lead your company straight to bankruptcy. If you buy products from a Chinese supplier, and they only have assets in China, you will probably be unable to collect that cost back. To mitigate this risk, many importers look into liability insurance. The … [Read more...]

Why Design Defects Are Behind Many Quality/Safety Issues

There is a tendency for inexperienced importers to blame their suppliers for all quality and safety issues that come up. However, in the situation where the buyer works with an OEM or a contract manufacturer, they share some (and usually all) of the responsibility when something goes wrong. It may well be that manufacturing or design defects are the cause. … [Read more...]

Traceability in Manufacturing: Do your Chinese Suppliers Do it Right?

I see buyers who spend a lot of time pushing their suppliers to do QC inspections on incoming components, to keep the production area clean, to give clear instructions to operators, and other basics. But I seldom hear them push for traceability in manufacturing, despite how important it is. I thought I should write about it again.   … [Read more...]