Nearly 2 years ago I wrote When To Do a Random AQL Inspection vs. Check 100% of the Goods. It is a good overview of these 2 options: Send inspector(s) to your supplier's factory for checking random samples Have the manufacturer of the goods deliver them to a facility (often called an "inspection center" or a "QC platform") where all the pieces will be checked This is a topic we explain regularly to our clients who use our contract packaging and contract assembly services. And my … [Read more...]
100% Inspection in a Third Party Facility in China: The How-To
I am guessing that about 96% of quality inspections done in China, on behalf of overseas buyers, are conducted in the supplier's facility on a set of randomly-picked samples. About 3% are done at the supplier's facility, on 100% of the pieces (typically, high-value items). And maybe 1% is done in a facility controlled by the buyer or a service provider engaged by the buyer. And it makes sense. In most cases, a random inspection (or a series of such inspections along the manufacturing cycle) … [Read more...]
When To Do a Random AQL Inspection vs. Check 100% of the Goods
First, let me get one thing out of the way: not all batches need to be checked. If a manufacturer has great systems and processes, and if they have a history of complying with your quality standard, there is usually no reason to send quality inspectors to their facility. Similarly, if you can easily return the whole batch and it can be reworked quickly, you probably don't want to spend resources on checking whether they did as promised. Now, let's assume you do want confirmation of … [Read more...]
The 4 ways of checking product quality before shipment
I can see four key product inspection solutions that importers should use for checking product quality before the goods are shipped out (remember, it is extremely hard to send a container of defective products back to China). … [Read more...]