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What Are Quality Standards? [Podcast]

April 29, 2022

What Are Quality Standards? [Podcast]

In this episode… Renaud explores what quality standards are here. There is a combination of physical samples and written resources that outline and clarify your product quality expectations to your manufacturer and quality inspectors. There are different levels, from most basic to advanced...you'll see how, together, they keep everyone aligned and reduce quality risks from early in your cooperation with a supplier.    Just hit the play button to start listening..! Listen to the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: product quality, QC, quality standards

Nonconforming Products or Materials: What Are the Options?

April 21, 2022

Nonconforming Products or Materials: What Are the Options?

I wrote extensively about quality inspections, the way the AQL limits lead to a pass/fail result, how to set up corrective actions in order to prevent the same issues from coming back, how to set up a QC plan to prevent issues and detect them as early as possible, and so on and so forth. One thing I haven't covered is the breadth of options available when nonconforming products or materials (in other words, products that are not up to your standard) are found. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: corrective action plan, noncomformity, product quality, supplier development

Product Quality and Reliability Issues: Typical Classification

April 12, 2022

Product Quality and Reliability Issues: Typical Classification

What are typical product quality and reliability issues, when do they occur in the product's lifecycle, and who might be responsible for them? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: New Product Development Tagged With: new product launch, product quality, product reliability, quality failures, reliability failures

Supplier Quality Management: KPIs and Improvement Tools

March 29, 2022

If you purchase goods from outside companies, and if you need to ensure that your products are of high quality, reliability, and safety, you need to focus on supplier quality management. This takes different forms for different companies, of course. Let's take two examples: Companies like Apple spend a lot of resources to qualify the right manufacturers, to ensure new products are developed with a low risk of issues, to monitor productions, etc. In contrast, a buyer of gift & … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supplier Management Tagged With: corrective action plan, product quality, sourcing new suppliers, supplier performance, supplier quality management

Quality and Compliance of Imported Products

March 7, 2022

Quality and Compliance of Imported Products

To run a successful business, you want to make and distribute products that are at the right quality standard and that comply with the regulations of the countries of sale. I guess nobody will argue with that. But what do "Quality and Compliance" mean, in practice? They are often separated under different functions inside the same company. Why? Let's look at these 2 concepts in the context of manufacturing products and importing them. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Product Compliance Tagged With: product compliance, product quality, quality inspections, quality management

Your Cost of Poor Quality Is Higher Than You Think

September 13, 2021

Your Cost of Poor Quality Is Higher Than You Think

When one studies the literature around the Cost of Quality, the traditional breakdown of the costs is presented as follows: Source: ASQ TR2:2018. ISO 10014 and ASQ TR 2, two standards that provide guidelines (in other words, advice, rather than a set of requirements like ISO 9001), follow this logic. The problem is, it leaves a lot of extra costs unaccounted for.   What makes up the cost of poor quality, in the traditional view? If something cannot be … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: cost of poor quality, improving cost, lowering costs, product cost, product quality, solving quality issues

A Few Tips To Avoid Quality Fade in China

August 16, 2021

A Few Tips To Avoid Quality Fade in China

When Paul Midler wrote ‘Quality Fade’: China’s Great Business Challenge in 2007, I remember it struck a nerve and that article was widely quoted. And, nearly 14 years later, the term 'quality fade' is rather well known among importers. As Midler described it: One of the problems facing China is that manufacturers continue to engage in a practice I call “quality fade.” This is the deliberate and secret habit of widening profit margins through a reduction in the quality of materials. Importers … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: china suppliers, improving quality, product quality, quality fade, quality improvement, sourcing from china, supplier management

How To Add Process Validation To Your QA Plan

August 11, 2021

How To Add Process Validation To Your QA Plan

If you (or your suppliers) suffer from inconsistent quality, in many cases there is at least one missing ingredient in the quality assurance plan. And, more often than not, process validation was skipped. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: Advanced Product Quality Planning, inconsistent quality, process validation, product quality, qa, qa plan, quality assurance, quality assurance strategy

How Bad Product Design Leads to Many Quality Issues

July 5, 2021

How Bad Product Design Leads to Many Quality Issues

I had an interesting discussion a few days ago. It made me realize most people see products of obviously poor quality and think the issues come from manufacturing, while, in fact, they most often come from bad product design! Let's see why here... … [Read more...]

Filed Under: New Product Development Tagged With: bad product design, improving product design, new product design, new product development, product design, product quality

What Is Good Quality Assurance For Importers Buying In China?

June 28, 2021

What Is Good Quality Assurance For Importers Buying In China?

A client was interested in product inspections, and they asked: Do you also offer a post-inspection service, for cases where the results are not ideal? That got me thinking. The answer is simple, yes, we can keep following up, but managing the way rework is done and planning a re-inspection is never a pleasing experience for the buyer. It looks straightforward (see below), but in reality, it is often a tense negotiation between the buyer and the seller:   How to avoid … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: NPI process, product quality, QAQC, quality assurance, quality assurance strategy, re-inspection, rework

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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.

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