A few years ago, I suggested 6 tips to avoid bribery in a QC team. And two of them are particularly important when managing a quality control team in China: Rotate inspectors among factories, as professional relationships very quickly become personal, too. And there is a strong, very strong expectation of reciprocity -- "I gave you a nice lunch, you should overlook this tiny imperfection". Have a manager, or a regional supervisor, who does a good job of being a leader -- technically … [Read more...]
Using Data for Quality Management: Do You Have Puzzle? Or a Mystery?
As I wrote a few weeks ago, quality control analytics can save serious costs. I listed 5 examples of such cost savings in that article. Now, the question is, what can manufacturing and purchasing managers do to utilize data for quality management? How to start? Should you look at the data they have already collected, and look for hidden insights? In that case, they have a 'mystery' on hand. Or should you gather more data, and the right conclusions will become obvious once you have the … [Read more...]
The Basics of Quality Management for Buyers [Podcast]
What's the best way to get started with quality management? It makes a lot of sense to work to improve your product quality coming from Chinese suppliers and you don't need to be a large corporation to do this, but this kind of quality management is best when it follows a process. So in this episode of the podcast, we discuss what the quality management process is, and its 3 main parts: quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement. By understanding how to put measures in … [Read more...]
9 Reasons Why You Can’t Buy Face Masks with Low Risk in China
The Western world is scrambling to buy face masks and other PPE materials. And all the conditions are met for highly expensive mistakes. If I could ring the proverbial alarm bell, this article is my way to do that. … [Read more...]
How Quality Planning Drives QC and Process Improvement
What does quality management consist of? Juran wrote about this first in 1986, and he suggested 3 types of activities that make up the "Juran trilogy": Planning Quality control Improvement … [Read more...]
How Much Does a Quality Inspection in China cost?
Understanding the cost of quality inspections in China I am always surprised by the expectations of some importers regarding the cost of quality inspections in a Chinese factory. Some importers get to talk about their project for some time, see where we would help them, and finally (almost as an afterthought) ask: "How much does a quality inspection in China cost?" The 2 categories of buyers when it comes to quality inspection costs I say "299 USD per day of work", and I can nearly hear … [Read more...]
A Good Quality Assurance Strategy in China [10 Components]
Ensuring product quality over time is one of the major challenges of all importers. But what makes for an effective quality assurance strategy in China? … [Read more...]