All it takes is one batch of poorly-made products to drive your customer base away.
Manufacturing in China comes with a long list of benefits. But that doesn’t mean you don’t risk a factory botching an entire shipment of new product. Customers will not be patient to forgive defective product, so you won’t get a second chance.
Quality control inspection is your savior.
At every factory around the world, this department can catch problems long before they go into packaging. China is no different. Leveraging Chinese quality control will be crucial when outsourcing your labor abroad.
With a high-quality control inspection, you can reap the benefits of Chinese outsourcing without suffering its consequences. By the end of this article, you’ll know why you need quality control inspection and how to make sure your product remains the best in industry for years to come.
Quality Control Inspection and China
China is the greatest manufacturer of goods in our modern world. You’ve likely purchased a cheaply-made Chinese product. That poor quality control inspection likely affected the business’ reputation from your perspective.
These include cheap materials, questionable manufacturing processes, and in some cases a degradation that only gets worse with time.
Your AQL (known as Acceptable Quality Limit) determines the quality of your product at the end of a production cycle. This rates everything from proper labeling to quality of workmanship.
Nothing can be perfect, so for every manufacturing run, there will be a margin of failure. You need to determine your acceptable rate of failure. Anything above this rate means it’s time to figure out where things went wrong.
Some figures estimate that as much as 30% of Chinese production is faulty. That can mean anything from poor-quality products to defective products that require a refund or recall.
Luckily for you, there are convenient services ready to help you with this process. There’s no need for you to fear outsourcing to China if you have friends in the business. That cultural divide might seem steep until you have an expert on your side.
Ways Quality Control Inspection Works in China
Quality control doesn’t just happen at the endpoint when you have finished your product! It takes place every step of the way before production even begins in your contracted factory.
When it comes to manufacturing in China, you’re often sourcing supplies from dozens of unique companies. How do you know that you can trust a supplier?
Supplier Audits
The best tool in your pockets for these early stages is audits.
An audit is a process of independently verifying the quality or procedure of a company. Rather than taking them at their word, an inspector goes to their premises and evaluates them for conduct. This inspector takes to public and private records to ensure that all the documentation is up to snuff.
Further, a company’s willingness to submit to an audit may be a sign in and of itself. Reputable companies will submit to regular audits without external pressure. They’ll want to prove to you, before you even ask, that they are trustworthy!
Using an audit, you’ll be able to determine if a supplier has a poor past reputation. You might also discover, in rare cases, that they are a scammer that will take your money and run. The audit can alert you to issues that might crop up further down the line.
Factory Audits
Auditors can and should take a look at the factory where they are producing your sourced goods. These audits can often be spontaneous, to prevent the supplier from throwing up a Potemkin village.
Again, things might be in order, but an auditor might spot weaknesses that could cause problems later down the line. Being aware of these weaknesses and planning in advance for them will be essential in your business strategy.
Social Audits
The reputation of a company is often worth more than the money they make. A social audit refers to a company’s ethical practice. The last thing you want is for people to associate your company with human rights violations or environmental pollution.
A social audit goes deep into the past and looks for any hidden instances where your supplier has used dishonesty in their dealings. Knowing who you’re working with is half the battle, after all!
Comprehensive Quality Control Checklist
The best quality control inspection services will start out by establishing the level of quality (or AQL, as mentioned previously) that you want to achieve. This may take the form of a checklist that details where and how you want them to make your product.
Initial Product Check
Before doing a full mass-production run of any product, you need to do a smaller test run. Create samples to test your factory partner’s skill in producing your product. Using your new quality systems in China, you can ensure that these samples meet the standards on the checklist that you created.
Regular Inspections During Product Runs
Quality control inspection needs to become a habit for your partnered factory. Daily quality checks are the only thing to prevent you from an entire batch going awry.
Quality control inspection services have finished your work as soon as you send the packaged product to shipping. From that point on, you need to make sure your shipping partners are not going to damage the product in transit.
Quality Control Inspection for You
There’s no time to waste. You need a quality control inspection solution that will make sure your products meet and exceed the highest standards.
Auditing your suppliers and factories may seem like a headache, but it’s a headache that pays ample dividends. And it doesn’t need to be a headache when you work with an industry leader, so contact us today. Once you have an expert at your back, you’ll never need to worry again about suffering the consequences of a high AQL.
