Reliable exporters: find them and meet them

by Chao Wang

You might realize that inspection of your goods prior to shipping is one of the only ways you can rest easy, knowing the quality of your products meets specifications.

But what if you could get better quality without product inspection?

You might be surprised to learn there are other steps you can take to ensure you’re getting what you pay for.

Take a look at these three tips for making that happen:

1. Choosing the right supplier for you

When you forgo using a third-party for inspection, it’s just you and the supplier. This means that the factory you choose will have control over your products, and you can’t be sure about what you’re buying until you actually receive the finished goods.

Finding a supplier that you can work well with is the first step to successful cooperation in manufacturing. That’s why you want to choose a factory that’s able to deliver on what they promise. There are several areas you’ll want to look closely at, to help you decide if any one supplier is more suitable than another (related: 5 Steps to Finding Suppliers in China).

Auditing potential suppliers

Whether you’re visiting a potential supplier yourself or hiring someone else to conduct an audit for you, getting in the factory and investigating certain key areas is an important first step.

A typical factory audit of this kind, sometime called a supplier review, is based on the ISO 9001 standard and looks closely at a factory’s quality management systems. This type of audit can tell you about a factory’s legal status, production capacity, organization and much more. An initial audit is a great way to learn important details about a factory before placing an order. But it may not be a feasible option for more budget-conscious importers.

Visiting suppliers on your own

You can still learn a lot about a factory by visiting personally. Factory management will probably want to present the factory in a positive light. But pay close attention to the following areas:

• Organization – does the factory operate efficiently and in an organized manner or is it messy and chaotic? Has the factory implemented any Lean manufacturing initiatives?
• Production planning – does the factory have a timeline for planning production milestones and different processes?
• Work instructions – do work stations have instructions that clearly show workers how to perform different tasks?
• Material and product inventory – is there a high excess of materials and finished goods in storage?
• Equipment – is the factory’s equipment in good working order with regular maintenance performed?

You can learn a lot by observation walking through a factory yourself (related: 5 Areas to Look at During a Factory Visit). Visiting a factory also gives you the opportunity to meet management and staff in-person, which can give you a strong start with your new supplier.

Most importantly, a face-to-face meeting with a potential supplier gives you the opportunity to voice your expectations for your product and determine if the supplier can actually meet them.

2. Clearly communicating product expectations

Many importers make the mistake of placing an order with a supplier and then providing certain product requirements or details the supplier did not have up front. But this can lead to a number of issues later down the road, such as:

• The supplier isn’t able to meet the “new” product requirements or
• The supplier will have to cut costs to meet your expectations, which often results in rushed production, lower product quality or both

What’s worse, the supplier might not even tell you there’s a problem with your requirements because they might fear losing your business.

The lesson here: always have clear requirements for your products from the beginning.

Don’t assume you are paying for high quality components, or that the factory manufacturing your product will give you high quality parts. Always specify what materials are required for your products and have clear tolerances on what’s acceptable and what’s not.

Issuing a solid PO

Issuing a detailed purchase order (PO) when placing an order with a supplier prevents any unwanted surprises later on. A PO shows the official offer that you, the importer, give to your supplier.

An effective purchase order contains most of the critical information a supplier needs to know to produce your goods and meet your expectations for quality and deliverability, including:

• Item details
• Shipping address of the goods
• Payment terms
• Ex-factory date & Incoterms
• Any warranty or returns agreement
• Quality expectations
• Packaging & labeling information

Issuing a detailed PO also helps you hold your supplier accountable for any problems. For example, if your supplier uses a locally sourced PCB when a Japanese PCB should have been used in your product instead, you can point to the PO with requirements the supplier agreed to earlier. Make sure to be as detailed and specific as possible with your PO (related: The Essentials of a Solid Purchase Order).

Easy and open communication

Communication is key. And even though this is a point we re-hash time and time again, it’s worth repeating here in the context of how to get better quality without product inspection.

Most suppliers are in business, like you, to make money. They generally aren’t maliciously trying to cheat you out of your own profits. But on occasion, you may find your supplier contact is reluctant to deliver bad news. You may be dealing with a “yes man”, someone who tells you what you want to hear, even if it’s not the truth.

The best way to avoid a situation where you’re fed misinformation is to get your supplier on the phone–or better still–on Skype for a video call. Is your supplier hesitating to commit to a shipping date? Do you get the impression there’s something they’re not telling you? You’ll have a much easier time “feeling out” the supplier over phone or email than by email alone.

But what if your supplier has difficulty with oral English?

Most suppliers have English-speaking sales staff, and these are the people you’ll likely be communicating with regularly. If you do have real trouble communicating with your supplier by phone and need to fall back on email, make sure your emails are clear. Avoid complicated jargon your supplier may not understand. And keep your emails simple and to-the-point.

Whatever your chosen method of communication make sure you and your supplier are on the same page. Let them know that you’ll be far more disappointed to have bad news delayed or withheld outright than to be informed as early as possible.

Walk the supplier through any vital or complex specifications or requirements to make sure they fully understand (related: 3 Barriers to Communication with Suppliers).

3. Approving a “golden” sample before production

Receiving and approving a “golden” sample of product from the factory is one of the easiest ways to learn what a supplier is capable of. Not only can asking for a product sample help you get better quality without product inspection, it also serves as a model comparison for auditors should you decide to employ inspection.

It’s important to request a sample before placing an order because a sample represents what the factory is capable of making–what the supplier believes perfectly conforms to your specifications. Simply put, the sample generally show the best they can do. Without seeing a product sample beforehand, how can you be sure the factory fully understands your requirements?

Obtaining and approving a product sample

Here’s the suggested process for obtaining and approving a sample:

1. You ask the supplier to send you a product sample BEFORE placing an order
2. The supplier sends you one or more product samples to approve for mass production
3. You approve a sample, which becomes the “golden” sample for production and send it to the supplier
4. The supplier manufacturers that item to match the sample you approved

And just in case you do decide to hire product inspection help, you’ll want to make sure any approved samples you send are properly sealed to prevent any tampering (related: How to Seal Product Samples). Having the right product sample for reference can mean all the difference.

Conclusion

You might think that better quality comes at a higher price. And generally, you’d be right. The age-old proverb “you get what you pay for” continues to ring true for both importers and end consumers alike.

Here we’ve covered some steps to help you get better quality without product inspection. That is, these tips will help you get what you pay for without having to hire professionals.

In the end, you may decide you’d rather have the added reassurance that product inspection provides. But that doesn’t mean you can’t follow these tips and, together with inspection, make sure you’re getting the best quality product possible.

So take my advice and stay on top of quality control!

Chao Wang is a Client Manager at InTouch Manufacturing Services, a QC firm that performs product inspections and factory audits in Asia for clients in the US, EU and Australia.

Want to know how to work with factories to produce your unique products? Join the Smart China Sourcing Summit to learn sourcing best practices, April 17-19, 2016. Co-located with Global Sources 3,000-booth trade show in Hong Kong. Learn more at http://www.GlobalSources.com/summit

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