It is lead paint in a children’s gift toy. It is a computer mouse that can seriously shock the user. It seems that each new day brings a wave of product recalls and safety alerts regarding products from China. Importers and distributors of promotional products are as susceptible as retailers to the disastrous effect on business and reputation that the distribution of a dangerous product will bring. As more of us in the promotional products industry deal with suppliers from China on a daily basis, the following strategies can serve as a guide to ensure that you receive only the highest quality products from abroad.
10. Know who you are working with: When you buy a product from China, it is often difficult to know if you are working with a factory, a trading company, or something in between. When it comes to quality and product issues, it is critical that you know exactly who you are working with and that the relationship is transparent to all parties. If you are not working with the factory directly and the supplier cannot give you satisfactory answers about the product, then they are inhibiting the sourcing process and you should reconsider the relationship. If you are having difficulty identifying who you are working with, you should contact a specialized supplier verification company in China.
9. Keep emails short, concise, and concise – I have great respect for the amount of English used by local Chinese staff, as they have never lived in an English-speaking country. However, from my experience doing business in China for over 7 years, I will tell you that your China based supplier probably understands only about 50% of what you write in emails. Keep this in mind the next time you initiate a lengthy explanation or suggestion to a foreign supplier. English is not this person’s first language. Keep your emails simple and your instructions clear.
8. Payment to Chinese suppliers – Bank transfer (W / T) or letter of credit (L / C)? – Having a secure and well-communicated payment agreement before placing your order is beneficial for both parties and is one of the parameters of a relationship that fosters quality. Unless you have a long-standing and trusted relationship with your provider, L / C should always be your preferred payment method. If you have not used an L / C before, contact your bank’s commercial department for assistance.
7. Save money and headaches with third-party quality control (“QC”): Working with a third-party QC company in China allows you to leverage the experience of companies whose mission is to ensure that product quality meets certain standards. These companies provide services such as product inspection, factory auditing, and laboratory testing. The service is generally available at a flat rate that can offer great value relative to the total cost of your purchase (approximately $ 350 to inspect a shipment of goods). The best known companies in China that provide quality control services are InTouch Services, Bureau Veritas and Intertek Testing.
6. Confirm your production schedule – Don’t be fooled! – Receiving your order from China on time is just as important as receiving the correct product. Chinese factories are notorious for colliding with less important production (for them) when a more profitable order arrives. Quality issues are more likely to arise as a result of the supplier rushing to catch up on the schedule they promised. So be sure to ask the right questions and get answers by email. These questions include: a) When will production start? Are you 50% finished? Full? Send? (Confirm that these milestones are being reached) b) Have all the raw materials for this order already arrived at the factory? How about all the packing materials?
5. Don’t be afraid of the phone: you can only communicate to a limited extent with email. When going back and forth with a foreign supplier, does it sometimes seem like they just aren’t “getting it”? The time difference can be a nuisance, but don’t let that stop you from setting up a conference call with your overseas provider. Online telephony like Skype, with which almost everyone in China is familiar, allows you to communicate easily and for free with your contacts in China. Although this may not work for a supplier with a low level of English, I suggest that you never place an order if you have not had at least one phone conversation.
4. Check Raw Materials or Risk Everything – It is absolutely essential to the quality of your product that you know exactly what materials are being used and ask the supplier for documentation that the materials are safe. The US continues to see recall after recall of products that have been made from non-compliant materials. For example, if the item you are purchasing is white plastic, you need to make sure that the white plastic meets general flammability standards. If the item is likely to come into contact with food, make sure it is food grade. You should assume that the factory you are buying from in China will use the cheapest possible materials unless you specify otherwise. Insist that your provider provide you with written verification. The FDA and other US organizations have regulations on which plastics, metals, and other materials can be safely distributed. If your supplier cannot verify this, contact a third-party QA company for guidance.
3. Samples are worth a thousand photos: When working with China, you should insist on getting samples as often as possible. Do not accept excuses unless there is a serious obstacle (ie, there is no mold). Be sure to label and store these samples correctly, and each time you receive a new one, carefully compare it to the last one you received. Never confirm to a factory in China that production can proceed until a pre-production sample is approved. You can detect a large number of quality issues before they happen just by implementing this process.
2. Don’t wait, inspect! – Almost the simplest, least expensive, and most efficient way to eliminate quality issues with your made in China product is to inspect it BEFORE it leaves the factory in China. The best way to arrange such an inspection is with a third-party QA company (mentioned above in # 7), but it can also be arranged with your own staff in Asia or with your agent’s. You should insist on seeing an inspection report in English (including photos) documenting the process.
1. Product Quality Control Checklist – Poor communication during the ordering process is by far the root cause of most quality issues with China-based suppliers. One sure way to dramatically improve this communication is with a product quality control checklist. The quality checklist is a multi-page document that spells out in writing all the important aspects of the items you are purchasing. It’s best to create it with the help of a third-party QA company that specifically offers this service, but you can create a simple and effective one on your own by following the points below. For more information on creating a QC list, check out Quality Wars, which is my blog on QA. The key points to include in this checklist are:
a) Item details (item number, SKU description, etc.)
b) Contents and packaging
c) Color
d) Barcodes
e) Appearance and function
f) Specifications and special requirements
g) Photos
Make sure you have this document professionally translated into Chinese and make the quality checklist the starting point for discussing production and quality with your supplier. You may find that you don’t have many of the details that the quality checklist requires. If that’s the case, I suggest you create the template and send it to your vendor for completion. There is no shortage of promotional product companies now working directly with foreign suppliers. With all the horror stories we hear about import orders failing, you can set yourself apart by being able to consistently deliver excellent quality. Your clients will undoubtedly appreciate your due diligence and your ability to speak intelligently about your focus on quality.
