The word “sourcing” can be intimidating. Why is there so much talk about the simple process of procuring goods, supplies, or services from another source? The idea seems simple, but the reality can be complex, labor intensive, and nuanced.
Though simple at first glance, sourcing can be an overwhelming endeavor. For a sourcing agent to find the best manufacturers and the best price points, they need to perform a thorough evaluation of potential sources for […]
If you are sourcing product from Asia, it’s likely that you dread that time of the year when the Chinese New Year (“CNY”) comes around. Why would one not look forward to a big holiday? If you’re managing quality, CNY will bring you a laundry list of issues, year after year.
In this blog post, we’ll detail the common quality issues that come with CNY and offer tips on how to […]
What are the key purposes for conducting audits and how do different types of audits work – or work together? Here, we’ll define different types of audits and explain why they’re important in the grand scheme of manufacturing. Read on for an audits overview!
Social Compliance, Security, Quality, Capability, and Capacity audits offer insight into your manufacturers and supply chain and help you provide the highest and most reliable quality services to your customers. They […]
Is “quality provider” synonymous with “sourcing agent”? If you answered yes, this blog will clear things up for you. Here, we’ll identify the differences between the two terms to clarify that they are not the same thing. Let’s break it down.
What is a Quality Provider?
A quality provider performs quality audits to assess the quality systems carried out by manufacturers in accordance with the ISO quality system standard, ISO 9001. The chief purpose of these assessments is to measure the effectiveness of factories’ Quality Management Systems (QMS) to guarantee that the results are as intended. Product inspections are also a primary function of a quality service provider. Inspections ensure that specifications and quality standards are being met whether inspecting raw materials, during production, or final random inspections before the finished product is shipped. When compared to a sourcing agent, a quality provider covers a narrower scope.
Before selecting a supplier, the factory in which production will take should be evaluated to ensure it meets the buyer’s requirements. A factory audit usually takes place after a group of potential suppliers have been narrowed down to a few serious candidates. Factory audits have two chief goals: to confirm that the factory is capable of delivering the right product in the right amount of time, and to encourage progress over time by identifying areas that need improvement. […]
After conducting pre-production, during production, and pre-shipment inspections, your product is good to go, right? Not just yet. There’s still one last opportunity to ensure your product will be shipped exactly as intended: a loading inspection. Performed during the loading process at a factory, warehouse, or port, these inspections help to determine that shipment quantity orders and packing requirements are correct and that carton markings are accurate. In this stage, you can make sure that the product being securely loaded onto a shipping container meets all of your needs. Loading inspections check if the master carton and pallet labeling match your requirements, the container itself meets your product needs, and the loading process is performed as expected. […]
What happens when there is an issue with a product that’s already on the store shelf? Panic? Don’t worry; at this point, issues can still be corrected. Here, we’ll cover what this process entails.
When an issue is detected with an in-store product, it typically comes through in the Return to Vendor (RTV) data from the retailer. This data is generated when a consumer returns an item to the store and the retailer records the reasons for the return. This data can also come from online comments on the retailer’s website, online reviews, or, most commonly, consumer calls to the retailer.
What is the relationship between the way a product is priced and its quality? When it comes down to it, there is none. Price doesn’t determine quality. If an item has a high price, this doesn’t necessarily mean it is a high quality product, just as a low price point does not indicate an item is of low quality. This is important information for the end consumer, of course, but it’s also vital for the vendor or importer sourcing products from factories to keep this in mind. […]
When you think of product inspections, you automatically think that products are the sole component being inspected. However, in order to prevent the same mistakes from happening over and over again, there needs to be a deeper look into the history in order to pinpoint the root of the issues. Here, we’ll discuss the importance of inspecting the process rather than merely the product. […]
You’re probably familiar with Murphy’s Law: anything that can go wrong will. That’s why experienced professionals ask a ton of “what-if” questions to anticipate how their plans might go awry and to figure out what steps they can take to protect themselves. In manufacturing, risk management is extremely crucial. In business, risk management is defined as the forecasting and evaluation of financial risks together with the identification of procedures to avoid or minimize their impact. Here, we’ll discuss risk management best practices that’ll help you ensure that quality products are delivered to your customers and help you avoid potential disasters. […]
