Wednesday, June 19, 2013

How to Do Quality Control on China Made Products

Lead paint, fire hazards and food contamination. Simply put, Chinese made goods are incredibly cheap, but that cheap price can also mean a high cost in safety. Many companies are outsourcing their manufacturing to China, even luxury brands. If your company is considering outsourcing manufacturing to a Chinese factory, there are things you can do to maintain quality control overseas
.

Instructions


    • 1
      Communicate your expectations clearly. Make sure that the factory that is producing your goods is clear on your specifications and they know exactly what you want. Each time you send something back with more directions or clarifications, it's going to cost you in both time and money.
    • 2
      Travel to China and check things out yourself. Before you even hand over plans, check out your short list of factories. See what they can do and how well they are producing things on their current contracts. This will save you time and money in the long run if you can be right there when the first prototypes are being made. If there is a problem with something coming off the line, you will be there to fix it and explain to the manufacturer what needs to be done and leave less room for error in communication.
    • 3
      Go back often. The manufacturing factory will probably be more eager and quick to please you if you are standing right there. Keep in mind that you don't always have to be the one to go. One of your trusted engineers or partners could go as long as he is familiar with the construction process of your product. You also can hire a company who specializes in overseas quality control management.
    • 4
      Consider remote monitoring. These devices monitor the output and send you reports. They let you know when and where there is a problem before it gets out of hand.
    • 5
      Insist on testing. Have your products tested for chemical safety, lead paint, fire hazards and strangulation/choking hazards. These are some of the most common quality control issues in Chinese-made goods.
    • 6
      Treat your customers with respect and train your customer service representatives to deal with quality control problems efficiently.

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