Month: April 2021

shipping FAQ

Elksourcing：Terms About AQL Inspection Standard

Apr 10, 2021 , by 露露

Using AQL, you can check whether an order meets your quality requirements without having to inspect every unit of the entire shipment, saving you time and money on inspection. But one look at the AQL table could leave you feeling lost among the mass of numbers, letters, labels and even colors. Is this a quality control tool or a brain teaser?

Many explanations of AQL use advanced math models and equations to show how to choose a statistically significant sample for inspection. And these explanations can be hard to follow and overly complex if you’re just looking for a practical introduction on how to use AQL.

1. Acceptance sampling

Acceptance sampling is a way to pull and check a random sample of goods or material and accept or reject the total lot based on a statistical result. This lets you apply the results of inspecting this representative sample to making a decision about whether to allow your supplier to ship an order. AQL sampling is one type of acceptance sampling widely used in product inspection.

2. Acceptable quality level (AQL)

Acceptable quality level (AQL), also referred to as acceptable quality limit, is the minimum quality level a shipment is required to meet for an importer to accept it. It’s one of the most commonly used tools among quality control inspectors to measure an order’s conformance to your requirements. Acceptable quality levels typically range from 0 to 15, though AQLs higher than 6.5 are rarely used in the field. The higher your acceptable quality level, the higher your tolerance for quality defects in your order.

Quality control professionals and importers commonly use the AQL table to calculate important factors for inspection. This table tells you the appropriate number of units to pull for inspection, or your sample size, and the number of defects that would be acceptable in that sample. You can also use an online AQL calculator to find these based on your own order quantity and quality expectations.

3. ANSI-ASQ Z1.4

ANSI ASQ Z1.4 was developed by the American National Standards Institute and American Society for Quality, and it’s the most widely used standard for AQL sampling. The U.S. FDA recognizes this standard as applicable for single, double and multiple sampling plans. But most importers use it for single sampling plans. This means inspectors only pull one sample at random and issue a result based on the quality of this sample.

ANSI ASQ Z1.4 is based on inspection by attributes. This means inspected units are evaluated under two categories, either “conforming” or “nonconforming” to your requirements. Variable sampling instead measures the degree of nonconformance, based on sample standard deviation or sample range measurements. ANSI ASQ Z1.9 is the most commonly used standard for inspection by variables.

4. General inspection level

Now let’s dive into the process of how to use the AQL table for inspection. Inspection levels determine the sample size, or number of units the inspector will check on site at the factory. The bulk of your inspection will involve checks on the sample size associated with a general inspection level, like checks for appearance, assembly and functionality. In order to use the AQL table to determine your sample size, you’ll need to know your lot size, or total order quantity, typically shown on your PO.

5. Special inspection level

Special inspection levels are reserved for tests that you only intend to conduct on a comparatively smaller sample size than the general inspection level sample size. Whereas you’d use a general inspection level for tests and checks that are relatively quick and easy to perform, you’d use a special inspection level for tests that:

Are destructive to the product, like a fabric GSM test that involves cutting out a piece of fabric from the sample

Are expensive and/or time consuming to conduct, like a battery charging test for electronic devices

Tend to yield similar results across all units, like measuring the dimensions of injection-molded components that don’t vary appreciably in size from one unit to the next

Unlike the three general inspection levels, there are four special inspection levels, based on your desired inspection scope. Similar to general inspection levels, S1 is the smallest sample size for your lot size and S4 indicates the largest sample size. You might inspect a larger or smaller sample size depending on how important a test is for evaluating your product.

6. Critical defect

Critical defects are the most serious of the three main classes of defects QC professionals use for product inspection. When applying a unique AQL to each defect class, importers typically use an AQL of 0.0 for critical defects, representing zero tolerance. This means that the entire order will fail inspection if inspectors find a single critical defect in the sample.

7. Major defect

Less serious than critical defects, major defects tend to be acceptable in limited quantities but are still a concern. The most common AQL importers assign to major defects is 2.5, though you may choose a different AQL based on your own tolerance for defects. Inspectors typically consider a product defect to be “major” when it:

1). Adversely affects the performance of a product.

2). Varies significantly from product specifications.

3). Would likely cause the end customer to return the product.

8. Minor defect

Major defects are the least serious of the three defect classes. But your goods can still fail inspection if the number of minor defects found exceeds your tolerance set by AQL. An AQL of 4.0 is typical for minor defects, though you may choose a stricter or looser AQL.

9. Acceptance point

Typically denoted as “Ac” in the AQL table, the acceptance point indicates the maximum number of defects allowed in a given sample size and at a given AQL to accept an order. Just as many importers assign a different AQL to each of the three defect classes, they’ll also have a different acceptance point for each. Most importers have a higher acceptance point for minor and major defects than for critical defects, reflecting the range in AQL values they choose.

10. Rejection point

Typically denoted as “Re” in the AQL table, the rejection point indicates the minimum number of defects in a given sample size and at a given AQL to reject an order. The acceptance point and rejection point go hand-in-hand. And your rejection point will always be one value higher than your acceptance point when using a single-sampling plan.

Conclusion

As with using any sampling plan, your transparency and the accuracy of results are limited by the size of the sample taken. And there’s always a risk that you might reject “good” lots or accept “bad” lots when making shipping decisions based on the results of acceptance sampling.

But using an inspection method based on acceptance sampling, like AQL, ensures that you don’t inspect more goods than necessary, and in turn, don’t spend more time or money on inspection than needed. And for most importers, the relatively low risk inherent in checking a sample heavily outweighs alternative ways of inspecting their goods before shipment.

How To Import From China

Elksourcing：Tips to Improve Communication with Chinese Suppliers

Apr 10, 2021 , by 露露

Do you encounter communication problems with your Chinese supplier? Perhaps the factory doesn’t understand your requirements. Or maybe your factory contact is slow to communicate or altogether unresponsive. Sometimes they say they will do something, but it doesn’t get done. Here you’ll learn about three tips you can improve communication with suppliers right away.

1. Keep emails simple to improve communication with suppliers

Sometimes we see clients send a barrage of emails to a supplier in a short period of time – all pertaining to the same issue. These emails sometimes contain technical English jargon, local slang or spelling mistakes.

You may feel your supplier’s English is pretty good. But chances are, they are copying those emails directly into an online translator so they understand the meaning in their native language.

If you have many different emails, use complex language or have spelling mistakes, this can very easily lead to a misunderstanding on the part of your supplier as they won’t clearly understand the key points.

2. Follow up with a phone call to improve communication with suppliers

Getting your contact on the phone is one way to quickly improve communication with suppliers. If the supplier does not respond to an email within a reasonable amount of time, or just becomes non-responsive in general, follow up with a phone call to find out what is going on.

If you’re waiting for the supplier to reply to a specific email, offer to review the points over the phone so you can gauge whether or not they genuinely understand the points being raised.

Not receiving any news at all is on par with receiving bad news when dealing with your supplier, particularly if it’s a Chinese supplier. It’s common for a supplier in China to withhold bad news by simply not responding to a customer’s inquiry. Generally, silence means there is a problem, or something is not being understood and needs to be clarified.

A factory in Asia typically won’t reach out and say, “We don’t understand this, can you please explain?”, as it could lead to a loss of face. However, if you give your supplier contact a call to find out what is going on, they may be able to confide in you the real situation.

If a factory cannot grasp a certain concept verbally, go back to basics. Pretend that you are explaining the issue to your 5-year-old nephew. Speaking slowly and in simpler terms will go a long way in making sure your supplier understands.

3. Limit the number of contact people to improve communication with suppliers

Dealing with a large number of people can really complicate your order. That’s why minimizing the number of people you need to talk with can improve communication with suppliers. Ideally, you would have one key contact person from your organization who deals with a supplier. Likewise, you’d do well to be communicating through a single key contact person for at the factory or vendor.

Although difficult with larger clients who deal with large factories and multiple projects, the more people involved, the greater chance there is for miscommunication.

Wherever possible, allocate one key individual to be the point person in dealing with the factory. That person should be someone that is sensitive to the local cultural and has an ability to communicate in simple, easy-to-understand English.

Conclusion

Manufacturing products in another country is challenging. But communicating with your supplier doesn’t have to be. To improve communication with suppliers:

1). Keep your emails simple.

2). Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call.

3). Limit the number of contact people where possible.

shipping FAQ

Elksourcing：How Can Product Inspection Help Shipping Deadlines?

Apr 10, 2021 by 露露

Many importers worry about meeting commitments they’ve made to their customers. One such commitment, particularly for buyers importing promotional goods, is meeting a particular shipping deadline. And this commitment is often especially important around the holiday season.

What’s the solution? Product inspection helps importers meet shipping deadlines.

One of the more obvious ways importers receive value from regular inspections of orders is improved product quality. But any experienced importer knows that delivering the product to the customer when they want it is just as important as getting them the product they want.

1. Regular product inspections let you check in on your supplier

Imagine being able to check in on your supplier at various stages in production to make sure they are on track to meet their shipping deadline. A product inspector visiting the factory at various intervals can tell you:

1). If the factory has received raw materials for your order and what kind of incoming quality control (IQC) factory staff are performing on the materials.

2). If the factory has started production and, if so, how many pieces are currently at each stage of production.

3). The state of the goods in production (with during production inspection) – the quality level and whether or not the goods are meeting your specifications.

4). How many pieces are finished and packaged, as well as the state of finished goods.

Inspection could reveal the factory started production on the glasses two weeks ago but is still waiting on the felt material needed for the hats. Or maybe you’ll find the factory is printing the wrong logo on the hats. Then again, it’s possible the goods are being produced at the same time and meeting quality expectations but won’t be ready to ship by your deadline.

You can judge the odds of shipping on time with reports from your inspector at different production milestones. This insight helps importers meet shipping deadlines because they can find any issues and address them with their supplier.

2. Product inspection can reduce time needed for rework

It’s clear that product inspection can give you a good look at the state of your order at the factory – as if you were standing on the line yourself. There are a couple ways that regular product inspection can reduce time needed for rework.

1). Rework needed after shipping

The fact that inspection can save you time on reworking defective product yourself may seem obvious and straightforward. But it’s the rework you have to do after receiving defective goods at a distribution center that is the costliest.

For one thing, you may not have the necessary equipment, skillset or tools to repair or rework the goods yourself. And if you are capable, the cost of labor to rework the goods is usually much higher than if the factory had carried out the rework, which they will typically do at no extra cost.

2). Rework needed before shipping

Final inspection of packaged goods almost always reveals quality defects. But many times, these defects are introduced to products well before the goods are packaged.

3. Improving overall communication

An overwhelming number of importers report difficulties communicating with suppliers and the delays caused by their misunderstandings. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Importers are often working with a supplier half a world away that speaks a very different language. Cultural and legal differences can complicate the business relationship even further.

1). Western-managed, locally-hired inspectors

Your typical product inspector is usually locally hired. This means they have no problem communicating with factory management and staff during inspection in the local language. Depending on whether you hire an inspector internally or hire an independent third-party inspector, that person might be managed by a combination of local and Western staff that speak the local language as well.

2). More clarity and faster response

Let’s say the promotional glasses you’ve ordered have a small medallion glued into the frame to showcase a logo. A product inspection report shows that the medallion is easily falling out of some of the frames. Naturally, you want to know if the problem lies in the glue being used or in the gluing process.

Conclusion

Importers commit to delivering a certain product at an acceptable level of quality within a given deadline. As an importer, the success or failure of your business hangs in the balance of satisfying your commitment to your customers. And regular product inspection, for many importers, is one way of ensuring that commitment is met.

Shopify Tutorial

Elksourcing：How to Address Product Defects Found During QC Inspection?

Apr 10, 2021 , by 露露

What can you do when you find product defects during QC inspection? Do you ask your supplier to rework the affected goods? Is corrective action going to delay shipping the order? What other options do you have for addressing quality issues?

If you’re like most importers, you’ve probably asked yourself some or all of these questions at one time or another. That’s because defects are an unavoidable part of mass production. Even if you’re cautious about limiting quality defects in your order, chances are pre-shipment inspection will still reveal some in the finished goods. And the question of how best to address unacceptable quality issues is nearly universal among importers.

Maybe you’re concerned about balancing the benefits of fixing defects with the risk of damaging the product in the process. Or maybe you’re in a rush to ship an order and just want to know how to prevent defects found this time from recurring in future orders. Whatever your concerns, there are a number of ways to address quality defects now and in the future.

1. Corrective action through product rework

If product defects identified in QC inspection are correctable, one of the most common actions importers take is to ask their supplier to rework or repair the defective goods. By having factory workers remedy any unacceptable defects in your products, you can limit the number of unsellable units. Product rework is most suitable for defects that workers can easily fix in a short amount of time following product inspection.

For example, perhaps the wrong barcodes were printed on retail packaging. In this case, it’s relatively easy for the factory to print out a new sticker and apply it over wrong one. Another example is excess glue on the sole of a shoe. Sometimes factory workers can wipe away the residue with little risk of damaging the product.

Rework is often appropriate for these sorts of defects that require minimal time and effort for the factory to fix. It improves the quality of the order to an acceptable level for you and your customers, typically without causing more quality problems, increasing your costs or delaying shipment.

2. Re-inspection for reworked products

Importers choosing to have defective products reworked or replaced will typically request a re-inspection of the products after rework is completed, sometimes at the supplier’s expense. Re-inspection helps confirm that the factory has actually taken corrective action and the reworked products now meet your quality standards.

3. Product destruction for unsellable goods

For serious defects that render your goods unsellable and can’t be corrected, you may have to resort to destroying the defective goods. You’ll definitely want to consider all of your options before resorting to product destruction, but sometimes it’s a necessary step to take. Usually importers decide to destroy defective goods when they’re concerned about: protecting their brand from substandard, counterfeit goods, or preventing competitors and resellers from buying and selling their inventory.

4. Updating your QC checklist to prevent recurrence of product defects

You can generally address product defects almost immediately after they’re found during QC inspection. But you can also use inspection results to prevent recurrence of the same types of defects in the future. You should always update your QC checklist and product specifications following every inspection with any new and relevant information, such as: 

New or updated inspection criteria, especially newly known quality defects to report, adjustments to product dimensions, changes to product components or materials required.

Conclusion

Every importer wants to receive an order of perfect goods at their warehouse. But when you discover unacceptable product defects during QC inspection, it’s up to you to take action to address them and prevent their recurrence. And how you choose to address defects will depend on the type of defects found, your product type and your customers’ expectations.

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Elksourcing：Common QC Inspection Types and Their Purpose

Apr 10, 2021 , by 露露

When importing from China, it’s very important to try to detect defects at earlier stage as possible. It’s way too late if you find out the defects when the products arrive at your premises. Managing product quality with QC inspection lowers your risk of product returns, unhappy customers and many other costly and avoidable problems.

How to do it? Following are the common QC inspection types and their purpose. Let’s discover what value inspection offers at various times to determine when it’s best for you.

1. Where quality control inspections offer value at different production stages

Every inspection type aims to detect any product defects or other issues before the factory ships the finished goods. But QC inspection provides different insight into your product when performed at different points in production. The greatest value in finding problems early is being able to address them with your supplier before it becomes difficult or expensive to do so, such as after you or your customers have received the shipment.

Importers commonly perform product inspection at various stages of production or shipping, including:

1) Quality control inspection helps identify product defects.

2) Inspecting semi-finished products and finished products during production.

3) Inspecting finished products (with or without packaging) after production.

4) Monitoring the loading of shipping containers.

2. Incoming quality control (IQC)

Inspecting parts and materials chosen for a product, a process called incoming quality control (IQC), is an important first step in identifying any quality problems. Importers typically leave IQC to their supplier’s own staff to perform, rather than visiting the factory themselves or hiring a third-party QC inspector for this purpose. If you’ve bargained your order price too low when negotiating with suppliers, don’t be surprised if factories attempt to recoup lost margin on your order by using cheaper, substandard materials or parts.

3. First article inspection (FAI)

For some importers, the next prudent step in identifying product defects after IQC is checking some of the first mass-produced units. During first article inspection (FAI), an inspector will check one or a few of the first units of an order off the production line, or a unit from the first production lot.

Reviewing a golden sample is similar to FAI in that it aims to establish a quality standard for production. But the insight gained from FAI will typically vary greatly from that obtained by reviewing a pre-production sample.

4. In-process quality control (IPQC) and during production inspection (DUPRO)

The next logical stage to consider quality control inspection after FAI is when production is well underway. The two types of inspections commonly performed here are in-process quality control (IPQC) and during production inspection (DUPRO). The difference between these is that inspectors generally perform IPQC on semi-finished goods, while they conduct DUPRO on finished goods. DUPRO typically occurs when the factory has manufactured 15-80 percent of the total order quantity.

5. Final inspection

The most common time importers choose to perform quality control inspection is when most of the goods are finished—typically 80 percent or more. Usually called final inspection, this represents your last opportunity to see the quality and condition of your shipment while it’s still in the factory. Many experienced importers and QC professionals consider final inspection to be the bare minimum required level of product oversight.

Like DUPRO and some other earlier inspections, QC staff typically use AQL sampling or an alternative sampling method for final inspection. But final inspection typically offers a look at a more representative sample than inspections conducted earlier because more of the units will be finished.

6. Monitoring container loading

Some importers require inspection while workers load their goods into a container for shipping. During the process of monitoring container loading, inspectors check the packed cartons and loading method and verify workers have properly sealed the shipping container before transit.

Inspectors might open one or two cartons to check a small sample of product and verify packing method. But most factory managers want to load the containers and get them out of the way as quickly as possible. So, it’s not practical to inspect a larger sample as you might with DUPRO or final inspection. The main points of monitoring container loading usually include:

1) Checking the internal condition of the container for moisture, leakage, contamination and other issues;

2) Monitoring loading by the factory workers and recording quantities of cartons loaded;

3) Verifying the sealing of containers and recording details of the seal placed on the containers.

How To Import From China

Elksourcing：Benefits of Quality Control Inspection for Importers

Apr 10, 2021 , by 露露

Is quality control inspection really necessary before shipping? What value am I actually getting from inspection, and what risks do I take in forgoing it?

Many importers manufacturing good in ask these questions. And if you’re wise, you too will consider what real benefits QC inspection offers and whether these benefits outweigh the costs. Because, ultimately, only you know what product quality your customers demand and the price they’re willing to pay to get it.

So, what are the benefits of quality control inspection for you, the importer? Let’s dive right into those that likely matter most to you.

1. Quality control inspection lowers your costs

Yes. You read that right. You may be thinking, if I have to pay someone to inspect my products, and inspection doesn’t directly improve quality, how can it lower my costs?

Despite the fees you might typically pay someone to visit your supplier’s factory and inspect, product inspection actually tends to lower most importers’ overall costs. Inspection does this mainly by preventing costly rework and limiting defects that result in unsellable goods.

2. Inspection prevents costly product rework and repairs

Let’s imagine you import household refrigerators from a factory in China. You decide to save costs by forgoing inspection. But when you receive the finished goods you find that 30 percent of the units have doors that are out of alignment. Given the high quantity of affected units, you need to hire technicians to fix the defects before you can ship the refrigerators to your customers

3. Quality control inspection limits unsellable goods

We’ve seen how inspection before shipping can help limit the need for costly product rework or repairs. But what about product defects that can’t be corrected and result in unsellable goods? It will bring more loss to you.

4. QC inspection leads to more satisfied customers

If you’re using product inspection to lower your costs, your customers may be delighted to see those savings reflected in a lower price they pay for your products.

But besides more competitive pricing, how else does quality control inspection help you improve your customer satisfaction? Inspection serves your customers by helping you deliver their goods on time and with fewer defects.

5. Inspection helps your customers receive their goods on time

A lesser-known benefit of inspection to your customers is its tendency to prevent production and shipping delays. There are a couple main ways that inspection achieves this:

Inspectors alert you when your supplier’s factory is behind schedule by reporting on production status.

Inspectors alert you to quality issues earlier, especially with during production inspection and incoming quality control.

6. QC inspection improves your supplier relationships

At first glance, it’s easy to see how scrutinizing your supplier’s work can cause tensions to flare between you and your supplier. The inspector’s role is to check the goods and report back to you about any issues they find. So why would your supplier want to risk having to spend more time and resources on your order to correct problems before shipping?

The answer is that some suppliers don’t welcome this risk. These are the kind of suppliers you probably want to avoid. And product inspection helps you avoid them.

7. Inspection helps you screen potential suppliers

The best way to limit defects in your products is to prevent them from occurring in the first place. And the best way to prevent them is to clarify your expectations upfront during the sourcing process before choosing a supplier.

Inspection encourages greater accountability and transparency from suppliers

There are a lot of ways you may be able to hold your suppliers accountable for meeting your requirements. A great way to set establish accountability is to clearly state your expectations in documents, such as purchase order or QC checklist, on which you outline your product specifications, packaging requirements, any required on-site testing procedures for QC and more.

How To Import From China

Elksourcing：5 Steps to Successfully Dealing with Chinese Suppliers

Apr 10, 2021 , by 露露

After you attend Canton Fair or HK Show, you collect many contacts for a potential supplier in China. What to do the next? Follow below five steps to successfully dealing with Chinese suppliers.

1. Develop the Relationship

The first step before striking a deal with a supplier is to reach out and request samples of the specific product. Not only does this allow you to get a hands-on feel of the product, it helps both you and the manufacturer agree on the product requirements and cost. Oftentimes, language and cultural differences can slow down the communication process, but it’s vital to iron out these details upfront before placing a large order.

2. Perform Due Diligence

Once you’re happy with the product, it’s important to perform background research to make sure you’re dealing with a reputable company. There are several free resources available online that allow you to find blacklisted companies throughout China, although these lists may not be updated regularly. For more comprehensive results, consider hiring a company to perform a factory audit. A simple factory audit takes just one day and the cost is affordable. This is an easy way to avoid scams and make sure the factory has the experience and capacity to manufacture your product.

3. Negotiate Your Contract

Once you’ve finalized your vendor and price, there are still several details to iron out; most importantly, your payment conditions. While there are several options, never fully finance your purchase order in advance. Instead, consider paying a predetermined percentage upfront (typically 30%) followed by the remaining balance when the order is completed and the inspection result is PASS. Line up a proper purchase order outlining your product, labeling, and packaging specifications, as well as a product checklist if applicable, terms of purchase, and a quality control plan.

4. Finalize Approval Samples

After finalizing your contract, it’s time to get a final product sample. Request one for you and one for your quality control company. This step prepares you for production by confirming the color, shape, functionality and feel of the product as well as identifying non-conformities and deciding which are acceptable.

When necessary, plan to perform any necessary laboratory testing to ensure the product meets any applicable local and international regulations. After all, you don’t want your shipment to get rejected at customs (for regulatory non-compliance) or by your customer (for bad quality).

5. Create a Quality Control Strategy

A strong quality control strategy aims to detect defects throughout the production process, which is why it’s critical to partner with your supplier. In reality, quality control benefits both parties because suppliers can successfully complete purchase orders and you are happy with the final product.

shipping FAQ

Elksourcing：Importance of QC Checks for Packaging

Apr 10, 2021 , by 露露

Importers often give much attention to product quality control when it comes to checking design, appearance, function and features. But a lack of attention paid to packaging quality control is most often to blame when a product is damaged or delayed during transit. And it’s a shame because other checks performed during product inspection become irrelevant when your product doesn’t survive the long journey abroad.

Your end consumer may be tearing apart and then discarding your packaging as soon as they get their hands on your product. But that doesn’t mean you should rush through determining your packaging requirements with little regard for materials, assortment and inspection. Thankfully, there are several easy packaging checks you can perform during inspection to help you confirm whether your product will reach your customers undamaged and on time.

1. Verify package assortment and quantities

Most small consumer products are packed in mass in larger shipping cartons for transport and warehousing. And in large retailer warehouses, staff won’t necessarily scan every individual product that comes into their warehouse. Rather, they may just scan one unit and input the number listed on the carton for inventory.

But just because warehouse staff might not meticulously count each product doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay attention to your order quantity and assortment as it leaves the factory. Ensuring you receive the right number of units per SKU is essential for keeping track of your inventory and meeting customer demand. You don’t want your product to be unexpectedly backordered right before a big holiday rush. And you certainly don’t want to receive a smaller quantity of goods from your supplier than you paid for.

An independent or third-party inspector can visit your supplier’s facility and confirm your order quantity and assortment on-site during final inspection. If you’re packing similar, but not identical, SKUs within the same carton, it’s important to check the number and proportion of each SKU packed.

2. Check sealing method and packaging materials

Sealing, strapping and binding methods can influence your packaging’s structural integrity and durability against external elements.

A QC checklist with detailed packaging requirements helps your suppliers understand your expectations and makes it easy to confirm them later during inspection. For example, depending on your experiences with international shipping, you might have a personal preference for a certain type of strapping method for your cartons. Metal bands are typically stronger than plastic bands, but they also have the potential to rust. Plastic strapping is also lightweight and easy to work with and dispose of.

You may also choose to specify the sealing method of inner cartons and polybags in your checklist. Even if your shipping carton is adequately sealed, the products inside could be damaged if they jostle excessively during shipment. Polybags can be sealed in a number of ways, from vacuum sealing by a machine to a simple piece of tape placed over the opening. Any point worth checking is worth including in a QC checklist you provide to your supplier and inspection team.

3. Check shipping marks and barcodes

You’re much more likely to face shipping delays if carton markings or barcodes are incorrect, missing or illegible. And yet the presence of incorrect shipping marks or barcodes is one of the most common defects found during packaging inspection. Luckily, you or your inspector can easily check markings and barcodes with only very basic equipment needed.

4. Carton drop test

Some stress on your product during its shipping and handling process is unavoidable. But the consequences resulting from inadequate packaging can range from minor packaging and product damage, to customer returns or outright refusal by your distributors to stock your product. And what better way to put your packaging durability to the test than to simulate the stresses of shipping and handling?

A carton drop test is a basic on-site test that inspectors can carry out in any facility for most packaged products. The test mimics the rough handling that cartons might be subjected to throughout shipment through a series of drops. The International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) has established some guidelines and procedures for how to conduct a drop test for reliable results.

5. Check for compliance with retailer and brand packaging requirements

Many retailers face problems with overcrowded warehouses, especially as a shift towards ecommerce has led to reduced inventories. The result has been a shift of responsibility, as retailers now hold their suppliers, importers like you, accountable for meeting their packaging requirements. And these retailers will sometimes charge their suppliers extra fees when their packaging violates these requirements.