Shopify Tutorial

Imagine if your factory made a serious error in the retail packaging and misspelled the name of your product. Not a good first impression, right? Worse still, imagine if your product was damaged during transit and didn’t even make it to the retail shelf because your supplier’s factory didn’t ship it with the proper protective packaging. Damaged or defective products can be a major drain on your company’s profits when they’re unsellable. Packaging inspection before shipping is vital to catching defects related to packaging and ensuring your products reach their destination on time and in the best condition. So, what issues should you or your inspector look for during packaging inspection? Let’s take a look at the three most common defects found during inspection, their consequences and what you can do to fix them. 1. Incorrect or missing shipping markings and barcodes You probably have specific requirements for labeling your packaging…

Over many years’ experience in China sourcing business, we’ve heard of stories about organizations seeking to resolve a recall situation. While many of these calls are reactive, a proactive approach is recommended to avoid the cost and overall impact to stakeholders. How can you avoid product recalls? 1. Know Product Safety Requirements –  Avoiding recalls generally starts with product design and specification development. Due diligence is required to determine if any applicable testing is required depending on the market in which it will be sold. Contacting a testing lab for a general inquiry is worth the time and effort. Researching ANSI, ASTM, FDA, CE standards is also advised. A third party’s expertise can also be leveraged here and specifications development/testing can be outsourced. 2. Know Your Suppliers – Supplier selection is a critical component in the quality process. Verifying suppliers and performing an on-site evaluation adds an additional level of assurance. Considerations include:…

How can importers establish a quality standard, and then enforce it for China sourcing? It’s always not easy. Below are 4 proven ways I learn from my experience about how to handle your suppliers in China. 1. Insist on getting a “perfect” sample Whenever possible, you should have a perfect sample (i.e. a prototype that is conform in all points to what you want to receive) in your hands before production is launched. The best practice is to get at least two samples, and send one back to the factory with your signature/stamp on it. This is the most basic way to establish your quality standard. The difficulty will be in the enforcement. In China, factories know that sending nice samples is important for them to get orders. These perfect samples (prepared by experimented technicians who take their time) are usually better that what can be made in mass production. Suppliers simply…

China today is full of incredible business opportunities for American entrepreneurs and business owners, but like any country in the West, it is not a perfect paradise. You must accept the risks of sourcing goods in China while embracing the opportunities that come with it. The good news is that you can manage and reduce these risks with a methodical approach to sourcing in China. 1. Lack of a Well-Defined Strategy When sourcing goods in China, you must have a well-defined sourcing strategy or “road map,” including locating the best supplier for your particular needs. Too few small companies do the proper due diligence when shopping for goods in China. As a result, they may not get the best deal in terms of price, quality, functionality, or timely delivery. 2. No Well-Defined Standards for Suppliers Before searching for suppliers, it is important to have defined standards. Well-defined standards can determine whether…

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…

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…

One question nearly every importer will ask at some point is, “Is this the best price I can get?” Like most importers, you’ve probably questioned whether the price quoted by your supplier is “fair” and “reasonable”. You might have wondered if you could get a lower price from another supplier. And maybe you’ve had the foresight to balance other important factors against price, such as quality and supplier relationships. 1. Get quotes from multiple suppliers Anyone who’s bothered to shop around at multiple stores knows it’s not always wise to accept the first price you see for an item, especially if that item is costly. The same logic applies when it comes to suppliers. It’s essential to obtain quotes from different suppliers before purchasing an order. You’ll gain a better understanding of the overall market rate for certain items. If you accept the first quote a supplier offers, you might be…

Can you imagine trying to determine the quality of a shipment of bullets by firing them one after another? How would you know what quantity to test in the total order if the method destroys each bullet you test? The U.S. military faced this exact problem during World War II. They wanted to check the quality of their munitions so that they could be confident the bullets would function properly in the field. But they didn’t want to test so many that there were none left to actually ship to the warfront. The solution they developed was MIL-STD-105, an important standard using acceptable quality levels (AQL). Later on, ANSI Z1.4 was developed from that original military standard, it became the most popular standard inspectors use today. Why AQL sampling is widely used for QC inspection? 1. Sampling saves time during inspection Inspecting every unit in an order of goods offers the…