We have just faced a huge challenge with one of our regular orders. We need to make sure that 100% of the goods are high quality and up to the standards we asked for. Our customer is an old successful company, and their products have high demand on the market and they offer top quality products in the American Continent.

So how could we make sure they would receive the products with the expected quality? If there is a mistake during production, it should be solved immediately and during production. Even with a final inspection, the goods are already finished, and in most cases the buyer can’t wait any longer for the factory to correct those mistakes replacing poor quality goods will cause (1) delay on delivery,(2) double work for the factory, and (3) both sides would be angry without willing to do business again

What did we do? We assigned a Quality Inspector to have an eye on the factory EVERY DAY during production, rejecting the goods our customer wouldn’t accept.
And what did I find the same day we assigned our inspector? That Wal-Mart is doing the same, sending their people to have an eye on the factory, after Mattel’s big scandal, who wouldn’t be afraid?

The factory wasn’t happy with their new “staff member” at first, but after all, we are doing our job, and we are doing it at its best though that might be hard to understand at first, it’s the best solution. Factories should be in charge of their quality, and if they can’t, we are going to give them a hand.

For those of you doing business in China, take extra caution. There a hundreds of excellent suppliers in China but also many that would cut the corners to save some pennies

Talk to you later,

Sergio de Leon