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QUALITY CONTROL

Many importers do not realize that the quality control starts already with the selection of your supplier/factory in China.

Let me give you an example how it usually works. You visit one of the impressive Trade Fairs in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai or Ningbo and talk to as many exhibitors as possible.

Suddenly you find one company which has a nice booth, friendly staff and one of the products you had been looking for. On top, their prices are much cheaper than the rest of the other exhibitors.

You ask for a catalogue with a name card and write the quoted price on it. Since you are in a hurry because other visitors are already queuing behind you and you still want to meet many more companies that day, you tell the staff at the booth that your company will contact them as soon as you are back home.

You are very happy that you had a successful day and found a new trustworthy supplier.

Unfortunately you already made a big mistake.

... Never take prices which had been quoted to you during the Trade Fair for granted ...

Never take prices which had been quoted to you during the Trade Fair for granted especially if they are much lower than from other suppliers. If something seems to be too good to be true, it is not true. This can be especially applied to manufacturers in China. If one thing can be said about Chinese people it is that they know how to calculate.

Please ask yourself, why are the other companies unable to quote you a similar low price? Simply because they can’t because they have calculated their prices based on their BOM (bill of material) and know exactly what their total cost is. If someone can offer you a much lower price, he did either not do his homework properly or he simply is not playing fair.

Now let us continue with this story as it proceeds. Back home, you proudly present your meetings results to your sales managers and together you decide to go ahead with this specific new item.

... Now you have made the next big mistake ...

Now you have made the next big mistake. Never make any final decision before you have received proper samples which have been approved by your QC staff and have been found to comply with the legal requirement in your country and your requested quality standard.

But let’s continue with our story. Your sales managers do what they are supposed to do and therefore offer your new item to your customers based on the very competitive price which had been quoted to you at the booth.

You company has just made another big mistake by offering something to your customers based on a quotation from an unknown supplier.

I do not want to scare you too much but during my long working practice in China, I have seen such cases over and over again.

How can you make sure that your company does not become the victim of an incompetent factory and their staff?
Here some guidelines what you must consider each time when you are exploring new suppliers:

• What is the company background?
• When was the company established?
• How many workers does the factory have?
• Which kind of mechanical tools are used during production?
• Does the factory have any international approval like ISO 9000, 9001 etc?
• Are they subcontracting part of their production to other companies?
• Which customers does that factory have?
• Are they familiar with the specific requirement in your home country?
• Why is their price cheaper than their competitors?

Most importantly is to evaluate that new factory by yourself or an appointed company, specializing in this field.

If you want to know how the story continues please buy my eBook “How To Assure Quality Of Imports From China” in which I cover all important issues of quality control which will help you to avoid serious problems and most importantly save you big money.