A Brief Look at Quality Control in an Asian Factory

Quality control is arguably the single most important part of your supply chain. In the promotional products industry it is often neglected in order to save time or simply because the whole process is not transparent enough. This is unnecessary, since doing quality control right can be much faster and much more effective than some might think it is.

At QC workshops regularly attended by Emperor sales staff based in China, one thing becomes clear very soon: The efficiency in locating, evaluating and solving product quality problems on the ground is far higher than it is for sales teams based in abroad who may never even come in contact with the products they are selling.

Here are a few steps that only skim the surface of the whole process of quality control that professional factories adhere to:

1) Preparation of inspection. What often happens during QC inspection in promotional product factories is that the control takes place just before a product exits production. The key. however, is to start only when you are ready-rushing never works.

2) Control the product. Wrong: checking every single product. This is extremely time-consuming and sooner or later everything will look the same. Errors are guaranteed. Right: sample at set intervals. Sampling gives you a very accurate view of the overall quality and will save you precious time in the long run.

3) Control the process. Where did the issue occur? Observe production, compare production with previous projects and always protect the customer.

4) Debrief the supplier. Present QC inspection results and communicate the final decision before formalizing an agreement.

5) Capitalize. Continuously improve your production and QC inspection process by evaluating the outcome of inspections.

Quality control personnel can never and should never correct mistakes themselves. If a mistake ever occurs, QC personnel need to discuss the issue and the cause of the issue with production personnel and together come to a more efficient and better production process.