Coined as The Rising Dragon, China has risen in the past decade to global power. The phrase “Made in China” has become familiar to local households, a testament to China’s growing presence worldwide. With various exported products and services, ranging from retail and merchandise to technology, China has proven its reliability and production quality. It has never been easier and safer to import from China.
For this reason, international companies and importers are now looking into sourcing services and importing products from China. But with a service or company located in an offshore site, how does a global importing company ensure their product quality? The best solution is to source initial production inspection services in China. These third-party services act as brokers between you and the factories or manufacturing companies, bridging gaps and ensuring your requirements and quality standards are satisfied.
Why Source an Initial Production Inspection Service in China
An IPI service in China, such as this company, aims to perform a thorough inspection of the supplier’s raw materials. As part of the assessment, the service identifies quality concerns and applies corrective actions before the raw materials are used for production or distributed to the manufacturing assembly lines.
Sourcing a third-party IPI service may have been a concern to global importers in the past. Yet today, most companies outsource these services. Here are a few of the reasons why:
- Low-budget and cost-saving: Take advantage of the inexpensive labor force and the suppliers and materials’ affordability and accessibility.
- Effective communication and reporting: Think of it as having an interpreter that translates communication between two languages, thus promoting effective communication. The third-party service being in China can directly communicate with Chinese and English-speaking suppliers.
- Updated import or export rules: The import and export rules, charges, and fees frequently change. As an importer, you do not get easily updated when these rules change. A third-party service in China, on the other hand, stays up-to-date with the changing import or export rules.
- Expertise and high integrity: China became a global leader because of its expertise and innovation. This reputation alone is worth the trust in the value they place on product quality and is worth your investment in the third-party inspection service.
Why Initial Production Inspection is Necessary
The Initial Production Inspection typically occurs after the manufacturer completes about 20% of the first batch of mass production samples. The IPI validates the quantity, quality, and specifications of the raw materials, ensuring the materials meet the standards and requirements. These subpar quality and materials issues must be identified early-on so that corresponding corrective actions can be implemented before mass production.
The following are a few benefits of an initial production inspection:
- Ensures that the raw materials meet the part or product specifications and standards before these are even used for production.
- Identifies issues and carries out corresponding corrective actions, thus eliminating quality issues in the products.
- Streamlines the processes and production schedules so that there are no future delays or stoppages encountered in the production lines.
- Prevents significant problems that could have been encountered at a later stage.
- Reduces production costs and waste.
What are the Factors Considered During an Initial Production Inspection
The IPI must be accredited and adhere to the internationally-recognized standards set by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). However, practices and techniques vary depending on the service or company performing the initial product inspection because of limitations. These limitations and variances are one of the reasons why it is wise to invest in a service or company that is reputable, trusted, and with a tried-and-tested set of inspection processes in place.
The following are a few factors that should be considered during an initial production inspection:
- Production schedule, including timely production and delivery, without delays and stoppages.
- Quantity and quality of materials
- Raw material and product design, including the style and colors, dimension and weight, artworks and labels, and tidiness
- Compliance of the composition of raw materials with industry standards
- Productions tests, such as the drop tests, heat tests, resistance tests, and so forth as applicable to the product
- Production tools
- Environmental safety
- Workmanship or product output
- Client’s requirements
A Cost-Effective Solution That Doesn’t Compromise on Quality
Optimizing businesses entails different strategies, including low-cost and effective measures that can maximize profit without compromising quality. China is now a global leader in initial production inspection services. These services connect the client and the supplier through the service’s comprehensive inspection procedures that ensure the client’s requirements are satisfied. The supplier also receives appropriate feedback and an opportunity to improve cases where the raw materials are verified as unsatisfactory.
Product quality is always a worthy investment in any business. If a highly equipped third-party service can help you guarantee your product quality, it is worth investing in. And when these services are in a trusted global leader such as China, it combines global expertise that is also budget friendly.