Import Basics: Top 10 Quality Points When Buying From China
It’s lead paint on a children’s gift toy. It is a computer mouse that can seriously shock the user. It seems like every new day brings a wave of product recalls and safety alerts regarding products from China. Importers and distributors of promotional products are just as susceptible as retailers to the disastrous effect on business and reputation that the distribution of a dangerous product will bring. As more of us in the promotional products industry deal with suppliers from China on a daily basis, the following strategies can serve as a guide to ensure you receive only the highest quality products from abroad.
10. Know who you’re working with – When you buy products from China, it’s often hard to tell if you’re working with a factory, a trading company, or something in between. When it comes to product and quality issues, it’s critical that you know exactly who you’re working with and that the relationship is transparent to all parties. If you are not working directly with the factory and the supplier cannot give you satisfactory answers about the product, then they are inhibiting the sourcing process for you and you should reconsider the relationship. If you are having difficulty identifying who you are working with, you should contact a specialized China Supplier Verification company.
9. Keep emails short, sweet and to the point – I have great respect for the amount of English used by local Chinese staff, having never lived in an English speaking country. However, based on my business experience in China for over 7 years, I will tell you that your China-based supplier will most likely only understand about 50% of what you write in emails. Keep this in mind the next time you launch a lengthy explanation or suggestion to a foreign supplier. English is not this person’s first language. Keep your emails simple and your instructions clear.
8. Payment to Chinese suppliers: bank transfer (W/T) or letter of credit (L/C)? – Having a secure and well-communicated payment agreement before placing your order is beneficial for both parties and one of the parameters of a relationship that promotes quality. Unless you have a long-standing and trusting relationship with your supplier, L/C should always be your preferred payment method. If you haven’t used an L/C before, contact your bank’s business department for help.
7. Save money and headaches with third-party quality control (“QC”): Working with a third-party quality control company in China allows you to take advantage of the experience of companies whose mission is to ensure that the quality of products meet certain standards. These companies provide services such as product inspection, factory audit, and laboratory testing. The service is generally available for a flat fee that can offer great value relative to the total cost of your purchase (approximately $350 to inspect a shipment of merchandise). The best known companies in China that provide quality control services are InTouch Services, Bureau Veritas and Intertek Testing.
6. Confirm your production schedule – don’t be fooled! – Receiving your order from China on time is just as important as receiving the correct product. Chinese factories are notorious for ramping up less important (to them) production when a more profitable order arrives. Quality issues are more likely to occur as a result of the vendor rushing to catch up on the schedule they promised you. So make sure you’re asking the right questions and getting answers via email. These questions include: a) When will production start? Being 50% done? Complete? Send? (Confirm that these milestones are being achieved) b) Have all the raw materials for this order arrived at the factory yet? What about all the packing materials?
5. Don’t be afraid of the phone: you can only communicate with email. When you go back and forth with a foreign supplier, does it sometimes seem like they just don’t “get” you? The time difference can be a hassle, but don’t let that stop you from arranging a conference call with your overseas provider. Online telephony like Skype, which almost everyone in China is familiar with, makes it easy and free to communicate with contacts in China. Although this may not work for a provider with a low level of English, I suggest that you never place an order without at least one telephone conversation.
4. Check raw materials or risk it all: It is absolutely integral to the quality of your product that you know exactly what materials are being used and request documentation from the supplier that the materials are safe. The US continues to see recall after recall of products that have been made with substandard materials. For example, if the item you are purchasing is white plastic, you must ensure that the white plastic meets general flammability standards. If the item is likely to come into contact with food, make sure it is food grade. You should assume that the factory you are buying from in China will use the cheapest possible materials unless you specify otherwise. Insist that your provider provide you with written verification. The FDA and other US organizations have regulations about what plastics, metals, and other materials can be safely distributed. If your supplier cannot verify this, please contact a third party quality control company for guidance.
3. Samples are worth a thousand photos: When dealing with China, you must insist on getting samples as often as possible. Don’t accept excuses unless there is a serious obstacle (ie no mold). Be sure to label and store these samples properly, and each time you receive a new sample, carefully compare it to the last one you received. Never confirm to a factory in China that production can continue until you approve a pre-production sample. You will be able to catch a large number of quality issues before they happen simply by implementing this process.
2. Don’t wait, inspect! – Just about the simplest, least expensive, and most efficient way to eliminate quality problems with your Chinese-made product is to inspect it BEFORE it leaves the factory in China. The best way to arrange such an inspection is with a third-party QA company (mentioned in #7 above), but it can also be arranged with your own staff in Asia or with your agent. You must insist on seeing an inspection report in English (including photos) documenting the process.
1. Product Quality Control Checklist – Poor communication during the ordering process is by far the leading cause of most quality issues with China-based suppliers. One sure way to dramatically improve this communication is with a product quality control checklist. The quality control list is a multi-page document that details in writing all the important aspects of the items you are purchasing. It is best to create it with the help of a third-party QA company that specifically offers this service, but you can create a simple and effective one on your own by following the points below. To learn more about creating a quality control checklist, check out Quality Wars, which is my blog on quality control. The key points that should be included in this checklist are:
a) Item details (item number, SKU description, etc.)
b) Content and Packaging
c) Color
d) Barcodes
e) Appearance and Function
f) Specifications and Special Requirements
g) Photos
Make sure you have this document professionally translated into Chinese and make the quality control checklist the starting point for discussing production and quality with your supplier. You may find that you don’t have many of the details that the QC checklist requires. If that’s the case, I suggest you create the template and send it to your vendor for completion. There is no shortage of promotional products companies now working directly with foreign suppliers. With all the horror stories we hear about import orders failing, you can distinguish yourself by being able to consistently deliver excellent quality. Your clients will certainly appreciate your due diligence and your ability to speak intelligently about your focus on quality.