Pre-Shipping Inspections in China
Overview
Our inspectors will carry out random inspections on fully finished goods as required. All we require is a specification or product checklist. For simpler products, we can inspect against a 'Golden Sample' if required. We will normally inspect in accordance with MIL-STD 105E. The inspections available cover the full range of product material quality, build quality, assembly, functionality and also packaging – it's up to you.
On completion of the inspection a report will be issued. The purpose of the report is to give you the confidence to authorise final payment of your order. Should problems be detected, we will offer possible solutions and recovery actions in our report.
Pre-shipment inspections can be carried out as a 'one-off' task or as the final product check in our wider manufacturing management service. The Pre-Shipment inspection can often be carried out at the same time as a Container Loading Inspection.
If too many defective articles are found within the sample lot, the supplier must re-check or scrap all parts in stock and issue an 8D CAR within 4 days.
C2W Quality Inspectors use the recognized international Quality Control standard ISO 2859- 1 (ANSI/ASQC Z1.4-2003), also known as the AQL Tables to measure acceptable levels of quality during their routine product inspections.
The AQL (acceptable quality level) can be set to an agreed figure for each type of defect that determines clearly the number of parts that are allowed to have certain types of defects before the entire lot is rejected and dealt with by the manufacturer.
Levels set are project dependant but in general defects will be judged (as an example) as follows:
1. Safety or Critical Defect (functional included) – the entire lot will be rejected if any safety defect is found. This could be a sharp edge, malfunction or anything that could cause physical injury.
AQL - 0
2. Major Defect – Determined as serious scratches or obvious deformations.
AQL - 1
3. Minor Defect – Dirt, light scratches, minor colour differences and small burrs fall into this category.
AQL - 4.
Service Summary
A PSI can be carried out as a 'one-off' task or as the final product check in a wider reaching manufacturing management service.
A typical C2W PSI will cover some or all of the following key verification points depending on the specific form, function and construction of your product.
Production Lot Quantity
General Build Quality
Adherence to Golden Sample
Core Product Functionality
Size, Shape, Weight and Product Dimensions
Visual and Product Aesthetics
Product and/or Packaging Colours and Print Quality
Packing and/or Assembly
Packaging Quality, Weight and General Fit for Purpose
Product and Carton Branding, Marking, Labeling
Raw Material, Components and Accessory Verification
Compliance with International Certification Standards
Documentation - Test Reports, Shipping Paperwork
Product Safety Checks
Custom Client Checkpoints
Optional Extras
We are always keen to customize our inspection solution to meet your exact needs. Contact our sales team today to discuss your options.
- Western Inspector
- Same Day or 24 Hour Notice Inspection
- Chinese Holiday Inspections
- Overnight or Weekend Inspections
The Alternatives
A PSI is your final opportunity to identify any product quality issues before goods are released from your manufacturing facility and shipped to your final required destination.
Final balance payment (typically 50-70% of order value) is often required ahead of product being released from a manufacturing facility particularly in the early stages of a supply relationship. A PSI provides you with the reassurance and necessary safeguards that goods are fit for purpose before you make final payment transfer. Negotiations on faulty or substandard product become much more difficult once full payment has been made and your goods are 7,000 miles away from the factory where they were produced. The time delay and direct cost to rectify a product issue in China identified during a PSI inspection will be much less (even if the recommended action is a full remanufacture of goods) than corrective measures in your home country where your options become much more limited.
A comprehensive PSI will eliminate the risk of faulty product reaching your doorstep and provide you with the confidence and data necessary to reject your shipment and negotiate an appropriate corrective action plan with your supplier should issues be identified.
Optional Extras
No independent product quality check before shipment.
Relying on factory only quality verification is a recipe for disaster particularly with a manufacturer who is new to your product or youas a business.
While you may have a long-term manufacturing trusted partner or even a tier one supplier in place you still run the significant risk of ‘quality fade’ or systemic failure of the factory’s own internal quality procedures. A well-defined and independent quality inspection program gives you true control over your manufacturing activities and eliminates the risk of costly product issues on arrival.
If major product failures over the past few years with some of the world’s largest brands have taught us anything it is that no one is immune to product quality issues. If you wait for them to arise it is often too late to save the damage to your reputation not to mention the crippling financial impact of a product recall on a business. The best approach is always to be proactive rather than reactive and minimize your risks through the implementation of a strategic independent quality program inside your manufacturing facility before your products leave China.
Fly to China and verify product quality yourself in person.
Taking on the responsibility for quality yourself can be a tempting and potentially useful approach in the infancy of any Asian manufacturing project however frequent factory visits quickly become unfeasible from both a time and cost perspective asproduction quantities and frequency of orders increase.
On top of the direct costs of visas, flights, hotels, in-country travel and translation services your time costs spent on the ground also need to be considered. These costs can quickly spiral particularly if issues are identified and additional time on the ground to solve problems is required.
With C2W you have a team of dedicated qualified quality personnel on the ground for a fraction of the cost of a flight alone.
Hire your own QC personnel in China directly.
This approach carries a range of major risks.
Firstly and importantly such an approach would be illegal with regards to Chinese labour law employment regulations. The C2W quality team are in contrast all full-time, long-term, trusted legal employees of our HK Registered company and China Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE) with a decade of international trading history.
Most critically is the honesty and integrity of your operative; with no on the ground support system or direct monitoring from a legitimate management presence you must rely on blind faith that your operative is working at all timeswith your best interests in mind.
Utilize an alternative third party inspection service.
While a range of alternative similar third party organizations do exist at C2W we feel our experience and setup provides a service level that cannot be matched. Unlike our competitors our services are 100% flexible and will be customized to meet your exact needs.
The qualified and experienced C2W team goes the extra mile to become fully familiarized with you, your products, manufacturing processes, project history and full supplier network. At C2W we understand that every project and client is different and a cookie cutter inspection template may not be the best fit for your specific China inspection requirements.