As an old Durbanite, now stationed in China, and deeply involved with quality control in China, I'd like to offer my 2c's worth...
Personally, I have little sympathy for people who complain about bad quality. The quality you get, is directly related to a number of factors directly in your control:
1. Price - if you "nickle and dime" your Chinese supplier to the point where they are making virtually nothing out of the deal, you are asking for trouble. I have a side business where I manufacure very high-end baseball caps - I am happy to pay a bit extra, because then the supplier is happy with his margins, and my products come out PERFECT everytime (sigh, shameless punt: www.PandadStuff.com for the caps).
2. Specifications - if you lax about product specifications, then they will be lax about production standards. You have to (!!!!!!!) have very detailed spec's on your product - even down to raw materials.
3. Samples - usually the samples the supplier will give you will be of excellent quality. Ensure that the factory give you pre-production samples also - based on factory-floor output - not from the sampleroom dept. Seal the sample up securely - keep one at the factory, give one to your client, and keep one at hand - that way all parties are "eating off the same table".
4. Inspect - Pls see my previous "China for Dummies" post this morning. If your product is high value, high risk - have a third-party inspection company (shameless punt: www.TopInspection.com) perform a DUPRO inspection - it will protect your quality. Make sure my inspectors have full access to specification documents - AND - the approved pre-production sample. Then, prior to shipment, have an AQL-based final random pre-shipment inspection done.
5. Payment Terms - make it very clear from the beginning that the shipment and subsequent payment will only be done on an approved inspection report. If by L/C, make it an official condition, that an approved inspection report/certificate by us will need to be issued.
6. Contracts - OK, this is getting interesting now in China, as recourse to the legal system is getting stronger. Ensure that your contract with the Chinese supplier is in English AND Chinese, and that it is signed and chopped by them.
7. Relationships (Guanxi) - if you intend on doing a lot of orders with factories/suppliers, be sure to maintain and develop a good relationship. It is important to visit here regularly, and to build that relationship. Never ever let any senior management loose face - I made that mistake once, and it took 6 months of hard work, whisky & KTV to get back to a reasonable relationship.
Anyways, the above are just my observations as an old South African living in China....
Cheers,
Max
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