Today, in spite of the ongoing trade war between the US and China that has forced a few American businesses to move production and supply chain out of China, the nation still has a clear advantage over its rivals in the manufacturing industry thanks to its superior infrastructure, supply chain networks, and capacity for large-scale production.
Western businesses typically take their time before deciding to outsource their manufacturing. These choices are well thought out due to the significant changes they involve. There are organisational changes across departments as a result of moving production to a factory thousands of kilometres away.
One of the main concerns of those considering outsourcing from China is being stuck with a full production run of below-par goods that cannot be sold or returned to the facility.
Therefore, you need to create some strategy to see that while outsourcing your product from China the quality of the product is ensured. One of the very proven ways to ensure quality can be in process quality inspection.
It allows companies to assess the quality of their goods and provides them with more room for improvement.
Manufacturers can greatly benefit from this and make great use of in-process quality inspection. For this reason, a lot of companies use it in their manufacturing process. The following points will assist you in clearing up any confusion you may have regarding its usefulness.
1. Better quality control
Any manufacturing procedure results in the production of a batch of defective items. It can be due to a technical issue or some other issues.
The products are carefully scrutinised during product inspection. They are examined for any flaws or errors, and if any are found are sent back for rectification. You have greater control over the quality of your items and are free to stop depending on the situation.
2. Reduction in losses
You can make sure that every flawed product in your manufactured batches is corrected by conducting an in process quality inspection.
You will be able to monitor the quality of the products you release and lower the likelihood of releasing defective goods.
Customers return items to the retailer when they receive damaged or defective ones. On returned goods, you lose money. Such high-quality inspection practises guarantee that you prevent this from happening.
3. Enhanced brand reputation
You may make sure that only flawless products are produced by inspecting every product you generate. This implies that you don’t release flawed components.
Such an examination will enable you to improve the reputation of your brand. Since people will realise you exclusively release high-quality products, you will quickly grow the number of satisfied customers.
More sales and simpler marketing are the results of a stronger reputation.
4. Scope to correct
When a product reaches 40% to 50% through the production process, in process quality inspection is performed. If a problem is discovered at this point, it is easier to fix.
When the product is just partially finished, there is a lot of room for correction. It is also simpler to find a mistake in a partially finished project.
5. Strengthened production chain
Any kind of in process quality inspection does not interfere with production, rather. It makes it stronger.
You can prevent the production of defective components thanks to the in-process inspection. This method only allows you to make high-quality goods. This offers you a number of additional benefits (more sales, better reputation, etc.) Defective goods reduce your production system’s productivity as well.
Whether statistical quality control can be the best way to reduce the defect numbers?
Once more, it depends. A Six Sigma guidebook will tell you that numbers are key. Defects are mostly brought on by human error in the great majority of manufacturers. The majority of Chinese managers prioritise discipline over error-proofing.
If this does not change, their factories will continue producing low-quality goods.
Few other measures that you can take to ensure quality in China
1. Based on severity classifying defects and categorization
All the training that the inspector has received thorough over the period and the knowledge gained about the technical elements of the products can divide into 4 categories of group defects:
- Critical
- Major
- Minor
- Trivial.
The inspection report lists the flaws in terms of the product’s appearance, workmanship, packaging, weight and size, functionality, and other factors.
Customers can better comprehend the inspection to determine how many of each sort of fault they are ready to accept in their final goods by reading the breakdown of the defect categorization and recommendations, which are clearly mentioned.
2. Reporting and planning for customer-approved corrective actions
The inspection reports include a thorough Quality Control checklist that details all the results after an inspection is complete. It is a thorough list of extensive and well-known product-specific quality flaws.
Prior to shipping release, customers can choose how many of each kind of defect they are willing to accept.
3. Hiring a sourcing agent in China
Although not everyone might agree, a company’s past background is also important. It is preferable to take your business elsewhere if there have been any problems or a lot of complaints from prior clients about flaws, delays, or other concerns while working with a particular company.
The top businesses have been in the trading business for more than ten years and have dealt with clients from all over the world for a very long time.
Customers from Europe and America typically have high standards. They are aware of the quality they must match and can provide it if they have previously served such consumers.
If no one in your firm speaks Mandarin fluently, including you, then you need to engage a sourcing agent in China who can speak the local language.
They can ensure the quality with the help of third-party inspection in China and coordinate the entire activities more efficiently than you can perhaps do from your own country.
Conclusion
As you can see, firms can benefit greatly by making a proper strategy and planning so far as the quality of their products is concerned. You can also get a lot of benefits from in process quality inspection. It affects all facets of a business, from streamlining the production chain to increasing sales.
