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Six More Keys To Quality Product Made In China.

By Dan Harris and Steve Dickinson

The other day, I did a post entitled, "The Six (Not Five) Keys To China Quality." In response to that post, Rich Brubaker, over at the All Roads Lead to China blog left a long and very thoughtful comment adding six additional things that should be done to better ensure quality Chinese manufacturing. I found those six items so spot-on that I am turning them into a post to give them greater play: 1. Take the time to establish the right partners and processes. Don't come to China with a list of three suppliers found on Alibaba and don't work on a time line. Get it right from the start, and if need be, take a short term hit and continue producing in the US/ EU until the China platform is ready. Should things fail, it will cost a lot more than a few months of the existing process. Dan: This is so true. Everything in China manufacturing takes longer than you think and way longer than your Chinese manufacturer will tell you. Your manufacturer is key; choose it wisely and not under pressure. 2. Conduct continuous product quality and risk assessments. Know what can go wrong, work out the margins for error, be a step ahead. Dan: Absolutely. What was well made last month may be junk this month, particularly if your manufacturer has subcontracted out your work. If you do not constantly monitor, quality in China tends to decline over time, not improve. 3) Develop a platform that has a diversified supplier base, and one that is transparent to you. There is no easier way to get in trouble than to let a single supplier source everything in the blind. Either source the raw materials in-house and send to an assembler, or work with the assembler to identify subcontractors. Dan: We have gotten plenty of calls from companies who do not know what to do. On the one hand, they want to terminate their relationship with their manufacturer, but, on the other hand, they cannot do so because they absolutely cannot do with an interruption in their product sourcing. Do not let yourself get into this situation. Either maintain sufficient inventory to give you time to find and start up with a new source(s) or be ready with a plan for jumping at any time. 4) Always have final inspection done AT THE FACTORY. The worst position a buyer can be in is when the goods arrive at the US dock, 21 days after the final payment was made, and it is not to order. Inspecting ON SITE makes returns/adjustments easier, and as many payment terms are for the largest balance of the money at delivery, the buyers are still in a good position to negotiate. Dan: So true. If your products arrive bad at YOUR dock, it is too late. 5) Always carry a safety stock (if possible). If you have a supplier on a JIT [Just In Time] delivery system, and they know you have no safety stock, then pricing negotiations will have a wholly different tone than if the supplier knows you have a a one to two month safety stock and are out shopping around. Dan: Yes. See #1 and #3 above. 6) Never think that increasing your orders is a way to handle a supplier-manufacturer who is cutting corners. Many think that by giving more business things will improve, and I have yet to see that come true. It only increases the likelihood that your supplier will become your competitor, and that if there are problems in quality, it is only going to be more difficult to find another supplier who can take the business. Dan: Absolutely true. If you have tried to improve quality and you find that you cannot, it is better to fold than to double down. Anyone want to raise us six more?

Full post as published by China Law Blog on August 12, 2009 (boomark / email).