AHK Guangzhou Office Opening Ceremony

Most buyers know what a pre-shipment inspection is. Far fewer use an in-process inspection, and that gap causes more problems than almost anything else we see.‍An in-process inspection, also called a during production inspection, happens while the goods are still being made. Usually when 20 to 50 percent of production is complete. Enough units exist to judge quality, and enough time remains to fix what is wrong.

One of the most common questions we get from new customers is which service they need.Some ask for an audit when they actually need an inspection. Others book an inspection and expect it to tell them whether the supplier is reliable.An audit tells you what the factory is capable of.An inspection tells you what the factory actually produced.

After a failed inspection, many buyers immediately ask the supplier for a Corrective Action Plan (CAP).The factory investigates the issue, fills out a template, identifies root causes, proposes corrective actions, and sends the document back.Everyone feels productive.The problem is that the defect often comes back.Over the years, we have reviewed hundreds of corrective action plans from factories across China and Asia. Some were excellent. Some were clearly copied from previous reports. Most had one thing in common:

Many buyers believe quality control is mainly about inspections, audits, and reports.In reality, some of the biggest quality improvements happen long before an inspector enters the factory.They happen through supplier management.Over the years, we have seen factories produce excellent products for one customer and poor products for another customer using the same machines, workers, and production lines.The difference was often not the factory.The difference was how the customer managed the supplier relationship.