6 Steps to Ensure High Quality Products from Suppliers

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Supply Chain Management(SCM) is more than just placing orders and making sure it comes on time. It covers the procurement process, strategic sourcing, supplier relationship management, quality control, and so many other elements. Maybe it includes making sure your engines don’t emit nitrogen oxide pollutants up to 40 times the legal limit. Overall though, SCM operations are based on getting a product manufactured. So how do we manage the quality of our products during production?

Evaluate all your options: Request material samples from potential suppliers so you can choose the one that meets your quality standards. Especially with fabrics, half of the consumer decision making process pertains to the look, then the closer/deal breaker is how it feels. This makes it absolutely essential to be able to feel the fabric before committing to it. Sometimes good faith based on a description can result in products of poor quality. 

Pre-Production Inspections: A Technical audit can be done before an order is made. You have chosen a supplier for multiple reasons concerning your strategic sourcing strategy, so the next move is auditing the company. Technical audits are specific to production alone and done by third-party inspection companies in the R&D process like SGS-CSTC Standards Technical Services, V-Trust, and AQM. They will inspect for flaws in the organizational structure of the factory, its production capacity and quality management system.

Be specific: To make sure the product designs are being produced as they are meant to, the order needs to be as specific as possible. A rule of thumb in life and in business is –  never expect someone to know exactly what you want. You have to tell them. If it takes a weeks of messaging to communicate specifically how you want your product made, so be it.

Get a prototype: The best way to make sure your products are made correctly is by putting them in your hands and testing it out. This may be common sense, but you don’t get something you don’t ask for. Request a sample of the finished product before making the big order. If it has technical function, it is important to test it out and make sure it works. If it is an article of clothing, it is important to see how it wears.

During Production Inspections: Be proactive with product inspections. It is better to find defects as early as possible so that you can troubleshoot. Usually, the first inspection can be done as soon as 10% of the merchandise is completed. An inspector will evaluate the first batch and identify defects. The frequency of inspections should depend on the type of product and order size.

Final Inspections: Don’t make the mistake of not checking the shipping logistics. Make sure that the product can get from point A to point B without damage. The inspector should assess the quality, regulatory compliance, measurements and packaging of the order. It is also important to consider the risks, like mode of transportation, how the packages are stacked, who and what machines are handling the loading, etc.  If it is being shipped via air travel, will the high altitude affect the packaging? These are things to consider before having your cargo sent.

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Quality inspections are absolutely essential to getting the best possible outcome. But, you need to first trust your supplier and have them feel like you trust them. You don’t want your supplier to feel micromanaged. It could put a strain on your business relationship, so there needs to be a balance between ensuring your projects are done correctly and letting your supplier do its job. None of these things listed should ever be overlooked though. It could be financially risky to neglect these things.