Is this your factory?
An article by Andrew Reich from ChinaSuccessStories (h/t Dan Harris of Chinalawblog) highlights five straightforward but oft missed steps in assuring the quality of product from your China manufacturer. Dan Harris, added a sixth point, and Global Sourcing Specialists is chiming in to add a seventh key to quality when when working with chinese factories: Source a quality manufacturer
First, it should be noted that these steps need to be taken together. Accomplishing one or a few of them will not suffice to assure your product quality, and will likely only delude you into a false a security about what is coming off the production line and potentially making its way into the hands of your customers.
ChinaSuccessStories's first five points:
a) Item Packaging
b) Item Defect Classification (what is considered an defect and at what
severity)
c) Item Size and Other Specifications
d) Item Functionality and How it is Checked
Take Responsibility: Nothing will alienate your Chinese suppliers more than a mistake on
your side for which you take no responsibility, and blame their
misunderstanding. I’ve seen hard-headed buyers make this mistake more
than once, to the demise of their hard earned factory relationships.
So, make sure you have all the facts before you start to blame.
Recognize when it’s possible that a mistake or production issue may
have been caused by your own fault, or your own team’s
mis-communication. Take responsibility when this happens, even if it
means a financial loss. If you are working with the factory on a long
term basis, the credibility you will gain will outweigh what you have
given up.
The message here is don’t take anything for granted. You and your
suppliers most likely come from two vastly different cultures, have
different values, and see quality differently. By making sure quality
standards and procedures are in place and clear to all parties you will
definitely avoid costly production issues.
Dan Harris' 6th Point: Legal Contracts
Our 7th Point: Sourcing of Quality China Manufacturers
Really, this point might be placed first, only because the sourcing process takes place before any of these other steps are taken, AND, if you work with the wrong China factory, or any factory for that matter, these other steps may be very difficult to accomplish and/or ineffective. It's similar to following all of the cooking instructions with great meticulousness to bake a world-class cake, and then baking your cake in the Easy Bake Oven.
Thus, to ensure supplier sourcing sets the other 6 steps up for success, one would do well to locate several potential sources, receive manufacturing and cost feedback from each of them, and select one or two that seem best able to support the project's and company's needs based on qualifications, engineering and QC support, product lines, and customer service. Assessing a supplier for these qualities will likely, and should, involve auditing the factory production line, as well as meeting with management and key personnel. Do this–and the rest will be much easier.