DIY vs. Third Party Quality Inspection in China

There are huge cost benefits of importing or buying goods from China. However, you should also be aware of the quality issues that may arise. Instead of saving money, you will end up spending more if the imported goods from China do not meet your company’s standards or do not pass quality inspection. You know very well that the success of any company is built on relationships with clients and their satisfaction with the products you supply. For you to ensure that your products meet the expectations of your customers, you should invest time and money for quality inspection in China.

Do It Yourself

This approach is ideal especially if you deal with multiple suppliers or massive order quantities. Having your own quality control in China will give you the highest level of control. However, this can be very costly. You need to hire people and pay them good salary. You need to train them as well. Thus, you spend a lot of money and time. This will require good organization so you will need to use your resources to find the right people for the job.

Hire a Third Party

Hiring third party quality inspection services will help your company save a lot of time and resources. They may have high initial costs, but you will not have to be bothered with overhead costs. You will only pay them if you need their services. They will do quality inspection for you. This will usually involve establishing quality inspection guidelines, doing initial inspections, in-process quality check, pre-shipment inspections and more.

If you choose a third party for quality inspection, you have two options. You can go with a company that operates in China or have a local QC company from your country do the inspection. There are benefits and drawbacks with each option.

First, with a company run in your country, there won’t be an issue with language barrier. A company that can speak your language will make communications easier. They will be able to understand what you want, and your business processes will be able to run smoothly. However, this option can be expensive than if you have a local company in China take charge of quality control.

It makes sense for a Chinese owned company to do the inspection in China. Their services are available at reasonable costs, and they are more familiar with the culture and regulations in China. They will know how to deal with red tape. Communication can be a problem, but this can be easily remedied by choosing a company with bi-lingual or multi-lingual staff. The trick is to find a company or agent you can trust that meets your company’s standards.