Let’s assume that you’ve provided crystal clear design files and acceptance criteria to your factory partner, which can be very difficult to do. The worst possible scenario is at the last minute finding your product is not compliant with your criteria due to mistakes or misunderstandings because this is lose-lose. This means that you may not receive the goods at the time you need and the factory will have wasted time, materials, and manpower working on it. By checking along the way as the product is being developed, you can avoid this worst case scenario. SCM Solution can help you to check in each stage rather than waiting for final inspection.

Factory supply chain teams represent their interests first. It is in their interest to verify 3rd party suppliers and manage production line capacity for profitability. However, there are parts of the supply chain that customers are responsible for. For example, you may have a component in your bill of materials that seems expensive, and the factory has less motivation to look for alternative sources. Quality issues that require root cause analysis need customer interaction to get to the deep understanding, especially if the defect was caused by the factory. Note that large customers invest in supply chain teams even though they already partner with the best factories. SCM Solution can provide the same services for small customers that large companies enjoy at a fraction of the cost.

If you’ve found a supplier online through a platform like Alibaba or even a website, it is important to have someone do an initial check on their business license and then schedule a visit. If the factory won’t let you check, they may, in fact, be a trading company and not a real factory. During this visit, you can get to know the key stakeholders, make notes of the operation to understand if they are a good fit for what you need. Factories will often have an English speaker on staff but they may or may not understand the technical details of what they are translating. Some of our clients will ask us to accompany them to the factory or to do the audit for them. Our multi-lingual SCM Solution team is based in Taiwan and can do this work at a fraction of typical travel costs. If you can’t travel to the region, we can help to conduct web meetings from the factory site to help our clients understand their factory partners better. We support you to ask the questions that should be asked and also to encourage factory partners to ask for what they need for a beneficial partnership.

Factories usually make samples for us with the materials they have on hand. That sample can show you their capabilities and can be used for reference only. As factories place orders for production materials, this is where the differences can happen. Don’t just use a golden sample but take the time to create written acceptance criteria that is measurable and insist that the factory incorporate it into their SOPs in their native language. Important critical measurements should be included as well as materials, Pantone colors, etc. SCM Solution can help you with this task.

Having ISO 9001 is excellent as it means the factory understands how to manage quality. However, it is still important to work with them throughout the project to avoid last-minute surprises. You may need to specify more details than what ISO 9001 covers.

If you have written inspection criteria that were provided to the factory before they started ordering materials, then sending an inspector at the end should be fine. Make sure your acceptance criteria is crystal clear to your factory partner far in advance, or you will have an angry factory owner and you will be disappointed in what you receive.

Alibaba is a great resource for finding products. We recommend that you take the time to understand if you are dealing with an independent salesperson or the factory directly. SCM Solution can help you to qualify or you will risk having differences between orders.

Of course, it is better to work with an organized factory partner, but keep in mind that certain low-technology products may come from factories that have lower standards. You will have to specify exactly how you want your product made and visit frequently to make sure your requests are followed.

Qualifying your suppliers ensures that they meet your standards for quality, reliability, and ethical practices. It helps minimize risks such as product defects, delivery delays, and reputational damage. Additionally, it can lead to better pricing, improved relationships, and overall supply chain efficiency.

Several factors could contribute to the high cost of your product. The main reasons for high costs are from purchasing small quantities or it may have components that are hard to manufacture. Product developers should analyze each BOM component carefully to look for solutions and SCM Solution can assist you with this.

Successful products need designs that avoid using parts that are hard to find or soon to be discontinued. It is tempting to prototype with what is available, even EOL (End of life) or LLT (Long lead time) parts if you have them in your hands. This can be acceptable for a proof of concept; however, getting to a final configuration using stable parts will save you time and worry.

Keep in mind that most issues with a product are related to incoming materials.  If your factory has established partnerships with factories for material purchases and great Incoming Quality Control procedures, then your product quality should be stable.  If they are changing suppliers frequently, you will have more risk of product failures. Most factories will purchase components from 3rd parties.  Understand what parts are made in-house or from 3rd parties.  SCM Solution can help you to check the entire supply chain for any risks.

Factories have the authority to control changes and quality. Sales traders typically have very little influence over a factory.

Sometimes hard-to-find parts have to be consigned to speed up the order, or your factory partner does not have the ability or desire to source parts. Understand that when you consign parts, the factory is not responsible for the quality of those parts.