Blog
All Posts
Chinese New Year Shutdown 2022: Avoid Problems With Your Factory
When the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday comes around each year, it throws many newer importers for a loop. These importers often don’t realize how much impact this holiday will have on their production timelines, product quality, and shipping schedules. As many...
What are Third-Party Inspections, and What Benefits do They Offer?
When you import goods from overseas or outsource manufacturing to a domestic partner, you must ensure that your products meet all specifications, legal requirements, and customer expectations. Unfortunately, it becomes more challenging to accomplish this if you do not...
AQL Special Inspection Levels: How Do They Work?
AQL (Acceptance Quality Limit) is an important sampling method that you’ll use when conducting product inspections at your factory. So if you’re manufacturing consumer products and have been learning about AQL, you’ve probably looked at the various inspection levels...
How to Choose the Right Quality Inspection Frequency in Manufacturing
When you import from overseas, controlling product quality will be one of the most crucial keys to your success. You want to ensure that you receive products that meet your requirements and satisfy customer expectations. Many importers conduct inspections before,...
Pre-Shipment Inspection: A 10-Step Procedure to Verify Product Quality
If you’ve decided to import your products from China, Vietnam, or another emerging market, you are likely highly motivated by competitive pricing. It is crucial, however, that you do not neglect product quality. When working with a manufacturer on the other side of...
5 Types of Quality Inspections to Help You Ship Great Products
When you import goods from overseas, it is crucial to ensure that the final product meets your requirements for quality. But how can you be sure that your supplier uses quality raw materials and makes products exactly to your specifications? Receiving sub-standard...
AQL Inspection Levels: Do You Understand How All 7 of Them Work?
Once you’ve decided to conduct third-party product inspections, it is vital to get a clear understanding of how AQL sampling works. If you want to work more effectively with your QC services provider and achieve excellent product quality, your knowledge of this...
AQL General Inspection Levels: What are They, and How do You Use Them?
AQL (Acceptance Quality Limit) is an essential sampling method used to conduct product quality inspections at your supplier’s facility overseas. These inspections help you hold your manufacturer accountable so that you can avoid disastrous quality issues that might...
Our 10 Most Popular Quality Control Articles (2021 Edition)
As an importer, product quality affects your profit margins and the trajectory of your business. When you consistently produce high-quality products, your customers will remain satisfied. People will talk about your products on social media, recommend them to family...
This is Why Product Quality is Important for Consumer Brands (5 Reasons)
One of the main objectives for any business is to maximize profits. While maintaining a healthy balance sheet depends on a combination of factors, one of the most important for consumer brands is product quality. If you sell high-quality products consistently, your...
What is AQL Sampling, and How is it Used in Quality Control Inspections?
AQL stands for ‘Acceptance Quality Limit,’ and it’s an essential sampling method used in quality control. It’s defined in ISO 2859-1 as “The quality level that is the worst tolerable” over the course of many inspections. When an inspector goes to your manufacturer to...
RoHS 1 vs. RoHS 2 vs. RoHS 3: What’s the Difference Between Them?
In July 2020, Nikon Corporation had to recall about 150 units of its Nikon F6 film camera after finding that it contained levels of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), which exceeded the amount allowed by the European Union’s RoHS directive. Importers who ship electrical and...
How to Identify QC Issues Early and Avoid Shipping Low-Quality Products
In 2016, smartphone maker Samsung was forced to recall over 2.5 million Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones after some gadgets started overheating and bursting into flames. This recall reportedly caused the company over $5 billion in losses. A quick online search for...
What is a Factory Audit, and is it Different from an Inspection?
When you are considering a new supplier, it is essential to vet them as thoroughly as possible. Imagine you place your first order with a factory that seems to check all the boxes. But, down the road, you end up with an endless stream of headaches due to excessive...
Should You Conduct a 100% Inspection or an AQL Sampling Inspection?
When you import goods from overseas, you need them to meet your specifications as accurately as possible. You also need them to meet all health and safety requirements and be acceptable to your customers. One way to help ensure product quality is to carry out...
How to Verify a Chinese Manufacturer: Take These 3 Important Steps
China is the world's manufacturing superpower, accounting for 28.7% of all global manufacturing in 2019. It is, therefore, no surprise that it is a destination of choice for many importers. While the country has many capable manufacturers, you must approach sourcing...
What is a Trading Company, and is it a Good Idea to Work With One?
When you’re getting started in a consumer product business, you need to choose the supplier that best meets your needs. If you’ve searched Alibaba for Chinese suppliers or are looking at vendors elsewhere, you may have already realized that many of them are trading...
What is the Difference Between FCL and LCL Shipping, and Which is Best?
At any given moment, there are thousands of cargo ships traveling the world’s oceans, going from one country to another with a multitude of 20-foot and 40-foot cargo containers stacked upon their decks. The Port of Los Angeles alone imported and exported over 9.2...