Blog
New Round of Tariffs on China as the Trade War Continues
On August 1st, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that he would be levying a new 10% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. He stated that the tariffs will go into effect on September 1st. This was a surprise to many, as the United States and...
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Factory Audit Checklists: How to Screen New Suppliers (Free Download)
For consumer goods importers, screening a new supplier takes a significant amount of time and energy. Whether you’re deciding to move away from a current supplier or you’re choosing a supplier for the first time, it is important not to rush the process. A hasty...
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What Should Importers Know After the Recent Trump-Xi Meeting?
On the sidelines of the recent G20 summit in Osaka, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met to discuss the ongoing US-China trade war. To date, the U.S. has slapped $250 billion worth of tariffs on goods imported from China, while China has...
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5 Types of Factory Audits That Will Help You Assess Suppliers
Managing the supply chain for a retail brand can be challenging. You need to properly vet potential suppliers and ensure that current suppliers have the systems in place to continue producing quality products. You also need to be sure that your products are free of...
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5 Types of Quality Inspections All Importers Should Know
For many importers sourcing products in low-cost countries, third-party inspections are an important part of their quality control efforts. Inspections allow you to get an eye on what’s happening at the factory when you can’t be there in person. They are also...
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Insight Employee Spotlight: Kevin Su (Inspection & Sourcing Manager)
At Insight Quality, we take great pride in our employees. We aim to hire great people and always treat them right. Doing so helps us get the best possible results for our customers. Since we have such a great team, we decided to start a periodic feature to help us...
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Mobile Phone Quality Inspections: This is How They Work
At Insight Quality, we inspect many types of products. Anything you can find in a retail store, we’ve probably inspected, from electronics to clothing to home furnishings and more. When it comes to electronics, we can’t forget about mobile phones. These devices have...
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Want to Reduce Inspection Frequency? What You Should Know
As an importer, you know that product quality inspections are important, but that they come at a cost. It’s natural to want to reduce that cost, and if you’re thinking about doing so, you need to consider how to go about it carefully. You don’t want to give your...
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What is Quality Fade and How Can You Avoid It?
Imagine you’ve been working with a supplier for a couple of years to produce a solid stainless steel grill. Everything has gone well. You’ve received good feedback from consumers and garnered favorable reviews. Until, one day, you notice a complaint. Then there is...
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Celebrating 5 Years of Quality Control Excellence
It was in March of 2014 that we began our journey as a company. Now, with 16,139 inspections under our belt and more than 500 factory audits completed, we’re here celebrating our 5th anniversary! Starting out as a one-man team, our founder Andy Church took the leap...
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What is a Product Quality Inspection? (And 5 Things You Should Know About Them)
At Insight Quality, we’ve been writing about inspections and quality control since 2014 and have posted nearly 100 articles with tips and suggestions to help you ensure the quality of your products. While we’ve posted a number of articles about how to get the most out...
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5 Things You Need to Know About the HOLD Inspection Result
Recently, we ran into a sticky situation with one of our customers. They hired us for a product inspection and we returned their inspection report with a HOLD result, rather than a PASS or FAIL. They ended up accepting the shipment from their supplier and when they...
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Chinese New Year 2020: Avoid Problems With Your Factory
Every year, the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday comes around and throws newer importers for a loop. At the time of writing this, the official 2019 holiday has just ended and it is now Year of the Pig. But many factories are still closed and the ones that are open are...
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How to be Proactive With Your Factory and Plan for Success
Recently, a company that makes small, metal ladders discovered a big issue with products they had put out into the market. They found that the locking pins and rung fasteners on their ladders were prone to failing, posing a fall hazard to the people standing on them....
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Quality Assurance vs. Quality Control: What Should You Know?
Importers producing consumer goods overseas are generally concerned about the quality of their products. Good quality products will be well received by end buyers, getting favorable reviews, prompting repeat purchases, and benefitting your bottom line. When working...
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Insight Quality: 2018 Year in Review
As the holidays draw to a close, it is time to reflect on the past year and look ahead to the future. So, what happened this year? 2018 was an interesting year in global politics. The US-China trade war has caused importers to take a careful look at their supply...
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Reaching Out to Chinese Manufacturers? Do These Things First
Finding the right manufacturer is a process that every importer has to go through. If you’re new to importing, it can be difficult to know the best steps to follow. And, even when you already have the process figured out, the whole thing can be time-consuming and...
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Carton Drop Test: 7 Things You Need to Know
When you are manufacturing products overseas, it is important to take all possible steps to ensure product quality.More than that, you have to ensure that your products survive the journey from the factory to the port and then across the ocean to you.Have you ever...
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