As e-commerce or small business owner, you will come across the suppliers inspection service in your business dealings. If you do not know them, do not worry much. This article will discuss the meaning of suppliers’ inspection services, their roles, benefits, procedures (of inspection), and why you need them as an entrepreneur.
As a business owner willing to stay long in the business, your job is to source standard quality products for your customers. If you don’t, you are likely walking towards the edge of bad reviews and low returns on your sales. How do you monitor the quality of your product then? You can take a short trip to your supplier’s location to check the products. But is this feasible? What you need is another eye to inspect the standard and quality of your products. This is where the suppliers’ inspection services come in.
The suppliers’ inspection services’ main job is to check the quality and quantity of your products before they are shipped to you. While you can inspect the products yourself, you need to consider the financial aspect. If your supplier is in China, and you are in Europe, it takes a lot from you than just money. What you need is a third party in the country where your products come from. This third-party inspector will inspect your products and detect any defects on time before they are shipped.
Mistakes happen all the time, even with a machine. You do not want to sell sub-standard products to your customers. It will not look good on you and may even spoil the relationship you have with them. Hiring a supplier inspection service ensures you are getting the best quality products.
Meaning of Suppliers Inspection Services
Suppliers inspection services deal with the process of evaluating how products and services meet and exceed the laid-down quality, safety, sustainability, and performance standards. The process reduces the risk of damaged products, materials, and equipment getting into the supply chain. Suppliers inspection services usually take place at the suppliers’ company or location during the production process.
Importance of Suppliers Inspection Services
Suppliers are an essential part of the products’ quality. This is why every company has an inspection department in the general purchase department to oversee the standard and quality of products. An inspection of products does not go well with some suppliers because it feels like an intruder is coming into their territory. This is not always true.
All the business owner wants is to be sure that they are getting the value for their money. Besides, it can help the suppliers as much as the business owners. Below are some of the benefits of suppliers’ inspection services.
1. Enhanced Quality Product
Selling high-quality products improves the relationship between a customer and seller. In a market full of low-standard and counterfeit products, getting quality products will scale up your business faster than you think. Suppliers Inspection services detect faulty products that are easily preventable before sending them out. The defect may be minor or significant; it does not matter. What matters is that the supplier identifies the issue before shipping the product.
Another area the suppliers’ inspection services work well is during the production stage. When a defect is detected, the supplier can know which part or phase of the production is responsible for the deficiency. Once the product inspector savages the fault, the customers will be satisfied, and the suppliers’ production quality will improve.
2. It Strengthens Customers Relationship
Suppliers Inspection Services help you eliminate substandard products before they are shipped, minimizing the risk of selling low-quality products to customers. Customers are usually loyal and always ready to buy from a seller keen on selling quality products regardless of the price.
3. It Saves You Money and Time
When discovered late, sub-standard products can cost you more. To satisfy the customers, you may have to discard the whole product and order a new set. In other cases, the faulty goods may require some rework or repair, which will cost a few bucks. Before you know it, you have no account for the product’s profit. Now, compare these losses to the cost of hiring an expert to stand in for you at the supplier’s company. Besides, you will have more time to focus on other things like improving your online store.
What do Suppliers Inspection Services Look for?
You may wonder what these so-called experts check in products or even want to know what you are paying for? Suppliers Inspection services check the following:
- Quantity of the products
- Conformity (Colors, Sizes, Shapes, Labels, Tags, Shipment Packaging style, shipping process)
- Appearance
- Functionality Check (Especially for electronics)
- Contract Product Quality
- Product Barcode
Hiring a Supplier Inspection Service Provider
There are many suppliers’ inspection services in different countries. Your job is to check the country and select the best quality control inspector to check the products. Since most of the online products on Amazon and Alibaba come from China, we will be limiting the country’s Suppliers Inspection Services. Below are some of the best suppliers’ inspection services.
1. Alibaba
To many people, Alibaba is just a B-2-B e-commerce platform, but the online store does more than this. Apart from connecting buyers to the manufacturer, Alibaba can connect you with competent and qualified third-party suppliers’ inspectors close to Alibaba’s verified suppliers.
The inspectors pay a visit to the production company in China and give a well-detailed report with pictures about their findings on the company and the products’ status’. Specifically, they check if the products meet the industry guidelines.
After contacting the inspector, it generally takes between 2 to 3 business days to view the report. You can even track the inspection progress as it is going on to help you make some decisions.
It costs about $300 to book an inspection, and it has to be done a few days ahead. Alibaba also offers discounts on some inspection deals, so you do not have to worry about costs much. Target these discounts, and you are good to go!
2. Bay Source Global
Bay Source Global is a US-based supplier inspection service provider. They offer product verification, contract manufacturing, quality control, product design enhancements, cost negotiation, and shipping coordination.
They focus mainly on importers who source products from China to the US. Also, the company helps you find trustworthy suppliers and identify loopholes in products’ design, quality, and conformity.
A unique characteristic about them is that they offer daily and weekly inspection reports with pictures.
3. Asia Quality Focus
Asia Quality Control is one of the best companies that offer supplier inspection services. Established in 2007, the company offers varied services like thorough product inspection, supplier audit, lab testing, and defect sorting. They have outlets in America, Europe, and Asia.
They minimize import risks and ensure that all your products meet international industry guidelines and the destination market’s safety requirements. Also, they can help you evaluate the suppliers’ capability with international standards. Their service delivery is quite fast as they give inspection reports in less than 24 hours.
To ensure you are getting the value for your money, you can download samples of their previous suppliers’ inspection reports.
4. SGS
If what you are looking for is a company with long years of experience, SGS is the answer to your search. Established more than a hundred years ago, the company is one of the most recognized and well-respected quality control and inspection companies globally.
With its main office in Geneva, Switzerland, the company provides its services to importers worldwide. They have more than a thousand offices and laboratories scattered around China and over eighty thousand employees working tirelessly to deliver top-notch service to their clients.
To be convinced SGS has your best interest at heart as an importer, the company is accredited by the FDA (The United States Food and Drug Administration) and FCC, making it a suitable platform for food and electronics US and European importers.
Some of the industries they offer their services to include agricultural and food, construction, chemical, oil and gas, automotive and aviation, logistics, industrial manufacturing, consumer goods, and finance.
5. Qazoom
Qazoom, like Alibaba, is no quality control or supplier inspection service. It is, however, an online platform that connects business owners to qualified and professional inspectors in China.
Qazoom is an excellent platform for new e-commerce owners and small business owners who cannot afford well-established companies’ high prices. The platform makes it easy for businesses and suppliers to negotiate prices and get quality inspection service.
Since these suppliers’ inspection services are private contractors, they are not suited for large importers with products that need technological and laboratory infrastructure.
Conclusion
As a business owner, you will be addressed by your products’ quality, which is why you need to ascertain the quality of the products you are serving customers. Since you can’t travel overseas to confirm your products’ standard, there are competent suppliers’ inspection services to do that for you. It is better to pay some money for product inspection than to lose half of them due to industry mistakes or logistics issues.