Don’t Skip It! The Importance of Quality Assurance & Inspections

Often overlooked, factory audits and product inspections play a significant role in manufacturing high-quality products while simultaneously keeping manufacturing costs affordable.

March 04, 2021

Product inspections are critical to ensure your supplier is manufacturing a quality product that is compliant with specifications, government, and industry regulations.

In addition to reducing the cost of reputable product failure or damage and product recalls, conducting several inspections throughout the manufacturing process may be the best way to go, as the intent is to ensure production is completed on time and correctly. Therefore, inspections, product reviews, and audits may reduce the days lost in production delays or production reruns, thus adding value to your product and your customer service.

Product quality and cost are two of the largest influences when it comes to identifying suppliers and maintaining and gaining loyal customers.

For example, a customer may push for an affordable price but is the product high-quality? High-grade quality products attract loyal customers, and most people are willing to pay for good quality. But what happens when quality is overlooked for a low manufacturing cost?

Poor quality products or products with defects or potential issues will nearly cost a company more money during manufacturing and sales. But how?

These poor quality products have the potential to break or become easily damaged, ultimately becoming unusable. In short, customers end up purchasing more of that particular product; hence your manufacturing costs increase because of this specific product. By comparison, if you’re using the product through its expected lifecycle and lowering your manufacturing costs, you’re guaranteeing your customer a product that lasts simultaneously, building confidence in your brand and your goods.

How is it that you’re saving time and money by including quality assurance factory audits and product inspections?

In taking extra precautions, regular product inspections and factory audits ensure confidence in your manufacturer, product reliability and provides your customers with the confidence that their products are 100% retail-ready. Factory audits are conducted to ensure that quality manufacturing processes and operating systems are in place. Quality Assurance teams complete in-person factory audits to monitor production lines, ensure efficient procedures and quality management systems meet regulations and specific standards. Supplier audits are an opportunity for Quality Assurance teams to examine supplier certificates and make sure they are valid while also taking this opportunity to assess and inspect products.

Are you looking to eliminate risk in your supply chain and maximize productivity and efficiency in your supplier?

Even more so, supplier audits are essential in establishing your expectations as a customer. Ensuring acceptable practices and supplier integrity with a manufacturer halfway across the world is not always easy. It takes time to identify suitable quality suppliers that have the capacity to produce your products to meet expected quality standards and ensure on-time delivery. Besides, once the supplier is approved, conducting regular in-person factory audits is critical in building relationships and setting supplier/product expectations.

How Does HB International Assure You That Your Product’s Are High Quality?

HB International’s Quality Assurance Team conducts several in-person inspections for your product, including First Article (FA) Inspection, In-Process Inspection, and Pre-Shipment Inspection.

First Article (FA) Inspection: This is part of the Product Development Process and the first inspection completed by our Quality Assurance (QA) Team. Also known as the “Initial Production Inspection,” once we receive your product sample, our QA Team and suppliers work together to create:

> a product description
> a product drawing
> product specifications
> packaging specifications (inner and outer packaging requirements for shipping), and
> Acceptable Quality Limits (AQL) that this product will be manufactured within.

In-Process Inspection: No only does this inspection provide an opportunity to address product defects early on, but this type of review also allows presents a better understanding of possible ship dates and whether your production is on-schedule or delayed. Our QA team conducts in-process inspections to ensure products are compliant with the previously agreed-upon product specifications such as a product’s:

> appearance
> color
> dimensions
> weight
> functions
> packing
> Certificate of Analysis (COA)

Pre-Shipment Inspection: Lastly, by randomly selecting product samples before shipment, our QA team works to confirm your product meets your expectations and is compliant with government and industry standards. As not all products are the same, our QA experts are certified in several areas (FSSC 22000, ISO 22000, and BRCGS) to ensure we have the ability to inspect all products to meet our customer’s demands. During a pre-shipment inspection, our QA experts will:

> verify product dimensions
> test for quality (All tests conducted are specific to that particular product)
> identify product defects or parts that are not good
> recognize nonconformities in product specifications and government or industry standards
> ensure product packaging (both interior and exterior) is ready for shipping

How Can HB International Help You?

COVID-19 and travel restrictions have limited our ability to visit factories overseas. Fortunately for HBI, our team of experts is readily available for in-person factory audits and product inspections. Our team of specialists has the ability to use their knowledge and expertise in-person to assist you in supplier audits and product inspections. We’re here to help you and your business continue to be successful.

Let us know how we can help with your next project!