As an importer, dealing with defective products is unavoidable at some point. Many experienced importers rely on pre-shipment product inspection to identify and prevent defective products before reaching their customers. But what should you do with defective products once you have discovered them?
Should you request your supplier to rework the defective goods? Should you instead rework the products in your home country?
So let’s take a look at the mistakes importers make when handling defective products to help you avoid them.
1. CONDUCTING REWORK THAT INTRODUCES NEW PRODUCT DEFECTS
Sometimes the process of reworking defective products to remove or fix a defect can cause new defects to appear.
In this situation, you have to decide what’s better and profitable—the initial defect or the risk of facing a more serious defect in the product during rework. Accepting a minor defect that affects a product’s appearance is often more profitable than taking a risk in creating a more serious defect that affects the product’s function or safety.
One of the most common defect management strategies used by importers is product rework. However, this does not always mean that it is the best solution. Factory workers may also introduce new defects during rework if:
- Unpacking and repacking defective products
- Moving defective products from the inspection site to their production/rework area
- Disassembling and reassembling the product, if necessary
Before considering reworking the product, make sure you understand exactly what the quality issue with the defective product is and how factory workers will attempt to resolve it.
2. DECIDED TO SHIP THE DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS
If you need your order right away before the season pass, for instance, you want to sell them for Christmas and New Year so that you may agree to accept defective products in their current state with the intention of reworking them in your home country.
However, depending on the size of your shipment and the severity of the defects, reworking goods on your own can be a time-consuming and expensive process. You may need to do the following to rework defective products:
- Hire additional labor, perhaps even skilled technicians, at local, often higher, rates
- Source raw materials and replacement components, perhaps from overseas, as some materials might be unavailable locally
- Acquire new equipment for rework processes
- Rent a warehouse to store the substandard goods and conduct rework, if existing facilities are insufficient
Save your money and minimize all the hassle by simply ensuring the manufacturer has performed any rework before shipping.
Conducting a during production inspection to minimize the risk
If you want to make sure that your products are in a good quality, consider conducting a during production inspection to identify quality issues during the production time. DUPRO, or during production, inspections are typically performed after the factory has manufactured 15-80 percent of the total order quantity.
A DUPRO inspection can help reduce the amount of rework required after production by identifying and addressing quality issues earlier. Your supplier can rework items while production is still in progress and have them ready for a pre-shipment inspection. This will allow you to avoid a delayed shipment.
Contact us for more information about the inspection and audit services in Indonesia.