Performing a quality inspection will bring you many benefits. It will give you detailed information about your products’ quality and it could save you time and money. Furthermore, this will allow you to avoid many problems in the future such as selling defective products, over expenses of the claim, wasting time, and many more issues just caused by a low-quality product. As a buyer, you need assurance from your supplier that your orders meet all of your standards, especially when you import goods from Indonesia.
Several common issues usually found during the pre-shipment inspection are:
- Low quality, where the quality of the product is far from the approved sample provided by the supplier.
- Missing quantity, when the number of goods reported does not match the actual number of goods packed for shipping.
- Wrong labeling, putting the wrong label on a product can cause misleading.
- Bad packaging, which can threaten the product’s safety.
A pre-shipment product inspection in Indonesia can be your solution as this inspection is the last chance for you to ensure your product quality. Why? Because this inspection is focused on several key points to ensure your products’ quality before it shipped to your warehouse, such as:
1.Product Quantity
Product quantity becomes the first thing on our checklist. The inspectors will count the quantity of the product and compare it with the order quantity from the buyer. In addition, this aims at ensuring that the products that will be shipped are complete with the order quantity. The packaging is also checked to verify that the supplier is using the correct packing materials and safely packed the product to minimize the product breaking during the shipment.
2.Workmanship
The next point that we check is workmanship. The inspector will check the random selection of the product to check any visible defects on the product. According to AQL (Acceptable Quality Level), there are three kinds of defects, as follows:
Minor defects: A small defect that does not have much influence on the product. Furthermore, this defect is not lessening the function of the product. Some consumers will still buy such products. The AQL for minor defects is 4%.
Major defects: This defect is affecting the product both in appearance and function. This defect is usually not acceptable to the end-users. This defect would likely cause a customer to return the product, complain, or request a refund in response. The AQL for major defects is 2.5%.
Critical defects: This is the most serious defect, the product with a critical defect could harm the consumer. This defect could put your businesses at serious risk of product liability issues, lawsuits, and product recall. Such defects are unacceptable. Critical defects are defined as 0% in AQL.
For the minor defect found in the products, the inspector usually asks the supplier to repair it directly at the warehouse. For the worst cases, for instance, if critical defects are found on the products, the inspector with the buyer’s approval will ask the supplier to rework the products.
3.Product Description, Style & Color
We all agree that product appearance is very important. Arguably, product design contributes to over 80% of why a product is chosen over another. Customers will easily leave a product whenever they feel there is a better one out there.
By conducting a pre-shipment inspection, the inspector will check and compare the product with the master sample in terms of the shape, weight, functionality, design, and look of the product.
4.Field Test & Measurement
A good quality product is usually durable and does not easily break. This is the reason why Excellencial’s inspector deeply tests and measures your product and the packaging because the different products should pack in different packaging based on their material and how fragile the product is.
Excellencial’s inspector will perform several tests to ensure your product quality and safeties during the shipment, such as product measurement, assembly check, static loading test, surface check, stability check, moisture content check, dimension of the carton check, weight of carton check, and carton drop test.
These tests will provide you with information on how the packaging supports the product during shipment and what potential damage that might happen to the products inside.
5.Shipping Mark & Packaging
A clear shipping mark on the box is important. It is to help handlers to ensure that they know what products are in which boxes, and the processes they should adopt in the handling of these goods. You should ensure that your boxes are correctly marked with relevant information to guide the operational movements in the transportation and storage of your products. By doing so it makes the handling process safer and it saves time, which can also lead to saving you money. There are also several other important markings commonly included on shipping cartons, including:
- Purchaser’s name
- Purchase order (PO) number
- Item number and description
- Carton dimensions and weight
- The number of cartons within the set (“1 of 20”, “2 of 20”, etc.)
- Country of origin in compliance with international requirements, as well as the country of destination
- Any appropriate warning labels and icons (e.g. “fragile”, “hazardous materials” or “this side up”)
Contact us for more information about the pre-shipment inspection service in Indonesia.