Benefit Analysis of Third-party Inspection

By Scott Chin • 08/24 @ 2:47 • 6,564 Comments

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On August 13th,2020,we received an email inquiry.This is a retailer from England,mainly engaged in decorations and handicrafts.This time,a batch of party decoration balloons were purchased in Xiamen,Fujian Province and the client required full inspection.However,since the third-party inspection has not been used before,he asks us to inform the inspection process and then will consider whether to accept the inspection service.From the client’s point of view,he is hesitant to check the effectiveness of the service and needs to pay an extra inspection fee,so he is not sure whether the payment is directly proportional to the return. It is normal for the client to have such doubts.After all,he doesn’t understand the inspection industry.

In the end,the client got the first-hand information and learned a lot of inside information in the inspection industry and agreed to try our inspection service first.After the first inspection,we found that these special balloons for decoration had batch fading problems and some balloons could not float after being filled with helium.The client attached great importance to these problems and immediately asked the factory to rework. At the same time,he also thanked our inspection service,thought we were trustworthy and hoped to continue to maintain a good cooperative relationship.

The above case is the latest typical case. Why is it typical? Because many of CLI’s clients are unfamiliar with the inspection industry,they simply think that the inspection industry only helps to control product quality.Of course,this is a correct view,but it is only a superficial effect.The typical meaning also comes from the inspector finding the batch problem of product and avoiding the subsequent product recall.Reducing the purchasing cost of importers and facilitating importers to manage China’s supply chain are the ultimate significance of inspection companies.As stated in CLI’s service tenet: “Make import safer”, CLI hopes that importers from all over the world will import goods from China more conveniently and believe more in Chinese manufacturing.

If we only explain it from a macro perspective,we believe that importers can’t agree with it.Next,we will analyze the benefits of third-party inspection from four specific aspects.

What Are the Benefits of Using Third-Party Inspection?

Improve China's Supply Chain Management

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First of all,we need to know that China’s supply chain is mainly composed of trading companies and factories. Trading companies are divided into whether they have their own factories.Through classification,we can clearly see that there are three management objects in the supply chain,which are factories,trading companies and companies integrating production and trade.For the management,the hardest thing to manage is probably the trading company.Because the requirements for setting up a trading company are very low,as long as there is a salesman who can develop customers and contact factories,the trading company will start to operate. This is also what we often call SOHO.If the importer’s cooperation happens to be SOHO,it is necessary to be careful of the potential risks.Because only experienced SOHO can control the product quality in all directions,so that the management of supply chain will not be very difficult.But experienced SOHO can’t be met by every importer,so who else can the supply chain management rely on?

Here,I have to proudly talk about the third-party inspection.Why can we be relied on? On the one hand,it is our role status.CLI will not favor any party and it is our service principle to record the inspection situation truthfully.On the other hand,CLI can tell importers the truth of China’s supply chain.After all, there are many complicated relationships,which can’t be explained only by mail.After the management has made clear the actual inside story of the supply chain,it can begin to improve the supply chain management system and achieve the purpose of improving the level of supply chain management in China.

Control Purchasing Costs

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Purchasing cost is the chief financial officer’s biggest concern.Because once the purchasing cost is well controlled,the subsequent operation cost can increase.However, CFO generally doesn’t come into contact with inspection companies, so they don’t know the role of inspection companies in controlling purchasing costs. Therefore,CLI wants to tell CFO that purchasing cost is not only related to purchasing personnel,but inspection companies can also put forward constructive suggestions.Because the inspection company may know more about products than purchasing,CLI will start with the production process of products,analyze the problems that will occur in each link and then project them on the product quality.From the inspection in different periods,it shows the production situation of products in different periods.Sometimes,from the consumer’s point of view,we will get some suggestions for process improvement.

The purpose of CLI to operate the inspection process in this way is to help importers screen out factories with high cost performance,which not only controls the purchasing cost,but also brings high-quality factories into China’s supply chain management system.At the same time,the purchasing staff can have more time to develop new factories,so as to improve the trade process.

Smooth Communication

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Unlike trading companies,every salesman is busy developing new clients,which inevitably neglects old clients and doesn’t have time to reply to emails in time.CLI will have a special account manager to follow orders, and formulate a special inspection process according to the characteristics of each client,including country, business model and quality requirements.And tell the client the actual situation at the first time.If encounter a difficult emergency,we must solve it by phone.Such an operation process not only facilitates the systematic division of each client, but also enables customers to feel the efficient working mode.

Make Imports Safer

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For many years,the service tenet of CLI that has been implemented all the time is “making imports safer”. Because the importer’s original intention of importing goods from China is to gain profit,if the imported goods are no longer convenient and safe,the goal of gaining a firm foothold in the market will be even harder to achieve.For Chinese inspection companies,it is most desirable for more products that are made in China to go abroad.How to go abroad safely depends on a more comprehensive inspection process.Once the product quality risk is controlled in every link,it is equivalent to making imports safer.Isn’t it the importer who benefits most from this?

Through the above in-depth analysis,the benefits of using third-party inspection are clear at a glance. But I’m afraid importers are still questioning: I don’t need inspection service now and I don’t know under what circumstances I need inspection service! It is normal for importers to think like this.After all,he has not realized the convenience brought by third-party inspection.

The following situations are when you deserve a third-party inspection

First Cooperation With New Factory

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Although the importer may have visited the new factory,what he saw was only the appearance of the factory tidied up.In the peak season,most factories outsource orders to small workshops when their own production capacity is insufficient.The concept of small workshop is that all workers are old,without assembly lines and messy production workshops.However,the importer knows nothing. At this time, factory audit in the third-party inspection plays a role,because it can fully understand the factory,including production qualification certificate,management level,factory scale and factory hygiene,etc. With the help of pre-shipment inspection,the possibility of long-term cooperation of the new factory can be more definite.

Old Suppliers Have Quality Problems

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Although it is an old supplier who has cooperated for many years,it is inevitable that there will be quality problems.If the product quality problem occurs for the first time,the supplier will cooperate with the clients and take the initiative to improve the defects.However,if it is a repeated small defect,the supplier will not think that the client is finding some excuses.After many times, although it is ostensibly a promise to clients,the supplier doesn’t want to spend manpower and material resources to satisfy clients.At this time, we need to intervene in another fair role to show the reality, that is third-party inspection.Finally, find out the root of the problem,solve the contradiction between the two sides and promote cooperation for a longer time.

Prepare to "Attack" Amazon

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Because Amazon’s products are directly facing consumers and if importers choose to transport the goods directly to Amazon warehouse,they must ensure the quality of products.Otherwise,consumer complaints will surprise your product sales.Many businesses on Amazon will choose the third-party inspection as the final quality control,because once the first bad review is made,the sales volume and ranking will be hit hard. At the same time,it will also affect the purchasing desire of other consumers.The products checked by the third party have greatly reduced the probability of bad reviews,because the inspectors have simulated the actual use of consumers to test and found out the reasons of bad reviews in advance.

Develop New Products or Buy High-End Products

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When importers are ready to take advantage of new products to occupy new market share, they have done a lot of research and market survey in the early stage.But whether the quality of the factory can meet the requirements is still an uncertain factor.Moreover,the cost of new products and high-end products is higher,which means that the risks are also greater.However,the inspection cost is less than 10%,which can bring unexpected gains to importers.Such a third-party inspection is worth trying.

CLI Inspection’s Comments And Summary

From typical successful cases,importers can personally feel the benefits of using third-party inspection. Not only the basic communication is smooth, but also the CFO wants to control the purchasing cost.Moreover, the CEO pays attention to the improvement of China’s supply chain management level,because once the supply chain management tends to be systematic,the operation process of international trade will be more stable.It is very important that the quality problems of imported goods are gradually decrease,the risk of complaints from consumers is gradually reduced and the trust in Chinese manufacturing is increased.

As a management,you must hope to minimize all risks.If the benefits of using third-party inspection are combined with when to use third-party inspection,the risks will naturally be under control. Of course, this also requires you to select high-quality inspection companies and examine whether the inspection services are sincere in use,so as to realize the continuous growth of import business.

This article is an original article for CLI Inspection, who is committed to providing high-quality product inspection technology and know-how sharing for global importers and retailers to make imports safer.

For reprint, please contact with CLI Inspection, thank you.