Quality control is an operation by which the buyer proceeds with a factory inspection in order to verify:
- The correctness of production processes;
- the condition of the goods at the exit of the factory;
- the correspondence between the characteristics of the final product and those present in the initial order;
- the quality of the final product.
This operation is carried out in order to ensure that the goods actually correspond to the standards required by the buyer, in relation to both the characteristics of the items and the compliance requirements necessary for the introduction of the products into the target market.
This verification therefore gives a greater guarantee in ensuring that the purchased product corresponds to the characteristics required during the negotiation phase.
How important is it to perform a quality check if you buy goods outside the EU?
It often happened that suppliers, in order to amortize costs or complete the operation at low costs, produce the goods using cheaper materials or components, thus affecting the overall quality of the product. By purchasing products outside the EU, the importer assumes responsibility for the imported product, thus incurring penalties in the event that the product does not fall within the parameters established by law to determine the safety of such products.
Taking the example of goods purchased in China, the responsibility for organizing the control phases of the goods falls not on the manufacturer, but on the importer, being the country of origin outside the EU. If you buy Chinese goods, you must ensure that quality control is carried out on site, in order to correct this process as soon as possible, avoiding costs or penalties in the future.
It is therefore very important to check the goods directly at the factory before they are shipped because, once they enter Europe, it will be really difficult to intervene to solve problems related to the poor quality of the components or final products.
The only way to ask the supplier to repair the damage or make changes to the products is therefore to carry out an inspection before paying the balance of the payment. If you buy goods from a Chinese factory , you can carry out the check by organizing with the seller and going to the factory where the production is carried out; In the event that the operation is too difficult, an inspector can be hired to do the verification in place of the buyer.
How to do quality control and what are the standards: let’s define the AQL
It may happen, when buying in countries with high production potential but low control, that the goods do not correspond in full to the confirmed sample. In order to decree the maximum allowable waste in a production batch, the AQL was defined. AQL (Acceptable Quality Level) is defined as the maximum percentage of defective parts beyond which the batch of goods is rejected as defined in ISO 2859-1. The level of AQL is accepted as it is linked to production risks, but it is always a very low number. To agree on the maximum number of defects and measure them, the AQL tables are used.
There are three types of defects that are distinguished by this classification, for most consumer goods the limits are:
- 0% of defects considered unacceptable as they could harm consumers or not comply with regulations;
- 2.5% of material defects that can be accepted by the end user;
- 4% of minor defects that represent a small departure from the product specifications, but that most customers would not notice.
These percentages vary according to the function of the product and its market. For example, components used for medical equipment or mechanical engineering are subject to stricter regulations.
This tool is typically used during final inspections, i.e. before products are shipped and, in some cases, during production, when enough items are ready to get an idea of the quality of the goods.
In quality control inspections, however, not only defective products are considered, but also:
- the conformity of the packaging (barcodes, inner packaging, shipping marks);
- the conformity of the products (e.g. if the color changes it is not a defect)
- the tests indicated in the inspection checklist which sometimes cannot be carried out on all samples, for example in the event that they are too long or destructive as in the case of food products.
The AQL is therefore an acceptable quality limit that must not be exceeded and in this sense suppliers must present goods whose quality standard is higher than the limit imposed. If an inspection fails to reveal an AQL that is too high, the supplier will have to make changes to the goods to ensure that they comply with the predefined standard.
An additional element of security is certainly to include an AQL index in the supply contracts in order to avoid the purchase of defective material.
