Quality control
Catch a defect while it can still be fixed, not after it ships.
Raw materials and components are checked against specification as they arrive at the factory. Catching an out-of-spec substrate here costs a delay; catching it after production costs the whole run. This is the cheapest inspection point in the entire process and the one most often skipped.
The first finished units are inspected while the line is still running. A systemic error — wrong tolerance, wrong finish, misaligned assembly — can still be corrected without scrapping the order. Waiting until the goods are 100% complete removes that option entirely.
The final check before goods leave the factory, conducted on a random sample drawn from packed cartons. This is the last point at which you can refuse a shipment without it becoming a cross-border dispute, which is why it matters more than any inspection that happens after arrival.
Verification that the quantity loaded matches the packing list, that cartons are stacked and secured to survive transit, and that the container itself is sound and dry. Damage that begins as a loading error is almost impossible to attribute after the fact.
Inspections use AQL (Acceptable Quality Limit) sampling under ISO 2859-1, the international standard for inspection by attributes. Rather than checking every unit — which is prohibitively slow for most consumer goods — a statistically determined sample is drawn from the batch and defects are sorted into three classes.
Renders the product unsafe or illegal to sell. Standard limit is zero — any critical defect fails the batch.
Would likely cause a return, complaint, or lost sale. Commonly set at 2.5% for consumer goods.
A cosmetic deviation unlikely to affect saleability. Commonly set at 4.0%.
These limits are negotiable and should be agreed in writing before production, not argued about after an inspection fails. Tighter limits generally cost more per unit.
A free 30-minute call. If it is not a fit, we say so.