Can anyone recommend or suggest best way to source reputable 3rd Party QC Services in China, Guangzhou area?

We have seen a significant increase in defects with our branded products being outsourced from China and need to step up their levels of quality control during production.

Thanks,
Kate

:frust:

Can anyone recommend or suggest best way to source reputable 3rd Party QC Services in China, Guangzhou area?

We have seen a significant increase in defects with our branded products being outsourced from China and need to step up their levels of quality control during production.

Thanks,
Kate

:frust:

Are you looking for someone to do a final inspection of your products at the facility before they leave China ?

If so, I would recommend SGS (www dot cn dot sgs dot com/vendor_surveillance.htm)

I have never used them in China, but I have attended SGS inspectors here at our facilities in Brazil. So far, so good.

Maybe it´s a start...

On the other hand... maybe it´s time for developing a new supplier :notme:

Tedschmitt mentioned SGS, which is one of several possible organizations.

SGS is one of a few that is accredited to ISO/IEC 17020 as a Type A (independent 3rd party) Inspection Body.

Others may be found by going to www.aplac.org and finding the signatories to the MRA for inspection, going to their respective websites and seeing what organizations they accredit for the kind of inspections you require.

Regardless of who you select, you should consider accreditation to ISO/IEC 17020 as you can be assured that someone is assessing them for what is called technical competence in the specified field(s) of inspection.

Hope this helps.

Can anyone recommend or suggest best way to source reputable 3rd Party QC Services in China, Guangzhou area?

We have seen a significant increase in defects with our branded products being outsourced from China and need to step up their levels of quality control during production.

Thanks,
Kate

:frust:


This company was recommended to us last year. Please see previous thread.

Quality issues from Asia please recommend 3rd party inspection source.

am going in the right direction, asiainspection.com was on my list!

Thanks everyone for suggestions, now I have something to work:D
Kate

We've just negotiated a contract with SGS in China. Over the next few months we'll be certifying them as a service provider for inspection purposes.

Wayne

There are many of such organizations in Hong Kong. They have the advantage of close proximity, speak the language and now part of China, British/Western exposure and a pool of bi-lingual employees. And they have a long history of doing these kind of job - reason why they were known as 'gateway' to China.

Hello,
I don't agree with previous comments:
-1- Everybody mentions final inspections, before shipment. I would suggest inspections during production (when 10-30% of the products are finished) as a more effective way to avoid issues. You get a good idea of the quality, you can correct any issue early on (thus reducing delays, re-work, etc,). And if you find some issues during production, you can book a final inspection and re-charge it to your supplier.
-2- The ISO/IEC 17020 norm is, ironically enough, not even respected by the largest QC firms. But they get through because the clients usually don't read it. Did you know that, according to this norm, the QC firm has to tell its clients when it uses freelance inspectors? Of course this never happens. But they nearly all use freelancers in complement to their staff.
-3- If you want a very standard inspection, SGS, ITS or BV would be fine. If you want a service provider that really helps you look into the factory's processes, go with a smaller QC firm that specializes in a range of products.
We do audits and inspections in China, but only in garments and textile.
Renaud
Sofeast(dot)com

One point of clarification is needed.

ISO/IEC 17020 is not a norm, it is a Standard used in accreditation of inspection bodies.

In many arenas it is not required but if you want some assurance that the inspections ad inspectors actually have some third party oversight - as opposed to none - then you might want to consider the accreditation.

SGS and ITS are both accredited under the ISO/IEC 17020 Standard by APLAC signatory ABs, including a U.S.-based AB.

It is true that the inspection body is required to inform the customer if any part of the inspection is sub-contracted. However it should also be pointed out that an individual contract inspector may not be considered a sub-contract arrangement but rather a contract employee.

Actually you're right. I had not thought about it this way. Thanks for the clarification.

I recommend using Pro QC International. Be careful of Asia Inspections. Their inspectors are just ordinary people off the street. SGS or Intertek are good. TUV is expensive.

Come on,I don't agree with your "Their inspectors are just ordinary people off the street",in China has so many good inspector,but undeniable , someone also has some shortcomings.:notme:

...........I don't believe the correct use of this forum is to solicit your business. (I mean that politely). .........

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Hi Hershal,
I hired some inspectors in China recently, and from what they told me I understood that the largest QC firms sub-contract thousands of inspections to smaller local companies.
In this situation, the inspectors would arrive in the factory and present themselves as employees of the larger QC firm; they would also be evaluated by that larger QC firm.
The large QC firms I have in mind pretend to be accredited under the ISO/IEC 17020 Standard. But shouldn't they tell their clients that the job is sub-contracted, as that standard requires?
Thanks a lot for your insights,
Renaud