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