We asked one of our clients to give us their impressions at a China factory visit during procurement recently. Read below to get an idea of how they felt during this trip, regarding ODM’s role in a factory. This is one of a series of blogs that we will title: Buyer Diary.

ODM has 4 offices in total, 1 in Hong Kong, 2 in China and 1 in Singapore. One of the 2 offices that we have in Zhu Hai is a china buying office. In this office, we have a team of merchandisers who source for products and contact factories directly. So now, you must be wondering what is ODM’s role in a factory? Today, we will be discussing more about the role that we play in the china buying office and exactly what we do.

The role that ODM plays in a factory can be categorized as follows:

  • Design Work
  • Quality Control (QC)
  • Oversee production to ensure that everything is advancing smoothly
  • Manage projects to make certain that factory keeps to the schedule and meets deadlines

Design work

ODM has its own team of designers in the Hong Kong, China and Singapore office. These designers work on the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) projects as well as ODM’s very own innovative products. For every OEM project that we get, our designers would work on the artwork of the product and modify them according to the client’s request. Also, these designers are well trained in industrial designing as well. This means that they know what kind of materials to use in order to bring the production cost down as well as colour costing. They are also professionals who know how to bring the unit price down or save on mould costs by making slight modifications to the product itself.

Our designers also work closely with the factory in order to communicate the design of the product to them. If the factory is unsure about the design or how to produce the product, our designers would speak to them and explain about the design in greater detail. This allows the factory workers to clarify any doubts that they have and have a better understanding about the product.

Quality Control (QC)

ODM has its very own team of QC inspectors. These inspectors go down to the factory to check the goods and make sure that they are of good quality before shipping them out to the client. If there are any defective goods to be found, these QC inspectors would make sure that the factory reproduces them and that the reproduced product meets all requirements. Our inspectors would also prepare a QC report for us to check and for the client as well. This will help to keep our clients up to date and reassure them that their final goods have passed the QC.

Having our own team of QC inspectors is what makes ODM different and stand out from our competitors. ODM aims to provide the best service for our clients and what better way to do this than to offer the full package from design to QC services!

Oversee Production Process

One other role that ODM plays in factories is to oversee the production process. The merchandisers in our China office will keep in close contact with the factory workers from time to time. This allows us to check on the production status and ensure that the production is going on smoothly. If there are any problems that arise along the way, the factory will inform us and we will immediately know about it. With this, we can rectify the problem before it gets worse and end up delaying the whole project.

China Factory Visit - Buyer Diary #30 ODM's Role in Factory

China Factory Visit – Buyer Diary #30 ODM’s Role in Factory

Overseeing the production process is extremely essential for every project. When we keep an eye on the project, we will be able to update our clients along the way and let them know the progress from time to time.

Project Management

ODM manages the projects directly for every client. We are responsible for the whole production process of the client’s project. This includes the making of the mould to the shipping of the final goods. By managing the project ourselves, we can make certain that the factory keeps to the original schedule and meet the final deadline. If there are any hiccups along the way that prevents us from meeting the deadline, we would step in and come up with solutions in order to prevent a crisis from taking place.

Conclusion

Overall, ODM works hand in hand with the factories. Both our designers and merchandisers would communicate with them directly and clarify any doubts and uncertainties that the factory workers have. This is done so in order to make sure that the factory does not mess things up. If anything goes wrong, ODM would immediately know about it and this allows us to have some time to resolve the problem. With the management system in place, we will also be sure to meet the clients’ deadlines. When the final goods have been checked and shipped out, both the client and ODM would be satisfied with the final outcome.

So after reading more and having a better understanding about ODM’s role in the factory, what are you waiting for? Feel free to approach us if you require any QC services or require help to manage your suppliers! ODM would be very happy to assist you in any way that we can!