We asked one of our clients to give us their impressions during a China factory visit during a buying mission recently. Read below to get an idea of how they felt during this trip. This is one of a series of blogs that we will title: Buyer Diary.

Post – production is all about tying up the loose ends as covered in the previous buyer diary. It is often the case whereby you either finish it off smoothly, or tons of trouble come in your way.

Additional goods at China factory

It’s always wise to purchase more than necessary in case of defective goods, as we have always advised. However, what happens to the additional goods? Well, it’s best to ship them back to your headquarters just in case… There must always be a backup plan. In this case, it’s the extra goods. At times of lacking goods, you will easily solve the problem instead of requesting the factory to manufacture more. Factories may not be able to do that based on various reasons such as a full production schedule, or the quantity requested is too little to start operations on machinery. At the end of the day, this may cost you more.

Alternatives could be leaving those goods at the factory or destroying them. Leaving those goods at the factory and shipping them only when necessary is not advisable. First of all, we cannot assume that these factories are trustworthy. Of course, shipping them at the very last minute would only incur more cost and inconvenience.

China Factory Additional Goods

China Factory Additional Goods

Mold

As mentioned in China Factory Visit – Buyer Diary #5 Production Terms, molding basically means producing the shape of your product and a mold is required in order to manufacture the products in the desired shape.

At the end of the day, the question to ask is – ‘Do I want to keep the molds?’ It may not seem as that important, however the mold is the key to manufacturing the product. Without the mold, there is no way the factory will be able to manufacture them.

Here is a list of reasons why you should keep the molds, or not.

Yes, I should keep the molds.

  • There is a need for future production
  • Have the molds for future reference
  • Have a back-up plan
  • Just in case

No, I should not keep the molds.

  • The manufactured product is limited in edition
  • The manufactured product is trademarked and protected
  • To avoid others manufacturing a similar or exact product

In this case, it is important to destroy the molds.

China Factory - Molding

China Factory – Molding

Quality Control

Quality control is usually when production is coming to an end, or sometimes at the end of production as mentioned in China Factory Visit – Buyer Diary #11 Coming to End of Production. What happens if QC results are not as good as expected?

You can either choose to correct these goods or to replace the faulty ones. In such a situation, it may lead subsequent problems such as late shipping etc. Usually, a delay in manufacturing of goods would lead to a series of problems. Starting from late shipment, it will end up with a late delivery. Take for example, if you are rushing out a specific batch of goods to be sold for Christmas. A delayed production means missing the sales period for Christmas.

Therefore, it is always advisable to manufacture goods early and arrange for early quality control to rectify problems immediately. Read more at China Factory Visit – Buyer Diary #2 Do’s.

Shipping and other matters

Following, it is time to ship out these goods.
Of course, carry out discussions with the factory when necessary regarding the next production or compensation due to faulty goods etc.
Most importantly, it is time whereby your organization starts preparing for the promotional event.