Staying on Schedule: 3 Tips Every Importer Must Know

It can be tough for importers to stay on schedule with shipments. When you add serious product quality problems into the mix, it can be even harder to meet your customers’ expectations. If you’re feeling the missed deadline heat all too often when it comes to your imported goods, here are three tips to help turn the ship around.

Set quality and deadline expectations upfront

One common mistake importers make is the failure to screen suppliers properly and have expectations clarified from the start. This can cause a whole host of problems, from production and shipping delays to serious product quality issues. When your supplier doesn’t get your expectations, you’ll be scrambling around at the last minute to correct the issues you have and still ship on time. In a worst-case scenario, you won’t discover problems until the goods have arrived, when it’s harder and more expensive to rectify them and you’re making your customers wait.

Make sure you’re thoroughly checking your suppliers out before you use them and that you’re clear on what you expect. Use services from a China inspection company to help ensure the factory is what you believe it to be and that the products that will be shipped are going to meet your specs.

Get updates regularly

Breaks in communication can cause production and shipping delays, but it’s not always easy to communicate with a supplier in a factory that is nowhere near you. While you may have consistent contact with a salesperson from the factory, you’ve got to keep in mind that he or she is likely not well-versed in production and may never or rarely visit the factory that is making your goods. Try to maintain regular contact with a person who is actually in the factory and directly involved with your products. If a language barrier is present, you could ask him or her to send you photos of your goods instead. A skilled inspector from a China inspection company can also report on your product’s quality and your order status directly to you.

Keep working toward a better process

Essentially, you want to keep working toward a better outcome for all of your orders. To do this, make sure you have a plan in place with your supplier and quality control team regarding the inspection of your products and the methods used to address problems. Visit the factory if you can; if not, send someone on your behalf to check your products at multiple production stages. Ask customers for feedback about your products so that issues are caught early.

Before you place your next order with a supplier, make sure you take the steps needed to ensure expectations are met and that you’re not constantly facing looming deadlines you don’t think you’ll meet. With multiple inspections and regular communication with the factory, you can keep your goods on schedule and in the condition you need them to be for all your customers.