Observations from Leading U.S. and European Product Rework Companies on the Quality Issues They are Seeing and Hearing About in their Production Centers
Sourcing Diversification is Well Underway
In recent years, major importers in the U.S. and Europe have been implementing sourcing diversification strategies as part of their business resilience plans. Spurred in part by events such as the pandemic, regional wars, trade issues, economic conditions, and various natural disasters, the strategies are intended to reduce risk and “not put all of their eggs in one sourcing basket”.
However, the onboarding of new factory partners to supply importers in the U.S. and European markets requires precise execution and collaboration from both the importer and the new factory partner (“exporter”) to position new partners for potential success.
New Factories = New Challenges?
Well, yes. Many. There’s logistics management, differences in language, skilled talent availability in the new location, regulatory and legal considerations, production equipment calibration, and much more.
As we see it, managing product quality may be the biggest challenge. If product quality is not met, inventory availability can be impacted, sales can be lost, and importer brand reputations can be affected as well.
One of our partner companies provides product rework services for goods that have been shipped to the U.S. market with workmanship issues, labeling mistakes, mold and more. They have provided these services for over 40 years and, in the past few years, they had customers regularly inform them that they “onboarded a new factory” when discussing in a call or email that they discovered workmanship or other issues on their latest shipment which requires rework.
From the sourcing diversification perspective, they have also noticed that the countries of origin on products they have reworked just in the past year have grown as well. In the first half of this year, their team worked on goods with countries of origin from 14 different countries. Our partner QCI also talk regularly with their peers from Erren Recondition in Europe, and they also note similar trends and observations in their product rework services business.
While Quality Corrections & Inspections (QCI) and Erren Recondition are downstream solutions to address product quality issues post-shipment from factories where product has been sourced, it is also important to note that upstream at the factory side a variety of consultants are often engaged (such as 3rd party inspection and factory audit firms like us RSJ Inspection Service Limited) to provide services in support of ensuring product quality.
Common Product Challenges and Solutions
Experienced and well-qualified product rework experts have unique vantage points for the types of common product reworks required for merchandise such as apparel, footwear, accessories, and consumer goods exported to U.S. and European markets. QCI and Erren Recondition, for example, service hundreds of importers and their factory partners abroad annually to meet their product rework needs resulting from quality, compliance, shipping and handling issues that have affected goods delivered to the respective markets.
The most common issues based on our observations of “what’s being reworked” upon arrival to U.S. and European markets include:
- Mold/Water Damage – far and away the most common issue.
- Poor Product Adhesion and Bonding Failures.
- Incorrect or Missing Labels.
- General Workmanship – many fashion products are still relatively handmade in factories. Workmanship issues can include sewing defects, finishing issues, excess glue, poorly installed or defective snaps, buttons, fasteners, and more.
- Stains/Spot Cleaning – processing marks and other soils (examples could include blooming, grease, oils, dirt, ink markings, yellowing from oxidation, and color bleeds).
- Packaging Issues – incorrect product component parts, poor packaging and handling procedures leading to cargo damage.
Companies can expect there will be times when they will need to address and overcome problematic shipments that do not meet expectations. In those moments, companies will be faced with some alternatives to consider quickly. Those alternatives might include reordering to replace the goods, canceling the order which could negatively impact inventory availability for the importer and potentially financial loss to the supplier, or accepting goods as-is with the possibility of risk to brand and supplier reputation. However, in many cases time is of the essence to meet inventory availability demands and supplier performance expectations. That is when product rework may be a necessary solution to quickly address many of the common issues described above and more.
Selecting and utilizing a rework partner should not be taken lightly. Due diligence should be undertaken to verify qualifications, experience, business licensing, and more before engaging. Also, demand that your partner examine and process affected units in need of rework prior to engaging as a check to verify and demonstrate that their performance can meet quality demands and expectations. Product rework should not just be viewed as an expense item, but an investment in a successful outcome.
Sourcing new partners, supply chain complexities, and unforeseen disruptions can be challenging and impact consistency of product quality. However, it can be reassuring for importers and their supplier factory partners to know that well established supply chain resilience partners such as Quality Corrections & Inspections, Erren Recondition —together with RSJ Inspection providing on-the-ground support— are there when faced with quality surprises.
Content and information provided by Randy Burk, Executive Vice President and “Creative Problem Solver” from our partner company – Quality Corrections & Inspections (QCI).
