BY RENAUD ANJORAN

This article describes the types of quality inspections (before, during, and after production) most widely used in international trade.

They should be performed by 3rd party QC providers (appointed by the buyer), or by the buyer’s own inspectors, if you buy from China, Vietnam, India, or another low-cost country.

The term “inspection” generally refers to the activity of checking products, whereas “audit” applies to analyzing manufacturing processes and organizations. The quality inspector usually follows a pre-established checklist that is based on the product specifications. Inspected products can be the components used for production, semi-finished goods, or (most often) finished goods before shipment to a customer.

The ISO 2859 standard (derived from MIL-STD 105 E) defines an inspection as an “activity such as measuring, examining, testing or gauging one or more characteristics of a product or service, and comparing the results with specified requirements in order to establish whether conformity is achieved for each characteristic”.

I wrote this article to provide guidance to importers who source finished goods from suppliers. http://www.sunchineinspection.com/