Some importers don’t work with third-party inspection companies because they can’t find a way to cooperate. They think these agencies are not flexible enough.
Here is a list of examples.
1. Not an inspection somewhere in the morning and somewhere else in the afternoon.
In general, 1 booking is for performing 1 type of service in 1 factory.
2. No special calculations for invoicing
Inspection services are sold per man-day (1 man-day is 1 worker for 1 day), not per hour or per half man-day.
3. If possible, no fully customized services
A handful of standard services are proposed. They are what the staff is trained to perform.
Some customization is possible (e.g. adding some checkpoints that are specific to the product or to the client’s requirements), but the structure of the service and its deliverable will be unchanged… Except if the volume of work is high enough to justify a special training program.
4. If possible, no client-specific report template
Some large buyers have their own report template, and ask third-party QC firms to use it.
The same logic as point 3 applies: it is manageable if they represent a certain number of man-days per month. For small clients, it is not worth the pain to train people to get familiar with it.
