· 2 min read
Why a fixed routine falls short
Many buyers apply the same checks to every order: one inspection before shipment, whatever the supplier and whatever the product. It is easy to run and easy to explain. It also spends the same effort on a factory with thirty clean orders as on one you have never visited, and it looks at the end of production, when fixing a problem is most expensive.
Four questions that set the plan
- Who is the supplier? A verified company with a record, or a new one.
- What is the product? Complexity, materials, safety and labeling requirements.
- Where is it going? Destination rules can matter as much as the factory.
- What happened last time? Past results are the best predictor you have.
Decide stage by stage
Production has stages: materials and samples, first pieces, the run itself, the packed order, the container. For each stage, the plan chooses one of three answers: GIS verifies on site, the supplier reports through structured self-inspection, or nothing is needed because the risk does not justify it.
Let suppliers report in a standard format
Self-inspection works when it is structured: the same checklist, photos and measurements from every supplier, in one place. That makes factories and orders comparable, and it shows where an on-site visit would actually add something.
Send people where the data points
On-site missions do not disappear. They move to the places where risk or data calls for them: the first article of a new product, a supplier whose reports have drifted, the final check on an order that matters. The rest of the time the plan relies on data.
Start with one order
You do not need to redesign everything at once. Take one or two current orders, read the risk, and write the plan. The next order starts from what this one taught you.