By Richard Brubaker in 'All Roads Lead To China'

Here is a perfect example of why you need to inspect your goods before they leave the China border.

By Mike Bellamy

While China QC is no longer an oxymoron, there is still a lot of “hand holding” required to ensure suppliers fully understand your specs and have the ability to maintain quality.

What are some of the key terms and concepts I need to understand regarding Quality control in China?

Quality Control (QC): A system that is put in place by a manufacturer to monitor and maintain quality as goods flow from raw materials (Inbound QC or IQC) into semi-finished goods (In Process QC or IPQC) into finished goods ready and packaged for shipment (Final QC or FQC).

Small and medium-size importers tend to have preconceived ideas about quality control. They tend to think product inspections are supposed to be performed at the end of production, but in many cases it is too late.

By Renaud Anjoran in 'The China Sourcing Blog'

The article is about QC inspections. Maybe you let your supplier ship the goods without inspecting. Maybe you use a third-party company to control your products. Maybe you have your own inspectors. Are you taking unnecessary risks? Are you paying too much? The only way to form an opinion about these questions is to be familiar with the basics of quality control.

Many importers do not realize that the quality control starts long before production actually begins. In fact, an importer's quality control begins with the evaluation and selection of their supplier in China.

Trust but verify is the rule for China quality control -- trust that the supplier will deliver the quality you've defined in the purchase order, but verify the quality as well.

Q: What can a new importer expect when buying from China in terms of product quality?

A: What they can expect is certainly to have a complete change in the environment, and the culture, and the way to deal with the clients,