Lots of companies decide they want to outsource the manufacturing of their product. This is due to lots of good reasons. It could be that you simply do not have the funds to create your own manufacturing facility, hire all the people, buy all the equipment and mitigate all the risks. It could be that you just want to hand over this responsibility of your business model, to a company that has been manufacturing for years and years. But just because you have outsourced, doesn’t mean you should or will lose oversight. Here is what you can do, to make sure you have quality assurance from your manufacturing service.
The contractual wording
When you are outsourcing your manufacturing, you need to be wary that you are minding your oversight needs. Manufacturing businesses don’t always like to have their clients pay them a surprise visit to check standards. But you have to make sure this provision is in the contract. You can reach an accommodation with your manufacturing service. You can opt to pay them a surprise visit, but only 2 or 3 times a year. Not to mention, you should remind them that you won’t need to be accompanied through the inspection. This is so you won’t be led away from concerning parts of their manufacturing process. You could also opt to hire an inspector who can pay the visit on your behalf.
Work with a trusted company
There are lots of new manufacturing companies that want to make your product. However, you should always try to go with a company that has been making your kind of product for a long time. This could be something like working with a drill manufacturing company, because they have the industry-leading cooling systems for when they create drill pieces. It could also be that they have a history of making a specific type of product like Omniblend. They make sports nutrition products of all kinds, but mainly powdered. So if you want to make protein for athletes or bodybuilders, then you should give them a call.
Quality assurance reports
The manufacturing company you hire should always have a reporting system for quality assurance. This is usually done monthly but can be done quarterly. However, you can put it into the contract, as to how many reports you would like. If you would like a quality assurance report every two weeks, this is something you will need to discuss with the company. But why are quality assurance reports so important? They keep the manufacturing company on their toes, knowing that you will be reading their reports about incidents where quality wasn’t matched to agreed specifications.
Outsourcing your manufacturing doesn’t mean you outsource the responsibility of quality assurance. It’s up to you to put into the contract that you will require surprise visits to check the facility practices are up to standard. And, request how many quality assurances reports you want before you sign any contract.
