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Quality Control & Shipping Coordination

For the buyer who wants to know what happens between the supplier finishing and the goods being in their hands: who checks the order, and what happens when something is wrong.

This page covers the quality control that sits inside an order and the coordination that gets it shipped — where the supplier is confirmed before production, where the goods are gathered and checked, how a failed check is handled, and how the shipping is planned back from your date.

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Checked and counted before it ships

The service

What the check and the coordination cover.

Four parts of the work: the supplier behind the goods, the check that runs on them, the exception when a check finds something, and the shipping that follows.

  • Supplier confirmation before production

    A new supplier is not used on an important order because the price looks good. Product capability, samples, quality, current price, MOQ, lead time, how quickly the supplier responds and how well it cooperates are confirmed first, and a formal quotation is written only on a confirmed cost and delivery basis.

  • Quality control inside the order

    The check is part of what an order is delivered with rather than something bought beside it. Own production and bought-in goods are held to the standard confirmed at the order confirmation, whether the order is a single item or a project running across several suppliers.

  • When a check finds a problem

    Goods that clearly do not match the confirmed standard stop the shipment by default. The problem is confirmed, it is judged whether the goods can be reworked, and where they cannot be, the decision comes back to you before anything is dispatched. A major issue brings the company lead into that decision.

  • Shipping coordination

    The method is chosen on quantity, destination, time and budget, and the packing, the documents and the schedule are arranged for the delivery country. The product price and the freight are quoted separately with the total cost shown, under the trade terms the quotation states.

How it runs

From a supplier line to your confirmation.

The route the goods take, and the points at which you hear from us before you ask.

  1. The supplier and the cost are confirmed

    For a new product, a special customisation or a multi-product project, purchasing or our own factory confirms the current cost, the MOQ, the process, the packing, the lead time, the extra charges and whether the supplier can really make the item — before the quotation is written rather than after the order is placed.

  2. Production is followed, and you hear about it

    Once the order is running you are updated at each point: the order entering production, the pre-production confirmation, production running, the bulk completed, QC completed, packing completed, dispatch and receipt. The important points are sent without you having to ask, and anything unexpected is sent as soon as it is known.

  3. The goods are gathered and checked

    Finished goods go to one collection point instead of leaving each factory on their own. The check runs there against the standard confirmed at the order confirmation, and the quantities are counted against the list you approved while the whole project is still in one place.

  4. Dispatched, tracked, and closed by your confirmation

    Dispatch is not the end of the order. The consignment is tracked in transit, you confirm the quantity, the quality and the packaging when it arrives, after-sales deals with whatever is still open, and the project is closed only once those main points are settled.

One person owns the order from the enquiry through the after-sales, and purchasing, production and design work behind that person: the contact who quoted the job is the contact who follows the check and the shipment, rather than handing the order to another desk.

The limits

What this service does not promise.

Five things a buyer is better off knowing at the start, because they decide what the check can and cannot do for an order.

  • A problem always starts with the facts: photographs, video, the quantity records, the order documents, and the sample or QC records. Only then is responsibility established — ours, a supplier, the carrier, how the goods were used, or a difference in how the two sides read the specification — and the solution follows from that rather than from the first message.
  • Not every order is taken. A job whose delivery cannot be met, whose process cannot be run reliably, whose quality cannot be held, whose supplier cannot be verified in time, whose payment risk cannot be controlled, or whose margin does not stand is declined rather than promised.
  • No date is quoted before the production feasibility, the lead time and the shipping have been checked.
  • Price is fifth in the order suppliers are judged on, behind quality, service, lead time and stability, so a quotation is never built on the cheapest source alone.
  • The service ends at the consignment you receive: we do not store the goods for you and we do not distribute them onwards to individual addresses.

Where a problem turns out to be ours, it is taken on rather than passed back to the supplier, and a major settlement is approved by the company instead of being settled in a message.

What we need from you

What the check is run against.

The facts a quotation is confirmed on, and the points that are settled on the goods before they are dispatched.

Before the quotation

A quotation is only as firm as the facts behind it, so these are confirmed before one is written rather than after the order is placed.

  • The product, or the occasion if the list is still open, and the quantity you need
  • Your customisation requirements: logo, colour, Pantone reference, size, material, process and packaging
  • The date the goods have to be in your hands, and the delivery country or region
  • For a new product or a special customisation, what the supplier confirms first: current cost, MOQ, process, packing, lead time, extra charges and whether the item can really be made

Before the shipment leaves

The points that are settled on the goods, so the consignment that leaves is the one you confirmed.

  • The confirmations that let production start: specification, material, size, quantity, colour, artwork, process, packaging, price, freight terms, lead time and payment terms, plus the sample where one was made
  • Colour confirmed on a Pantone reference before the bulk run, wherever the colour is strict
  • The quantities counted against the list you approved, at the point where the goods are gathered
  • Where the project is delivered in more than one batch: when each batch goes, how much is in it, what extra freight it adds and where your own date sits

Questions buyers ask

Quality and shipping questions.

The questions that come up about the check and the shipment, answered the way they would be answered by email. A native disclosure, so each answer opens on its own and no script is needed.

  • Who checks the goods before they are shipped?

    We do, and the check is part of the order rather than an extra bought beside it: goods from our own production and goods bought through the supply chain are held to the standard confirmed at the order confirmation. The check runs at the point where the project is gathered, before anything is packed or dispatched, and the quantities are counted against the list you approved at the same point. The goods are collected in one place for that reason: a supplier shipping straight to you is rare, because it is the gathering that lets the check happen at all.

  • What happens if the check finds a problem?

    Where the goods clearly do not match the standard you confirmed, the shipment is paused by default. The problem is confirmed first, then it is judged whether the goods can be reworked: where they can be, they are reworked; where they cannot be, we come back to you rather than decide on our own, and a major issue brings the company lead into the decision. Nothing is dispatched until that is settled with you.

  • The quantity is short, or the goods are not what I expected, when they arrive. What then?

    It starts with the facts: photographs, video, the quantity records, the order documents and the sample or QC records. Responsibility is established next — ours, a supplier, the carrier, how the goods were used, or a difference in understanding between us — then how serious it is, and then a solution: a remake, a replacement, a partial refund, a discount, compensation on the following order, the freight, or another arrangement agreed between us. Where the cause is ours it is taken on rather than argued about, and a major settlement is approved by the company.

  • Can I see the progress while the order is running?

    You are updated at each point after production starts: the order entering production, the pre-production confirmation, production running, the bulk completed, QC completed, packing completed, dispatch and receipt. The important points are sent without you chasing them, and anything unexpected goes out as soon as it is known. The same person stays with the project from the enquiry through to the after-sales, so the updates come from somebody who already knows the order.

  • Can you confirm the delivery date before we order?

    The date is confirmed once production feasibility, the lead time and the shipping have been checked, and a rush order goes through the same check rather than around it. What can be shown earlier is the route itself: the methods open to you, the transit time of each and what it costs, so the date you take is one that has been worked out. Where the answer is that the date cannot be met, you hear that while there is still time to change the plan.

Where to look next

The pages that carry the detail.

The production side of the same checks, the packing that follows them, and the way to reach the team about a live order.

An order is not finished when it ships.

Send the product, the quantity, your customisation requirements, the date you need the goods and the delivery country — or say what you have if part of it is still open. You will hear how the order would be checked, how it would travel, and what happens if something is wrong when it lands.

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