Pre-Shipment Inspection Explained

If you order goods or materials from anywhere, you need to be sure, before you pay for them and ship them to their destination, that they are fit for purpose. That’s the reason for a pre-shipment inspection, the quality inspection team visits the factory site and verifies the quality of the finished products and their packaging. Upon completion of the pre-shipment inspection and quality control.  A certificate of conformity is prepared to assure that your products are in perfect condition.

After inspection at the factory, the inspector prepares the on-site draft and reviews it with the factory manager. However, the draft is different from the final report, and the buyer must be clear about the differences to avoid any misunderstanding as to the result of the quality inspection.

A pre-shipment inspection for obvious reasons takes place at the end of or near the end of the manufacturing process when between 80% and 100% of the order is complete and packaged for shipping.

There are standards for pre-shipment inspections based on the AQL (Acceptable Quality Level) and ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standards which ensure that the sample size drawn from any given shipment is statistically significant enough to represent the whole shipment.

What is inspected during a pre-shipment inspection?

• Product safety

• The Product conformity to specific standards required by the purchaser, or country of destination

• The Quantity

• Product workmanship

• Color conformity

• The size

•Packaging conformity to standards

• The Packaging safety

• Many other variables can be checked at this stage of inspection too.

The value of final inspection reduces the need for quality control at the receiving end of the supply chain. You know that your goods conform to the standards you require before they are shipped, giving you peace of mind and preventing costly recalls and repairs.

You can talk through your requirements with a quality testing specialist if you have any doubts before embarking on a process of final inspections or outsource the whole process if that is more convenient or cost-effective.

At this stage of testing, turnaround times from inspection to reporting must be minimal, and you have all the information you need to make key decisions that reduce delays in receiving high-quality finished products, pre-shipment inspections are the essential part of any quality control process.

The pre-shipment inspection report

The quality inspection report gives us an overview of the quality of the merchandise:

It is done to show the manufacturer the main defects found while the inspector is in the factory. The first page includes the defects found as well as the nonconformities compared to the reference sample or the product specifications given by the buyer. Each of the defects, non-conformities, and conformities are mentioned and explained

All completed tests are listed.

Photos of each failure are attached to ensure a good understanding of the situation by the buyer.

The final report must be controlled in detail by the inspection supervisor before sending it to the buyer. The objective is to ensure that all the specifications of the order have been checked, all tests have been completed, and the explanations for each detail are clear. This explains why discrepancies can be found between the draft and the pre-shipment inspection quality inspection report, as well as the reason why the draft should not remain in the factory.

Final Inspection Statement

The final inspection statement is one that the buyer must take into account to decide if the quality of the merchandise is acceptable. Also, some corrective actions should be implemented in collaboration with the manufacturer. Draft only serves to have an overview of the products and needs to be digested and verified.

The inspector is required to perform the draft quality inspection report to the manufacturer to recognize the quality problems encountered during the inspection (the manufacturer must sign the draft and thus confirm that he is informed of the failures found during the inspection).

Note: In this case, neither the draft nor any other document indicating the defects found during the inspection can be left in the factory unless the buyer requests it before the day of the inspection.

Random final inspection can only occur once production has been completed and packaged and ready for shipment. Through the use of a statistical method used by industry standards, inspecting companies carry out a sampling of the products to verify:

• Product safety

• Quantity

• Workforce

• Function

• Colour

• Size

• Container

• And others…

Inspection Report

This inspection will guarantee that your products are consistent and comply with the industrial and country-specific requirements and that there are no major and minor defects that may be critical.

At each stage of the production cycle, the inspector provides a complete and detailed inspection report within 24 hours along with images that enable you to visualize the work developed. We have a global network of inspectors that allow us to execute your inspection within five working days after receiving your order.

A final inspection (PSI) by Tetra Inspection will give you expert insight before the production begins giving you the safety and quality network and the confidence that your suppliers will offer you products of the highest quality, which favors the values of your brand.

Why choose Tetra Inspection?

During the last random inspection, we do a full survey of the merchandise including (but not limited to): appearance, workmanship, size, weight, functionality, appendices, illustrations, packaging, packaging, and other specific items on your checklist. QA.

Our quality assurance specialists can help you identify the steps you need to take to correct any non-compliances found before shipments take place. We can save you money by deploying our professionals, even in the most remote areas.

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