Many business decisions are taken on the basis of a sample received from a manufacturer. However, you may not have the manpower, expertise, or equipment to evaluate those samples when it comes to aesthetics, performance, construction, etc.
Similarly, you may get 3 or more sets of samples from your suppliers (commercial sample, golden sample, early production sample…). They might differ, and detecting those differences quickly is quite important for avoiding problems in production later.
Our experienced quality assurance team can take care of the evaluation & comparison for you to help assure there won’t be production issues later.
It really depends on your needs. We can check/test samples from a user’s point of view (aesthetics & functionality) or in a more in-depth manner. Checking and testing takes place in our offices or in-house testing laboratory.
The point is to save you time and money, without the need to send many samples back and forth from China/Vietnam to your office.
Sometimes we conduct a simple inspection covering these points:
- Basic functions as per the user manual
- Very basic safety, if applicable
- General look and feel
- Size, weight
In some other cases, we work on other aspects, including:
- Listing and analysis of the components and/or the internal workmanship
- Reliability testing (e.g. high/low temperature & humidity, vibrations, simulation of the user’s actions over a long period)
Sample evaluation
We were asked if we could evaluate the grit of an abrasive rotating disc, for an objective comparison of samples from different suppliers. The client’s goal was for the product from the new supplier to be very similar to that of the old supplier.
Sample comparison
The manufacturer sends us different samples at different stages, and those samples should all be very similar in the way they look, feel, and work. The samples might be:
- Commercial sample (before any order is issued)
- Pre-production sample
- During production sample
- Pre-shipment sample
A report with our findings.
Here’s an example of the checklist we follow (which is, of course, very dependent on the type of product):
And here’s the final report summary (which always includes photos):
Note that, in some cases, the samples will be disassembled and may not be fit for further usage.
We need to know your concerns and/or your objectives, and we will suggest an appropriate approach.
You can start by leaving a note with some of this info when you contact us for a quotation.
Yes, we can help you define a quality checklist, but we also ask you to provide us with your own requirements (about what’s important), how the products need to be packed and labelled, etc. This can vary from product to product. Guidance is provided if needed.
Please note, this is an extra service and will be charged separately – please ask us for details.
Yes, when you’ve selected a ‘winning’ sample and everything is agreed upon, we can ship it/them to you.
Please note, this is an additional service and will be charged separately. Please ask us if you need more information about us shipping samples to you.
Even if you’ve validated a supplier, due diligence needs to be performed on a product (or component) that is already developed (or is being developed) to assure that they won’t lead to costly safety issues or recalls later on.
For this, get a quotation on a 360-Degree Product Risk Assessment.
How much does sample evaluation and comparison cost?
- For simple products: 99 USD for up to 3 samples of 1 type, and an extra 30 USD per extra sample to evaluate/compare.
- For non-simple products: to be quoted based on the time it will take.
- If we also do an inspection on that exact same product, a rebate may apply on the corresponding inspection.*
*To be confirmed based on the situation.
