Manufacturing

Factory Selection

How to shortlist, evaluate and choose a factory — without flying there for every meeting.

Match scale: a factory running 500,000 units/month won't care about your 2,000-unit order. Find one where your order is 10–30% of their capacity.

Audit their existing client list. Ask for references from buyers of similar products, similar volumes. Call them.

Request their quality certifications: ISO 9001 is standard. For specific categories: CE (Europe), UL (US), BIS (India), REACH (chemicals).

Factory audit checklist: production area size, number of machines, workers, monthly output, storage conditions, testing equipment.

In India: MSME cluster approach works well. Rajkot for engineering/auto, Surat for textiles, Ahmedabad for pharma, Morbi for ceramics.

For Chinese factories: use Alibaba's RFQ, Made-in-China.com, or Yiwu sourcing agents. Always verify the factory's export licence is active.

Quality Control

When to inspect, what to inspect, and how to handle rejection without destroying the supplier relationship.

Three inspection stages: Pre-production (raw materials check), During production (inline QC at 20–30% completion), Pre-shipment (final batch inspection).

AQL (Acceptable Quality Level) sampling: AQL 2.5 is standard for most consumer goods. Defines how many defects per lot you'll accept.

Third-party inspection: SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek, QIMA. Cost: ₹12,000–₹25,000 per inspection day. Worth it before every first order.

Common defects by category: electronics (functionality, cosmetic scratches), garments (stitching, colour consistency), food (labelling, weight).

Create a QC checklist before production starts — not after. The factory needs to know your standards upfront, not when you reject the batch.

Rejection protocol: document everything with photos. Agree on rework vs replacement vs credit note. Put this in writing in the purchase order.

Production Monitoring

How to track a production run from 10,000 km away — and what you can't control remotely.

Milestone-based payment: pay 30% deposit, 40% on production completion (with QC), 30% on BL surrender. Never pay 100% upfront.

Weekly photo/video updates from the production floor. Agree on this before placing the order — not during.

Production tracker sheet: share a Google Sheet with the factory. Columns: planned quantity, produced quantity, QC pass/fail, shipment date.

Factory delays are normal. Build 2–3 weeks buffer into your delivery promise. Seasonal peaks: Chinese New Year, Diwali, Gujarat festival cycle.

For high-stakes orders: hire a local sourcing agent or inspection company to be physically present during production.

The biggest production disaster is silence — if a factory stops responding to updates, escalate immediately. Don't wait.