How quality is controlled across multiple factories
Most suppliers describing quality control are describing one factory. This page describes ours — four stages, what we will and will not claim, and where consistency genuinely breaks down.
Anyone coordinating production across several plants will tell you they inspect everything. The more useful question is what they do when consistency genuinely breaks down — that is answered further down, and it is the part worth your time.
Four stages
1 · Partner selection
Before a plant produces anything for us: site visit or live video, equipment check against the specific line, verification of their QC function and certifications, and a communication test — can they answer a technical question in writing?
New plants are assessed before they are used. Existing plants are re-audited on a cycle and after any complaint — see how our network is structured for the distinction, because "we vet 100+ factories" and "we continuously audit all of them" are different claims.
2 · The specification
One agreed document per model: material, thickness, colour reference, print position, packaging, tolerance. Every plant producing that model receives the same document.
When you approve a physical sample, that sample goes to the plant as the standard — not a photograph of it. This is the single most important step in cross-plant consistency, and it is the one most often skipped because it takes time.
3 · In-production and pre-shipment inspection
Goods are inspected at each plant before they ship, not once after they are all together. You receive photographs and a short video of the packed cartons, per plant.
First articles are held for your approval on the first run of any new model or material. If you would rather not pay for a hold, we will say so — but it is the cheapest way to catch a colour or finish problem before 1,000 pieces are made.
4 · Consolidation check
When several plants' goods come together, everything is compared against the agreed specification before loading. If something is off, the shipment stops.
This is a real decision — it costs time, and it may mean re-making something. Shipping a known problem is more expensive. If we stop a shipment we will tell you the same day, with photographs, and tell you what we intend to do about it.
Where the limits are
Stated as plainly as the rest.
This is not a gap in our process — it is inherent to coordinating several factories. We would rather you understand it before you order than discover it on your storefront.
Colour varies slightly between models from different plants
Within a single model it is consistent, because that model comes from one plant. If you need five models visually identical, that has to be one plant — and therefore one minimum per model, which is the trade this whole site is built around. You can have both: identical colour across models, or low minimums. Not both.
Finish is not identical between plants
Even to the same written specification. This is normal in cross-plant sourcing and worth knowing before you compare samples from different sources against each other and conclude one is defective.
Ongoing re-audits are our judgement
We re-audit on a cycle and after complaints, but a plant can change — equipment replaced, staff moved, management sold on. We would rather say this than imply continuous surveillance we do not perform.
If you see something that does not match a previous run, tell us immediately. That is when it is cheapest to fix — before it reaches your customer.
Independent inspection
Third-party inspection by SGS, BV or TÜV is available on any order, at your cost, before goods leave. We will arrange it, and we will act on the report even if it finds something against us.
Ask for an inspection to be arranged →
"We will act on the report even if it finds something against us" costs nothing to write and is worth a great deal. Keep the sentence only if you will genuinely do it — we publish our own partially-failed checks for the same reason.
Documentation
We work to your documentation requirements. If you need material test reports, we will say what exists for the materials and lines involved, what is current, and what would need new testing — including where the honest answer is that no current report covers your specific product.
Ordinary phone cases are not within the scope of CE marking. If a supplier tells you a case is "CE certified", ask which directive and which standard. TPU and PC are commonly assessed against REACH and RoHS material requirements — that is a different claim from product certification, and we do not present one as the other.
What to ask for and how to verify it →
How this connects to your minimums
Every point above is a consequence of the same decision: splitting your order across several plants so each model can start below a factory's minimum. That is what mixed-model ordering buys you, and this page is the other side of it.
See how the order is split and consolidated →
Ask us what we actually hold
Tell us your material and your target market and we will tell you which reports exist, which are current, and what would need new testing.