SPECIAL REPORT: How buyers are reacting to product recalls
by Paul Teague -- Purchasing, 8/24/2007 1:58:00 PM
Buyers in industries of all kinds are intensifying their supplier-management efforts in the wake of recent product recalls by Mattel of toys made in China. From setting more rigorous supplier-selection criteria, to more frequent on-site inspections to demands for assurance that tier-two and tier-three suppliers are following stringent quality procedures, purchasing professionals are instituting new procedures and reviewing best practices to ensure that their global sourcing activities, whether in China or other low-cost countries, uncover potential problems before they occur.
It’s classic risk management. Quality problems are among the risks that cause supply chain disruptions, according to a major study by professors Kevin Hendricks, formerly of the University of Western Ontario, and Vinod R. Singhal, of the Georgia Institute of Technology. And, adds Dennie Norman, principal strategist for worldwide marketing at Cary, North Carolina-based SAS, Inc., those supply chain disruptions can damage a company’s brand image. “Companies need risk-management roadmaps,” Norman says.
Purchasing editors have interviewed several buyers and industry experts on the product-recall issue. Check out these stories and prepare your own roadmap for avoiding the supply chain problems that cause defective products—and damage to companies’ reputation.
Read these stories:
-
Quality control moves to the forefront in wake of product recalls
-
Quality, testing are key priorities in sourcing ingestible materials.
-
Cains Foods asking for safety, quality certifications from food-ingredients suppliers
Got a risk management success story, or a recall horror story, send it to pteague@reedbusiness.com
-
The recall problems are associated with not doing your homework up front when outsourcing either in the USA or any other country. Quality and manufacturing standards are set before anyone can even bid your product. Once a supplier and you agree on the standards and cost, it is up to you, the Purchaser, to put in place an independent audit for quality on each and every shipment. I have my overseas independent Engineering/Quality Assurance group check on all product at the beginning of all production and then a final quality check before it goes into a container. This includes a last part off tooling for dimensions as well as working with the finishers for plating, powder coating, or anodizing to assure the correct products are put in or on my finished product. As time goes on, most suppliers try to cut corners for cost in all raw materials as well as secondary operations to keep from asking for cost increases to your product. You must be dilligent when working with any contractor, no matter what country you are dealing with, for product that eventually has your name associated with the end product.
Jim Witte - 8/20/2007 2:19:00 PM EDT -
Actually, the lead paint recalls clearly demonstrate problems specifically with low-quality Chinese vendors, but the huge Mattel magnetic toy recall is a completely different issue. The 9.5 million Polly Pocket!, Batman etc. toys that consumers are now being asked to return were assembled in China and use magnets sourced from China. But even the CEO Bob Eckert has disclosed that the real issue is not shoddy production but a problem in the design. These new NIB magnets are so powerful and so small that it is hard to keep them firmly encased in the toy while allowing the magnet to be partially exposed so its magnetic properties can work. Geomag of Switzerland seems to have done a great job in safely designing their magnetic building sets. But Magnetix by Mega Brands, and these Mattel toys, have had multiple CPSC recalls because of the same product defect - the lip didn't cover the edged of the magnets and they popped off unexpectedly.
Let's spend more time asking our North American toy conglomerates to design safe toys, even if they end up costing us more, and less time railing on China. As a parent I would rather buy a few higher quality toys than so many cheap junky toys.
How many different models of Polly Pocket can a girl need, anyway? Somebody's making a lot of money on this huge product assortment. Just a few examples of recalled inexpensive toys: Polly Pocket!â„¢ Quick Clickâ„¢ House of Styleâ„¢ Playset; Polly Pocket!â„¢ Polly by Me Totally Beadiful; Polly Pocket!â„¢? Quick Clickâ„¢ Penthouse;
Polly Pocket!â„¢? Quick Clickâ„¢ Movie Timeâ„¢ Playset.
A Mom - 8/17/2007 3:33:00 PM EDT
Product Recalls Emphasize Buyers’ Roles
08/20/2007How buyers are reacting to product recalls
09/12/2007
Now Playing: 