Frequently Asked Questions

Independent quality control helps you verify every stage of your order:

• Is my factory following international and local rules and regulations? (Social Audit)
• Has production started correctly? (Pre-Production Inspection / First Article inspection)
• Equipment & machinery factory acceptance testing? (FAT inspection)
• Is my order produced according to my specifications? (During Production Inspection)
• Is the container well loaded? (Container Loading Inspection)
• How do I make sure there are no defects? (Defect Sorting Service)
• How do I make sure the factory has put in place the right quality checks? (Production Monitoring)

There is no need to register online — this applies to both new and regular customers.

• E-mail us to book QC services.
• New customers pay in full before the inspection.
• Our operations team contacts the supplier/factory to confirm the inspection, and coordinates and assigns the right person for the job.
• We send the report to you within 24 hours after the inspection is done.

If you have any questions, you can contact us at any time.

The type of quality control inspection you need largely depends on the quality goals you want to achieve, the importance of quality in your market, and any current production issues that need to be resolved. Our staff can work with you to determine your exact requirements and propose a custom solution that best meets your needs.

VICC uses the ANSI/ASQ Z1.4-2008 as its sampling standard and acceptable quality level. This method is widely used to decide whether to accept a production lot without checking every single item. The standard has equivalents in national and international standardization organizations, such as BS 6001, ABC 105, NFX 06-022, ISO 2859 and DIN 40080.

Of course, we can also carry out inspection/audit according to your requirements or special standards.

AQL is the acronym for Acceptable Quality Limit (or Level). It is a statistical measure of the maximum number and range of defects considered acceptable during a random sampling inspection of your goods.

Defects found during a standard random inspection are usually classified into three levels:

• Critical — render the product unsafe or hazardous for the end user, or contravene mandatory regulations.
• Major — can result in product failure, reducing marketability, usability or salability.
• Minor — do not affect marketability or usability, but represent workmanship defects that fall short of defined quality standards.

Our staff can help you set the AQL standard that matches the level of risk you are willing to assume. Note that an AQL inspection only reports the findings at the time of inspection — the decision to ship is yours, made in consultation with your supplier after reviewing the report.

Our reports are very detailed and illustrated with pictures. They cover:

• Product appearance (AQL) and workmanship quality.
• Product specification review: quantity, material, color, size, measurements, labeling & marking, packaging, packing, accessories, shipping marks, and related documents and certifications.
• On-site testing and special checks.
• Important remarks and professional feedback.

In a word, we tell you everything you want to know about your products or vendors.

For inspections in mainland China, reports are sent within 24 hours after completing the inspection.

If you need a rush service, VICC can send the report the same day for a $30 surcharge.

VICC inspects the shipment according to AQL international standards and also according to your instructions, specifications and criteria. Our results are then given to you through a fully detailed and illustrated report, which allows you to decide whether to allow the shipment of your products.

You can accept or reject your shipment directly.

Product inspections start at $228 all-inclusive, for simple inspections with a small sampling quantity. Product inspections are usually performed within 1 man-day. The number of man-days needed depends on the total ordered quantity (which determines the sampling size to inspect), the complexity of your product, and the number of references to inspect.

FYI, when booking your product inspection, you will receive a quotation before confirming your order.

You will receive the invoice at the end of the month covering all the inspections we performed on your behalf. This invoice is payable upon receipt by TT, Western Union, Alipay, Wechat, PayPal and WISE.

We invoice in USD, but you can pay us in any major currency.

We offer special packages for our VIP clients who book regular inspections and have been working with us for an extended period of time.

It is extremely rare that non-conforming goods make it out of the factory if VICC is hired. In the vast majority of cases, the root cause turns out to be damage during shipping, or shipments approved after a failed inspection where the buyer trusted the factory enough to ship without a re-inspection or defect sorting service.

We therefore highly recommend booking a re-inspection or defect sorting service after a failed inspection, and working with your shipping partners to insure the product against damage in transit. VICC guarantees we will inspect the product to the standard and methods approved by you (including the chosen sampling size). In the event that our inspectors do not follow the agreed standards, VICC will make a refund of up to 3 times the price of the inspection.

We run a dynamic inspector and auditor training and audit program. This includes periodic retraining and testing, unannounced visits to factories where inspections or audits are being conducted, random interviews with suppliers, and random audits of inspection reports, as well as periodic efficiency audits. This keeps our inspector team among the best in the industry.

It is important to understand the role of a QC provider. Inspection companies only evaluate and report on findings — we do not decide whether a production lot is acceptable, nor do we help the manufacturer resolve issues unless that service has been arranged. An inspector’s sole responsibility is to ensure proper procedures are followed for the relevant AQL inspections and to report the findings.

If a supplier takes no remedial action based on those findings, the same problems will occur repeatedly. VICC also provides QC consulting and production management services that can help a supplier resolve production issues.

Your coordinator stays in constant communication with your supplier and our inspection team about your inspection schedule, so in most cases we know in advance if a date needs to be changed. In some cases, however, the supplier does not communicate in time.

In this case, unless you direct otherwise in advance, we cancel the inspection. A partial inspection fee will be assessed, and you have the right to recoup that cost from your supplier.

Several factors can affect the timely completion of an inspection. The most common is production not being finished. VICC requires production to be 100% complete and at least 80% packaged or shipped before we complete the inspection — otherwise the integrity of the inspection is compromised.

Other factors may include severe weather conditions, uncooperative factory staff, unexpected transportation issues, or incorrect addresses supplied by the customer and/or factory. Our customer service team works directly with the factory or supplier on all matters regarding the inspection date, location and delays to minimize these issues.