Services
Quality control
A defect caught at the loading site costs less than the same defect at the gate of a distribution centre (DC). We organise checks at three points of the chain — against the criteria agreed in the contract.
Who needs this
Three situations that call for another pair of eyes
A buyer who cannot attend the loading
The goods are loaded a thousand kilometres away or abroad. We organise the check on site and send a report with photographic evidence before the truck leaves.
A supplier to a retail chain
A DC's acceptance standard is stricter than ordinary wholesale. What to check and against which tolerances is agreed before dispatch, not after a refusal.
A company without a quality function
Keeping an inspector on the payroll for a few consignments a season is expensive. We organise control as a standalone service — for a specific shipment.
Where we control
Three checkpoints
Three points, three different risks. At origin you catch mis-grading and substitution of the consignment; on site — condition and packaging; before handover — whatever the journey has done.
At origin and at loading
Inspection at the supplier's site and at loading is organised through inspectors in the region of origin. The scope of inspection and the tolerances follow the agreed specification.
At the sorting site
Incoming control and re-grading when the consignment passes through partner sorting facilities.
Before handover
Final check before dispatch to the buyer or the DC: condition after transport, completeness of documents, conformity of labelling.
What we check
Five points of control
Checked on every consignment — to the extent agreed in the contract.
Appearance
Condition, colour, absence of visible defects — within the tolerances of the specification.
Calibre
Size uniformity against the agreed specification.
Packaging integrity
Undamaged, clean packaging in the correct format.
Labelling
Labelling matches the product, the consignment and the receiving party's standard.
Documents
The document set is complete and consistent with the cargo.
The list is extended to suit the goods: for fresh produce, loading temperature and dispatch by shelf life (FEFO) are added; for bulk cargo, moisture and impurity content; for industrial groups, certificates of conformity.
The result
A discrepancy turns into a decision
The point of control is to catch discrepancies before the DC gate rather than at it. A discrepancy that has been caught turns into a decision: pass the consignment, re-sort it, or stop the dispatch — while it is still cheap, and while the decision is yours.
Documents
Control that cannot be retold from memory
- List of parameters checked
- What exactly was checked, against which tolerances and at which point of the chain.
- Deviations found
- What was found and in what quantity, with photographic evidence of the consignment at the point of inspection.
- Decision on the consignment
- Pass, re-sort, stop the dispatch — and who took that decision.
- Document set for the cargo
- Reconciliation of the accompanying documents against the actual consignment.
The form of the report, the scope of inspection and the course of action on deviation are fixed in the contract before work starts. Independent inspection by a surveyor is arranged separately where your contract or your bank requires it.
How to ask
What to name so the criteria can be agreed
- 01
The goods and the volume of the consignment; where it is at the moment of inspection.
- 02
The specification or standard against which conformity is judged.
- 03
Checkpoints: at origin, on site, before handover — or all three.
- 04
What counts as a deviation, and which decision you want to take when one is found.
- 05
Whether a report is needed in the form your buyer, bank or retail chain uses.
Build control into your supply
Name the goods, the specification and the points where a check is needed — we will come back with criteria, the scope of control and the cost.