Generally, there are 14 points of change in your supply chain. It only takes one bad incident to damage a couple cases. So before you ship directly to Amazon, take a peak at them, using a 3PL product inspection service.
What is a 3PL product inspection service? It is a solution to ensure product quality at the finish line of your supply chain. It is the last check-in before products ship to Amazon. Remember brands are built on product quality. And your last opportunity for quality control comes from a 3PL product inspection. These services come from a dedicated staff at a prep center. This post examines how an Amazon seller should inspect products before shipping to Amazon.
How Product Inspections Work
How Many Units in a Production Inspection?
To be safe, request a 3PL product inspection which covers 10% of total inventory. Do this before delivery to Amazon. 10% offers a statistical insight. It shows the rate at which your items were damaged in transit or in production. A rule of thumb, if Amazon see’s at least 10% of your products being returned – you are in trouble. While they take a holistic approach to listing suspension, your listing could be in jeopardy. In short, if you inspect 10% yourself, you should be safe.
How Detailed is a 3PL Product Inspection?
You choose your own level of detail. For example, do you only need the product packaging inspected? Perhaps a warehouse worker stepped on your cases, while walking across the tops of pallets. As a result, the product’s packaging now looks smooshed. However, if you shipped glass products – you might need more. For example, if your supplier slacked on packaging, you might have broken glass. Now you need to remove the broken products. Also, you need to remove products contaminated by glass shards. See how that works? You can still clean up the contaminated products. However, they will need a 3PL product inspection as well.
Product Testing – The Ultimate Product Inspection
A 3PL Product inspection is surface level service. In other words, they only examine goods with the naked eye. And that is okay! However, they do not test products. And you might have a dynamic product with many moving parts. For example, perhaps you have an umbrella. While the packaging is okay, are you sure all the moving parts work? Sellers can benefit from verification that all moving parts work. And work well. Similarly, maybe you have a battery powered electronic product. There’s alot of moving parts. If any one is out of synch – the product is faulty. As a result, it’s important the product is pulled from packaging and tested. Make sure it operates well. Make sure to highlight any trends towards malfunction.
In summary, a 3PL Product Inspection, including testing, benefits both you, your listing and the client. Do not be shy when firming up product quality. Especially, when it’s at the finish line of the sales cycle. To learn more about 3PL Product Prep, return to our guide here.