When you live to make your customers happy, nothing can be more harrowing than trying to make up for a delayed shipment. In most cases, your product — developed, marketed and produced with such care — is already out of your hands before you’re aware a delay has occurred. The disappointment of your package arriving late can put a serious dent in your customer’s satisfaction, no matter how much he or she loves your product.

Unfortunately, delays in shipment are not uncommon, but preventable nonetheless. Here are some common issues a shipment is delayed. Read further to see how delays can be avoided.

Possible causes for shipment delays can be:

• – Delays in shipment of raw materials or components to the assembly factory
• – Factory equipment malfunction
• – Human resource issues
• – Logistics (freight forwarder) delays
• – Incorrect order quantity loaded (partial shipment)
• – Product gets held in Customs

So, how do avoid delays?

1. Pre-Production Audits and Inspections:

Preventative action is the most effective way to avoid delays in shipments and reduce overall quality risks and cost.  Supplier evaluations incorporate key indicators that ensure production is timely. For example, ISO 9001 based audits focus on the following:

• – Management Responsibility
• – Internal Audits
• – Personnel (Training)
• – Design Control
• – Document Control
• – Purchasing
• – Contract/Order Review
• – Production & Process Controls
• – Process Validation
• – Inspection, Measuring and Test Equipment
• – Acceptance Activities
• – Identification & Traceability
• – Nonconforming Product Control
• – Corrective & Preventative Action
• – Labeling & Packaging
• – Handling, Storage & Distribution
• – Quality Records
• – Corrective & Preventative Action

Audits generally identify any areas of non-conformance prior to production, with corrective action improvement plans resolving issues before they can cause delays.

2. In-Process/Pre-Shipment Inspections:

With production order monitoring and expediting by a third-party, your business has eyes and ears on-site. At SBE Inspection, we work closely with our customers and their suppliers by controlling the quality of the manufactured goods and giving our support that the goods are delivered on time. We measure and report on progress to meet shipping schedule commitments.

When the shipment is ready to load, counts are verified to ensure the order is accurate.

To avoid your shipment being delayed or held by customs, it is important to make sure documentation is correct.  Missing, incomplete or incorrect documentation is one of the top reasons for international shipments being delayed. In addition, make sure that shipments do not exceed country-specific weight and size limits. Additional information regarding weight and size limits can be found here.

How about you – Do you have other tips on preventing delays in shipments?

See more at sbeinspection.com

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