Month: January 2017

The Overseas ISO Problem

When a customer is looking to purchase a product, two factors they look at when deciding what company to do business with is cost and quality. Many customers choose to buy their products overseas based on the original price they are quoted. When doing that though, there is no guarantee on the quality of the products because there is no way to track ISO certification with these overseas companies. At Mid-West Screw Products we have heard many stories of the difficulties customers have had with getting quality products form companies overseas.

When dealing with companies overseas, it is tough to determine the quality of the product you will receive. In the United States if a company is ISO certified, that means there are certain processes and procedures they have in place to provide quality products. A KANBAN system can also be implemented. When put in place this allows customers to make changes and revisions to parts during each production run. This is not the case when ordering from overseas as you will get one delivery of all the parts, instead of having multiple production runs where the customer can make changes based on the customer updated revisions to their parts, that they realize, during their PO that is currently open.

ISO works by having strict regulations that must be met to ensure quality. Sometimes big companies try to change the way smaller companies do business in ways that go against your ISO. Remember, your certification is based on how YOU do business to assure quality parts and on time deliveries. Things like how you stock inventory and how parts move through plants must be done in a way that meets your ISO, not in any way a big company wants. They have their unique, in-house requirements and how they are met within their own standards. Also ALL verbal orders MUST be avoided. Every order should have proper documentation to make sure it meets ISO certifications and its requirements.

Even if an overseas company states it is ISO certified, and it quotes cheaper prices than companies in the U.S., it is important to remember the potential extra costs and difficulties you may face. Extra costs to get the item out of one country and into the U.S. are common, as well as dealing with middlemen who may charge a fee. When doing business with ISO certified companies in the United States, you know what you are getting, as opposed to the uncertainty you face when doing business with an overseas company. We are ISO certified at Mid-West Screw Products and can provide you top quality parts. Contact us here for more information.