A mid-size California retailer sourcing dining sets from Binh Duong was seeing a ~15% defect rate from finish defects and loose joints. FurnitureQC implemented a 3-stage program — pre-production (PPI), during-production (DUPRO) and pre-shipment (PSI) — that caught issues at the production stage instead of after arrival. The defect rate fell to under 2%, and quality-related returns dropped sharply.
The problem
Dining sets arriving in California showed finish defects and loose joinery at roughly a 15% rate — enough to drive returns, reviews damage and margin erosion. Inspecting only at the end (PSI) caught the defects but too late to fix the batch cheaply.
The program we built
- PPI (pre-production): verify wood MC%, hardware and finish materials against the PO before the line starts.
- DUPRO (during production): mid-run audit to catch assembly and finish issues while they are still correctable.
- PSI (pre-shipment): AQL final check on finished, packed goods for the ship/hold decision.
The result
Catching defects at the production stage — not after a 30-day ocean voyage — drove the defect rate from ~15% to under 2%. The retailer reports far fewer quality-related returns, and the inspection program pays for itself against avoided returns and chargebacks. Across our client base, importers commonly report 70–90% fewer quality-related returns after adopting a structured inspection program.