Bureau Veritas InSpec Platform: Q&A With Chris Lai

Bureau Veritas launched their InSpec platform earlier this year, enabling small businesses and Amazon sellers to book quality inspections in more than 20 countries online.

In this interview with Chris Lai at Bureau Veritas in Hong Kong, you will learn why they launched the InSpec Platform, how you can use it to save time and money when booking quality inspections – and what you can expect in the future.

Discount

We are pleased to offer a coupon, IMPORT30USD, to all ChinaImportal.com subscribers today. Simply become an>InSpec by BV registered user and save an extra USD30 off your bookings until December 31st, 2019. Our standard price starts at USD245 per man-day when you book in advance.

About Bureau Veritas

Founded in 1828, Bureau Veritas is a global leader in Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC), delivering high-quality services to help clients meet the growing challenges of quality, safety, environmental protection, and social responsibility.

Bureau Veritas (BV) has over 12,000 TIC specialists including inspectors, auditors and lab professionals located in all the major sourcing and selling regions ready to help With rich consumer product knowledge, BV helps verify your product meets the safety and quality requirements for your destination market, and your factories maintain best in class process controls around quality, security, social and environmental compliance.

What’s the story behind the Bureau Veritas InSpec platform?

InSpec by BV is a new online product inspections booking platform powered by Bureau Veritas. BV’s dedicated product inspection specialists are located in close to 20 countries around the world, including China, Vietnam, and India.

So you can book your product quality inspections weeks in advance, or even for the next day, and receive your inspections report on the day of inspection. In addition, the platform helps you to reschedule your inspection as necessary.

We carry out over 400,000 inspections and audits every year. Our product inspection team undergoes weeks of intensive training and yearly refresher courses on the latest technologies and processes. Included in this training and the courses are reminders and reinforcements of BV’s Code of Conduct.

We also insist that factories and suppliers adhere to this Code of Conduct:

1. BV’s product inspection specialists relay the Code of Conduct to the factory at the beginning of the inspection appointment. The factory is presented with a copy and taken through the Code of Conduct. Upon completion of this briefing, the factory representative is asked to acknowledge the document’s content by signing it. Afterward, the factory keeps a copy of the Code of Conduct.

2. The document also includes a complaints channel to report any concerns related to the performance of the service.

3. Additionally, we provide a very transparent all-inclusive pricing model with no hidden fees around travel or public holidays when booking online. Users also benefit from access to an online dashboard featuring draft, scheduled and completed inspection reports, all in one handy location.

What types of customers do you intend to service through the InSpec platform?

We tailor our services to new startups who are just starting to manufacture their own products, or experienced e-tailers or Amazon sellers. You don’t need to be a large merchant or buyer to use our services.

How do I sign up and book a quality inspection via your platform?

You can simply register your free account at www.inspec-bv.com and start placing your booking. You can pay with your credit cards or bank transfer via Paypal. For China users, you will be able to use WeChat Pay and Alipay as well.

We are pleased to offer a coupon, IMPORT30USD, to all ChinaImportal.com subscribers today. Simply become an InSpec by BV registered users and save an extra USD 30 off your bookings until December 31st, 2019. Our standard price starts from USD245 per man-day when you book in advance

Do you provide standardized checklists?

Our inspections are carried out using BV inspection protocols which are based on our best practices and decades of experience from assessing millions of factories and products. All our protocols are optimized to meet today’s requirements.

Our inspection reports clearly state which BV inspection protocols have been used based on your specified products.

Can I also adjust the checklist based on my own requirements?

You can simply upload what we call, a “Tech Pack” where you can include graphical and written documents which detail the design, fit & sizing specifications as well as tolerances. Our team will review the “Tech Pack” for each booking and validate we fully understand your requirements and that our BV best practice inspection will meet your needs.

In the rare occurrence it does not, we will transfer you to a customized inspection which is managed outside of the InSpec by BV platform; either way, we will deliver the service.”

You may also include (but is not limited to) for your product

• Packing and assortment requirements
• Labeling/tag requirements
• Product sketch
• Picture of the product
• Picture of swatch
• Purchase Order
• Pre-Production comments
• BOM (bill of material)
• Approved trim card
• Testing reports
• Factory inline inspection reports

How many days in advance should I book a QC?

You can book your QC just one day in advance before our cut-off time which is 4 p.m. Hong Kong time. You may also book 15 days in advance to enjoy our early bird discount.

How quickly can I get my inspection results?

You will get your inspection report on the same day as your inspection is completed.

What information does it include?

Our comprehensive inspection reports will include the following information and photos based on specific products:

1. Result Summary – color-coded inspection result rating of “PASSED”, “INCONCLUSIVE” or “FAILED” provides more clarity.

2. Most inspections usually includes the following checkpoints: (i) quantity; (ii) product conformity; (iii) workmanship / visual (basic function and appearance); (iv) data measurement / on-site tests; (v) packing and packaging; (vi) shipping mark; (vii) labelling, printed materials and markings.

3. Shipment Quantity, Carton Selection, and combined sampling

4. Conformity Check – The conformity of product material, style, color, construction, accessories will be checked against the approved sample provided by the client.

AQL stands for Acceptance Quality Limit, it indicates the acceptance limit based on a sampling plan

5. Defect Classification – Based on the degree of severity, a defect would be classified into one of the following: Critical, Major and Minor Defects.

6. On-site Tests – On-site tests are conducted to check the parameters of products or its packing by using devices or tools (also called equipment), rather than through a visual check.

7. Equipment Calibration

8. Size Measurement Sheet – For Softline products inspection.

9. Packing and Packaging

10. Shipping mark

11. Labeling, Printed Materials, and Markings

12. BV inspection Protocols

13. BV Code of Conduct – The factory representative will be asked to acknowledge the content of the document by signing it.

You can download one of our sample report here.

Which countries and regions are covered by InSpec?

We around 20 countries including China, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, Cambodia, Egypt, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and more.

What new features can importers expect in the future?

InSpec by BV always strives to be your go-to partner for all your quality management needs.

We are working on new additional features including some inspection customization, factory audits, product testing, and an advanced data analytics dashboard to benchmark against your industry.