For many overseas customers of the auto parts industry, the supplier audits and pre-shipment inspections (QCs) in China stopped in early 2020. Those overseas customers with no offices or agencies in China are facing even more challenges.

At present, although the epidemic in China has been effectively controlled, overseas customers are still unable to come to China for various reasons. The existing supplier resources have been depleted, purchase orders need to be shipped as soon as possible, so the need for the supplier development and quality control has reached the point of real urgency.

To help international buyers to continue their supply chain operations in China during and after COVID-19, especially the important tasks of factory audits and pre-shipment inspection, Shentou has successfully launched a tailor-made solution of “on-site audit/inspection + remote participation in real time” that has assisted many international buyers to effectively manage their supplier development, management and procurement activities in China without being physically present in China.

The solution of “on-site activities plus remote participation” is NOT simply to have international buyers look at the entire process of factory audits or pre-shipment inspections via some form of video-links while local service providers undertake the process on the ground at the site of the factories.

Rather, it takes meticulously planning, especially on the identification of product-specific key product and process characteristics, before each audit or inspection. Local service providers need to proactively work with the factories and the international buyers in advance, so that the remote participations by buyers during the on-site audits or QC inspections by the service providers can be focused, the processes under control, and the results verifiable and trusted.

It not only requires the service providers to be professionally experienced in the standard audit or inspection operations, but it is also critical that the service providers have sufficient knowledge in and experience with the specific products and the production process.

With the use of the appropriate digitalization technologies, such as video-conferencing, live-broadcasting, and cloud computing, Shentou has demonstrated that on-site factory audits and QC inspections by local service providers on the ground in China plus remote participations by international buyers in real time is reliable and effective.