When manufacturing any product, there is a chance that it could defective, even when the goal is to make it as high-quality as possible. Studies show that an item being damaged or defective is second most popular reasons for eCommerce consumer returns. Defect products can dramatically affect the profitability of a business so reducing the amount manufactured is a natural step.
Not only are these products a drain on valuable time and money for a business, but they can negatively impact brand image and reputation. While high-quality products result in high levels of consumer satisfaction, defect ones achieve the opposite and can lead to poor reviews which then decreases your likelihood of future sales.
How can businesses best deal with defective products?
Quality Assurance
Making systematic efforts to ensure every product that reaches consumers is up to code can improve trust in your brand. Having a team in place that is dedicated to monitoring issues around quality means that problems can be reported earlier in the development process. These issues include system improvements, human error, process enhancements, and manufacturing issues.
Decision-makers are then aware of these concerns in good time and can make corrections before products are released for sale. Businesses are then able to optimise the production of goods and improve asset and resource management.
Transportation
Product damage during packaging and delivery has been highlighted as one of the most overlooked areas affecting business profitability as it is estimated that 0.3% of all loads are lost or damaged in transit. This can be avoided when goods are packed for transport correctly.
Ensure that your products have protective packaging and secured using bungee cords to prevent them from moving or falling during transit. Using the right packaging solutions will limit the amount of damaged goods reaching customers and will reduce your costs by protecting your brand.
Product testing
To keep up with a fast-changing and competitive market, you can make sure that every available product is completely safe to use and meets customer demands. Through design tests and consumer feedback, you can get out in front of potential issues before launching a new product. It allows you to collect insightful feedback and helps your business to continuously improve performance.
Product testing also gives your company an edge by generating data that can forecast trends in consumer habits. With this, you can upgrade existing products and prevent negative reputations on a large scale.
Provide training
Human error can easily result in defect products so providing training can help increase and maintain the quality of your offerings and production line. Whether this includes the proper use of complex machinery or packaging, training will ensure each cog in your manufacturing process knows to handle and develop high-quality products.