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Q. Can you briefly tell me about CRL Limited?
A. Yes,
CRL
Limited is UK-registered company. CRL’s
fully staffed main China office is located
in Guangzhou and in conjunction with
the London office coordinates on-site
shipment inspections throughout all
China. Operating in China for over since
1993, CRL is dedicated to protecting
the business interests of its importer
clients worldwide.
Q. Why do I need a pre-shipment inspection
or a factory/supplier audit?
A. Pre-shipment
inspections greatly help assure the
product and product quality you receive
from your supplier will be highly consistent
with the product and product quality
the seller agreed to supply. And
CRL's one-time, economical factory/supplier
audits will confirm your supplier's
legal status as well as many other critical
operating capabilities prior to your
contracting with them and making any
unsecured payments.
Q. What type of shipment inspection
services does CRL offer?
A. CRL
offers three different shipment inspection
services: (1)
“Final Shipment" Inspections (FSI);
(2) “In-Process”
Inspections (IPI); and (3)
Container Loading Supervision (CLS).
Please see detailed descriptions for each
shipment inspection service here.
Q. What type of factory/seller audit
services does CRL offer?
A. CRL
also offers three factory-seller audit
services: (1)
“Complete Factory Audit" (CFA); (2) “Complete
Seller Audit" (CSA); and (3)
"Factory + Social Audit" (FSA).
Q. Does CRL offer
any laboratory testing services?
A. YES!
CRL also offers a variety of very reasonably
priced lab testing services such as
tests for toxicity, microorganisms,
flammability, safety, packaging strength/permeability,
dishwasher compatibility, and many others.
Q. Does CRL offer any other services?
A. CRL
also offers a dispute resolution service
through which it can assist clients
in resolving disagreements and impasses
with China suppliers. CRL is
here to protect you!
Q. What inspection techniques and standards
are used?
A. Unless
otherwise directed by the client, CRL
uses AQL (Acceptance Quality Level)
tables as promulgated by the ISO (International
Organization of Standards). These standards
clearly specify sampling quantities,
generally define what constitutes minor,
major and critical defects, and states
maximum allowable defects per category.
To this, we add our client’s own specific
inspection criteria to form a much more
powerful AQL inspection protocol.
Q. Is it true many inspection companies
use agents, sub-contractors, or so-called
"associates" and not their own direct
employees?
A. It is true that
many inspection companies
do not actually directly employ and
salary their inspectors and that the
relationship is essentially a "broker"
or "middleman" relationship between
them, you the client, and some unknown
local inspection company. This is especially
true for most small and medium-sized
inspection companies which try to project
a "physical presence" in many different
countries. But it is a very risky practice
because agents and sub-contractors lack
the accountability of a direct employee
so often when something goes wrong,
the main and sub-contractors quickly
point the finger at each other, leaving
you, the client, with little recourse.
However,
all CRL inspectors are direct, salaried
employees of CRL Audit Corporation and
are closely managed by CRL. For peace-of-mind,
use CRL!
Q. How do I get started using your inspection
service?
A. We
just need three “blocks” of information:
(1)
Your specific product inspection criteria
to which we will add to our base inspection
criteria. (2)
Factory contact information; and (3)
Your company contact information.
Q. How much in advance should I book
my inspection?
A. Ideally
we like to have 7-10 days advanced notice,
but we often work on much shorter notice,
for example 1-3 days notice is not uncommon.
Q. How much prior to shipment should the
inspection be?
A. We
suggest allowing a buffer period of
at least 2-3 days for inspection report
generation/review and so that any problems
discovered during the inspection can
be remedied prior to shipment.
Q. Can I discuss with you in detail my inspection
criteria?
A. Absolutely,
please feel free to call us anytime
in the UK at 020 7653 9783
or outside
the UK at 0044 20 7653 9783.
CRL provides the most pre/post-inspection
consultation!
Q. What information does a typical
written inspection report include?
A. Our
written reports are very detailed and
include a statistical accounting and
written descriptions of all defects
and inconsistencies discovered, AQL
allowable defects and AQL scores, AQL
pass/fail determinations, suggestions
to the factory to remedy quality problems,
and more.
Q. How long does it take to get my report?
A. In
most cases the report and photos will
be available the evening of the day
of the inspection (local time). This
means for an inspection occurring on
a Tuesday in China, the report and photos
are often available on Tuesday morning
in the UK.
Q. Do you have a secure on-line report
retrieval system?
A. Yes,
CRL offers a start-of-the-art, on-line
inspection report retrieval system which
allows for secure report downloading
at anytime and from anywhere you choose. CRL
uses a separate remote site with SSL
to ensure that your information is fully
protected.
Q. What if I have questions after I receive
your report?
A. Please
don't hesitate to contact us with questions.
Our inspection fee includes post-inspection
follow-up questions and consultation
so please feel free at anytime to contact
us. 020 7653 9783 .
Q. What are your inspection rates?
A. CRL maintains a very low £195/day inspection
base-rate and most CRL-serviced locations
are charged at this base-rate. This
standard rate includes up to 12 inspector
hours per assignment (includes travel,
inspection, report).
Q. I see that some other companies charge
extra for inspecting more than one item
and generating more than one report
during the same inspection. Does CRL
do this?
A. No.
There is no limit on the number of different
items inspected during an inspection
and no charge for the generation of
multiple reports. Charging for extra
items and the generation of more reports
is a pricing gimmick and not justified
when the day rate should already include
all work performed that day.
Q. Does CRL provide customer references?
A. Yes, for higher volume users
CRL will provide live references. However,
because CRL
receives an average of 8-15 new inquiries
per day, each and every day from around
the globe, it is impossible for CRL
and its reference-providing clients
to meet all requests. Therefore, for
prospective clients with user volumes
less than 10 inspections per month,
CRL has posted
real-life,
unsolicited customer letters as testimonials
to its superior service. Please see
the "services"
page or "why us"
page on this website. For prospective
clients with a confirmed usage of 10
inspections per month or greater, CRL
will after all other issues have been
addressed and satisfied, arrange a set
of customer references. Please note
that a signed non-disclosure agreement
will be required prior to CRL releasing
confidential customer names and contact
information.
Q. What are my payment options?
A. CRL
has its own direct credit card merchant
accounts and can accept Visa, Master
Card, American Express, Diners, Switch
and Discover. Please note that no credit
card information is transmitted or stored
on-line. CRL also accepts company checks
drawn on UK bank or a bank with UK branch
as well as bank wire transfers.
Q. Does CRL actually approve the shipment?
A. CRL
inspects the shipment according to AQL
guidelines and all customer-supplied
criteria. These results are then supplied
to you the client who decides whether
to allow the shipment to proceed. Because
each client’s quality/defect threshold
is different, final shipment approval
is made by the client only. However,
if you require assistance in this process,
please call us anytime to discuss your
situation.
Q. What makes your service different from
the others?
A. There are a growing number of
very important differences between CRL
and the others. Please
see our "Why Choose Us" page here!
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