The FQ Focus: All Things Quality Control

Our first edition brings you the latest from Factored Quality, starting with a major platform update to enhance agility and functionality. We also cover essential guides for onboarding new suppliers and hiring quality control analysts, alongside pressing industry news like the Panama Canal drought and its supply chain implications. We highlight new tools and features in our product updates to streamline your procurement processes.

Factored Quality Q1 2024 Update:

The startup journey often feels like building a plane while you’re flying it.

At FQ, we’ve experienced this firsthand. Over the past two years, our platform has evolved, both in terms of product offerings and customers served. Shifting customer needs demand more flexibility in a platform to support them.

To ensure that FQ remains an agile solution, now and in the future, we embarked on a significant endeavor in Q1: a complete rebuild of the Factored Quality platform. The first quarter of 2024 was a pivotal period for us at FQ, marked by a comprehensive overhaul of our platform to bolster its agility for the future. We've detailed this transformation in our special report on the evolving Factored Quality technology. Read more.

Onboarding New Suppliers For Your Brand:

Suppliers are the backbone of DTC brands. Their materials and services ensure that your products meet the highest quality standards for maximum customer satisfaction. Once you find the perfect supplier for your business, you’ll want to set them up for success with a strong onboarding process.

A robust onboarding process equips suppliers with the expectations and knowledge they need to deliver quality products. With a strong foundation for your supplier partnerships, you can ensure that your dedication to quality is upheld. Setting up new suppliers for success is vital, and our latest guide offers essential strategies to ensure that these partnerships flourish from the start. In addition, we explore the crucial role of quality control analysts in our businesses, providing a roadmap for hiring your first QC analyst to enhance product standards and safety. Read our onboarding guide.

When Is The Right Time To Hire Your First QC Analyst?

It’s easy to imagine a new or long-time customer opening your product with eager anticipation. They finally see the quality and reliability of the product they purchased. Robust quality control (QC) practices ensure your customers recognize that quality not just in a single purchase but in every transaction with your brand.

At the heart of any best-in-class quality process is a dedicated Quality Control analyst. That’s why DTC brands who invest in bringing QC in-house often start by filling that position.

Deciding to hire your first QC analyst is more than an investment in product quality — you are designating a guardian of your brand’s reliability and trustworthiness. The role of a quality control analyst is crucial in setting and maintaining the high standards of quality and safety that define your products. Our guide provides a detailed roadmap for hiring your first QC analyst, including practical steps to identify and onboard the ideal candidate who aligns with your company’s quality assurance goals. Learn how to enhance your product standards and ensure rigorous safety measures with the right expertise in your team. Learn about hiring a QC analyst.

What's Happening In The Supply Chain World?

A drought impacting the Panama Canal poses a potential threat to global supply chains, as reported by Reuters. This environmental challenge highlights the fragility of global logistics networks and underscores the need for adaptive strategies in the face of climate change. Read the article here.

Meanwhile, Forbes celebrated National Supply Chain Day with insightful reflections on the sector's global impact, demonstrating how integral supply chains are to everyday efficiencies and sustainability. Their coverage provides a hopeful outlook on how innovation and resilience can address even the most pressing challenges. Read more of the article here.

Factored Quality Product Changelog:

Our latest updates include new features and enhancements aimed at streamlining operations and improving user experience. Highlights include a new CSV bulk upload tool for creating Purchase Orders, which significantly reduces the time spent on manual data entry and increases accuracy.

We've also seen substantial performance improvements in our Purchase Orders and Booking creation systems, resulting in faster processing times and fewer errors. Furthermore, the comprehensive API overhaul has set the stage for more robust and flexible integrations, which will be essential as we expand our capabilities.

Our sidebar minimization feature has also been relaunched to enhance usability on smaller screens, making our interface more adaptable to various user environments. View the full changelog here.

We Simplify Quality Control and Compliance Operations for Businesses and Supply Chains

Factored Quality streamlines your brand's production and quality control processes, enhancing operational efficiency and product standards. Our platform has helped numerous companies overcome global manufacturing challenges. Connect with us today, to see how we can improve your operations.

Stay updated with "The FQ Focus" for more insights and updates from the forefront of quality and supply chain management.