SAE-A Automates Quality Control with Internal Inspections

The case studies mentioned herein were conducted using our earlier individual solutions: Inspectorio Sight (now Quality Risk Management), Inspectorio Rise (now Responsible Sourcing & Compliance), and Inspectorio Tracking (now Production Management). Inspectorio transitioned to a unified platform approach, enhancing and interconnecting these solutions under the Inspectorio Platform to better serve our customers. Click here to learn more about the Inspectorio Platform.

About the Company

SAE-A started in 1986 as a small, family-owned and operated company in Korea. Today, they are one of the key suppliers to some of the world’s biggest retailers, operating out of 40+ locations globally and producing over 2.6 million garments daily.

Challenges

Before implementing Inspectorio, SAE-A encountered several challenges that affected their quality management and operational efficiency, including:

Delayed third-party inspection reports

SAE-A had to wait for 2-3 days to receive third-party shipment inspection reports from their factories.

Manual inspection bookings

Some inspections were booked manually through an Excel file, with emails back and forth between related parties. If plans changed, SAE-A had to go through a time-consuming process of changing the inspection date and sending a new Excel file to the vendor.

Dependency on internal systems

SAE-A’s subcontract factories manually input inspection data, resulting in discrepancies between the data seen by the buyer and the actual factory data.

Paper reports

Quality control managers wrote paper reports after each inspection and uploaded the results to their own system, which was a time-consuming and error-prone process.

Solution

To overcome these challenges, SAE-A decided to implement a digital quality solution designed specifically for apparel.

With Inspectorio’s internal inspections, they automated the entire inspection process, from booking inspections in advance to generating instant reports and more.

“For manufacturers, it’s important to track production. Keeping production data is a key aspect of our business, but using a tool to share that information with buyers in real-time is even more crucial. As retailers increasingly demand visibility, digitization is no longer just a recommendation – it’s become a mandatory requirement.”

– Tom Kim, Sales Manager, SAE-A

Inspectorio provided a platform that allowed SAE-A to:

• Perform quality internal inspections
• Automate inspection bookings
• Generate instant inspection reports
• Gain visibility into quality data
• Leverage advanced analytics for deep insights

Results

Streamlined internal inspections

SAE-A conducts internal inspections from Inspectorio’s easy-to-use mobile app and uploads the results to their own internal system in real-time.

Quick inspection bookings

Inspectorio helps SAE-A to easily schedule and manage inspections, assign the right inspector to each inspection, and receive real-time updates on their progress. The platform offers the convenience of adjusting inspection plans on the go based on actual production needs.

Automatically generates reports

With Inspectorio, SAE-A accesses all of their quality data and inspection reports (with detailed, high-quality photos) in real-time through a mobile app. This allows them to make immediate decisions that enhance product quality and, ultimately, customer satisfaction at the point of sale.

Improved decision-making

They quickly view technical style and other descriptions for a more thorough analysis, making it easier for them to take action when needed.

Data at fingertips

With advanced analytics, SAE-A monitors quality details, fail rates, and defect rates and pinpoints the most common defects easily and efficiently. This helps them understand why or where defects occur and how they can improve the quality of their production.

“Reviewing reports and photos in real-time, and the photo-sharing feature are my favorite features of Inspectorio. The high-quality images allow us to zero in on exact defects and make better decisions on the spot. The inspection reports are very detailed, including photos, samples, and style descriptions. Having access to real-time quality analysis helps us to pinpoint areas of improvement and better manage our production processes.”

– QA team, SAE-A