| Manufacturing Experience | Relevant experience producing toilet brushes or comparable household cleaning products; familiarity with the intended materials, assembly methods, and target markets. | Production history, product references with customer details appropriately redacted, process descriptions, and records showing how comparable orders were managed. | 15% | Look for specific, verifiable experience rather than relying only on a general claim of years in business. |
| Factory and Production Capacity | Whether the facility can meet the required order volume, lead time, and repeat-order schedule without relying on unapproved subcontracting. | Factory address, production-flow overview, stated monthly capacity, capacity-planning information, and a list of any subcontracted processes. | 10% | Confirm that capacity statements match the proposed order quantity and delivery schedule. |
| Product Specifications | Clear, consistent specifications for brush head, bristles, handle, holder, dimensions, materials, color, packaging, and any required labels. | Approved drawings or specification sheets, material descriptions, sample approval records, and a documented process for change control. | 10% | Agree on measurable requirements before production; avoid relying on photos or verbal descriptions alone. |
| Incoming Material Controls | How incoming plastics, bristles, metal parts, and packaging are identified, inspected, and linked to supplier or lot records. | Incoming inspection criteria, material records, lot identification method, and examples of nonconforming-material records. | 10% | Check that the supplier can trace material lots into finished-product batches. |
| In-Process and Final Quality Checks | Controls for assembly, fit, finish, sharp edges, loose parts, bristle retention, holder stability, and product appearance. | Inspection checklist, inspection frequency, defect-classification rules, corrective-action records, and a sample inspection report. | 15% | Require acceptance criteria that are agreed in writing and relevant to the actual product design. |
| Sampling and Acceptance Criteria | Whether pre-shipment inspection uses a documented sampling plan and defined acceptance limits. | Inspection plan stating sample size, defect categories, acceptance numbers, and the selected sampling standard or agreed procedure. | 10% | ISO 2859-1 provides sampling procedures for inspection by attributes; the inspection level and acceptance limits should be agreed for each order. |
| Product Safety and Risk Review | Assessment of reasonably foreseeable risks, including breakage, detachable small parts where relevant, sharp edges, and misuse scenarios. | Product risk assessment, test reports where appropriate, complaint and incident records, and documented corrective actions. | 10% | Choose tests based on the product construction, destination market, and applicable legal requirements; do not treat a generic test report as proof of compliance with every market’s rules. |
| Market-Specific Compliance | Applicable requirements for the intended sales markets, product materials, chemical substances, safety information, and traceability. | Material declarations, relevant test reports, product identification details, required warnings or instructions, and a compliance document list for each destination market. | 10% | For EU sales, assess applicable requirements including the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, which has applied since 13 December 2024. Check REACH obligations for relevant substances and materials where applicable. |
| Quality Management System | Whether documented procedures cover inspections, nonconformities, corrective actions, document control, and traceability. | Current quality-system certificate if claimed, certificate scope and validity, audit information, and examples of controlled quality records. | 5% | ISO 9001 certification concerns a quality management system; it is not a product safety certification. Verify any certificate with its issuer or accreditation details. |
| Delivery and Communication | Reliability of order updates, sample turnaround, production milestones, shipping documentation, and escalation handling. | Written production schedule, milestone-update process, agreed response times, and records of delivery performance for comparable orders. | 5% | Set measurable delivery and communication expectations in the purchase agreement. |
| Commercial and Change Controls | Clear terms for pricing, tooling, minimum order quantities, packaging, specification changes, and authorization before substitutions. | Quotation, purchase terms, approved sample reference, change-control procedure, and written confirmation that substitutions require approval. | 5% | Document the approved product configuration so material or process changes cannot be made without review. |
| Suggested Scoring Scale | Apply consistently to each evaluation dimension |
| 0 — Not verified | No usable evidence provided, or claims cannot be checked. | — | Do not treat an unsupported claim as a pass. |
| 1 — Weak | Limited evidence; important gaps remain. | — | Request additional records or clarification before approval. |
| 2 — Partial | Some requirements are met, but controls or documentation are inconsistent. | — | Use only with a documented corrective-action plan, where appropriate. |
| 3 — Meets requirements | Evidence supports the agreed requirements for the intended product and market. | — | Suitable for consideration, subject to order-specific checks. |
| 4 — Strong | Complete, consistent evidence and effective controls are demonstrated. | — | Preferred performance; verify that evidence remains current. |
| 5 — Excellent | Controls are well documented, traceable, and supported by strong relevant performance records. | — | High confidence, while retaining normal sample and shipment verification. |