Industry

- Retail

More and more retailers are turning to third-party laboratories for solutions and support. TÜV's wide range of global services can help you boost consumer confidence while lowering costs on product recalls and returns.

Product Compliance
Product Compliance checks that certification test reports are correct and that the product evaluation was performed to the most current versions of the U.S., Canadian or European standards. These services also:

• Confirm the competence of the testing laboratory

• Review the technical file and report contents

• Perform visual inspections

• Check the user guide

Benchmark or Comparison Testing
If you need to know how a potential product will fare in the marketplace or if you need independent research data to use for product marketing, let TÜV carry out independent comparison testing on your behalf. We can provide tailored testing programs that compare your product against its key competition in multiple scenarios and present the results in an easy to understand format designed for consumers. Comparison testing may just provide the market edge you need to increase positioning and sales, making you the market leader.

Quality and Product Performance Testing
Even if your product meets the minimum mandatory legal requirements such as CE and NRTL Marking, there is no guarantee that it will function properly, or as the consumer expects. Our Quality Performance Assessment corrects important issues before the product is released and covers the following:

• A detailed functional check to verify that the product operates as intended, meets manufacturer claims and is user-friendly

• A check that the product is easy to connect and assemble

• A review to ensure that all supplied parts are present and correct

• A check that instruction manuals are clearly written and suitable for the global marketplace including, but not limited to the U.S., Canada and Europe

User Manual Generation and Rewriting
The proliferation of consumer products from Asia brings cost-effective products to the consumer market but also brings poorly written instruction manuals that can be difficult to follow. Indecipherable instructions account for a significant percentage of retail returns. If your customers don't understand the instructions, how can they be expected to understand the product?

Clear instructions equate to fewer returns, more satisfied consumers and bigger profits. TÜV has expertise in countless areas of consumer products and is ideally suited to edit instruction manuals so that they make sense and more importantly, are suitable for the market. Never underestimate the importance of clear and concise user instructions.

Packaging Testing
Our comprehensive test capabilities help you understand and manage a range of packaging issues, reducing both your packaging costs and the risk of damaged returns. Product and packaging testing from TÜV tests the performance of packaging to evaluate the exact level of protection it provides. Complementing this, the product's fragility level can be determined; enabling you to choose the level of protection your packaging essentially needs to deliver.

Be sure your product can withstand the rigors of warehousing and shipping. TÜV can replicate the extreme conditions found in cargo holds, moving vehicles and warehouses, such as shock, vibration and extremes of temperature. Our advice will enable you to avoid the routine hazards of most cargo and help you to reduce the occurrence of damaged products.

Pre- and Post-Shipment Inspections
Pre- and post-shipment inspections (PSI) are independent assessments carried out before or after shipment, offering an invaluable tool to protect importers from the risks of international trade. A PSI assessment is based on inspection of the goods and appraises whether or not the product you are expecting to receive matches your purchase order and your contractual requirements.

PSI scope covers build-quality, packing, marking and labeling, audit against customer purchase order and requirements, and supervision of loading and unloading. It also checks to ensure that mandatory safety requirements are satisfied for various global markets, such as NRTL Marking. Essentially, PSI protects you as the importer and ensures that the final product you receive is exactly what you were expecting.

Online Inspections
Online Inspections, or manufacturing plant inspections, are normally performed on shipments of sizeable quantities and on product lines with uninterrupted production where the requirements for on-time shipments are stringent. Online inspections help to identify deviations in manufacturing specifications, and recommend corrective measures to ensure regularity of product and quality.

Final production inspections can also be performed to verify product safety, quantity, quality, packaging, and more. Online inspections performed during or after final production help ensure that the products purchased by retailers are consistent and compliant with all global and industry requirements.

Supply Chain and Ethical Auditing
Does your organization comply with defined minimum standards and a quality or environmental management system such as ISO 9001 or ISO 14001? Do your suppliers? If your suppliers use unreliable processes or follow unethical business practices, your reputation and liability could be at risk. Can you chance the possibility of this?

Utilizing our international team of audit professionals, TÜV supplier audits ensure that you can be confident of your suppliers' capabilities, quality systems and ethics. Our versatile auditors are trained in all major areas of consumer products and are able to audit in accordance with all recognized National and International standards, ultimately protecting your brand reputation.

For more information please contact us.

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