We're here to shed some light on the sampling process with manufacturers. Sampling is an important step toward launching your product with Pietra.
What is Sampling?
Sampling is a crucial step in the manufacturing process where a manufacturer produces a small batch or individual unit of a product to assess its quality and ensure it meets your specifications as a Creator.
This process serves as a preliminary test to evaluate whether the supplier can deliver the product according to the agreed-upon standards.
The primary purpose of sampling is twofold:
Quality Testing: Sampling allows both the manufacturer and the buyer to examine the product's quality before proceeding with full-scale production. This includes scrutinizing aspects such as materials, construction, dimensions, and overall craftsmanship. By identifying any potential defects or discrepancies at this stage, corrective measures can be implemented early on, minimizing the risk of issues at the Production stage.
Assess Supplier Capability: Additionally, sampling serves as a means to evaluate the supplier's capability to meet the required specifications. It provides insight into the manufacturer's production processes, equipment, and expertise. If the sample meets expectations, it instills confidence in the supplier's ability to deliver consistent quality throughout the production run.
Sampling quality
Let's address the scenario where a sample product does not meet expectations. While it is always preferred for a first sample to meet all expectations, sometimes this will not be the case.
Sometimes it will require a couple of rounds of sampling to arrive at the ideal product design. Rather than expecting your first sample to be perfect, it is better to view sampling as a process.
Additionally, sampling serves as a quality assurance measure and an assessment of supplier capability, any discrepancies discovered during this phase are typically addressed through communication and adjustments with the supplier rather than refunds. Purchases made for samples on Pietra are generally not refundable.
What to do if a sample does not meet specifications
If you receive a sample that is not satisfactory, it is always best to communicate with your supplier directly. Pietra is here to support you throughout the process. While we cannot force refunds, we are able to facilitate communication between Creators and Suppliers to address any concerns and work towards a satisfactory resolution. Our role is to facilitate communication and our goal is to ensure a fair outcome for Creators and Suppliers alike.