How to Make a Product Specification Sheet for Manufacturing?
In many cases, it is the importer who is responsible for all this. The reason is that the importers do not convey their requirements clearly to the suppliers regarding their products. How can you write good product specification sheets to attract the supplier’s attention?
You can not ask for the best quality by just relying on a few photos. There is a proper way to create manufacturer specification sheet for your products, as is explained below:
Table of Contents
What is a Product Specification Sheets?
The product specification sheets is a concise and detailed document clearly defining the specifications of all your products. If you want to achieve better results throughout the production process & sourcing and even to assist the supplier, this document is a masterpiece to help you in doing that.
In this article, you will also see what should be included in your product specification sheet.
What is the Major Purpose of Product Specification?
Three reasons to know why you need a product specification sheets
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- Helping factories to understand your requirements
If you describe your requirements regarding the product in detail, factories will better understand what you are looking for. Sellers mostly fail when they approach a factory and let that factory assume about the product requirements, specifically in China.
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- Getting better quotes
To make the right price quotation, suppliers need to know the exact requirements for your product. Let’s say that you are looking to source leather shoes and you require that the shoes should be of good quality leather. Without a proper spec sheet regarding the product, you will be given a price quotation based on cheap quality standards.
As there are many different kinds of leather to whom the tanning methods are also distinguished—moreover, the leather of the animal, you want your product to be manufactured.
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- Source high-quality goods
Chinese factories grab every opportunity to lower their costs as they operate with relatively fewer profit margins to expand the business. Suppliers will use low-grade packaging and cheap materials if you define your product requirements clearly to them.
How Do you Create a Product Specification Sheet?
These are 5 steps for product specification sheet creation. You can follow it to cite your product specification sheets.
Step 1: What Has to Be Included in Product Specification Sheets?
You don’t need to create your product specification sheets with a specific template as all the companies use different approaches to create their sheets, you will find that on the internet. Every product has its proportion that can be included in the product sheet to make the requirements clear.
If the list has all the requirements in an understandable and organized manner, it is easy for everyone to understand them.
What is in a product specification? You will find this structure very helpful when dealing with any Chinese supplier as given below:
Introduction of the product:
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- Name of the product.
- Product Code.
- Description of the product.
- Purpose of use
- Reference Photos.
Requirements of the product:
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- Weight and Dimensions.
- Specified Materials.
- Patience on Measurements (if there’s any).
- Colors (use Pantone color codes).
- Performance of the product (i.e. durability).
- Testing Requirements (i.e. potential defects & expectations)
Labeling and packing requirements:
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- Packaging Specs.
- Labeling Specs.
- Testing Requirements (i.e. no damage after a dropping test).
Standards & Certification:
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- Required standards
- Certifications of the product (i.e. for EU/USA compliance).
Others Instructions (optional):
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- Special instructions (i.e. personal logo on the product).
- Incoterms
Make sure to fill in your product spec sheet as much as you can because more details will clear your requirements to the suppliers.
- You can ask someone expert to help you out in making a spec sheet and finalizing it.
- You can consider working with someone familiar with creating product sheets.
Step 2: Drafting the Product Specification Sheets
To create good product specification sheets, you need to check them continuously before finalizing them. You can create a sheet by making a rough one first and then edit it accordingly. Making a product specification sheet makes you learn more about your product requirements.
You can also use the outline that we have provided, covering the basic requirements of many products.
Till now you should have mentioned all the things you want in your product. Now is the time to add things that your product needs.
Step 3: Make a Sheet so that it Can be Manufactured
Read out the details and finalize them regarding the product so it can be manufactured. The more things you add it will increase the cost, so try to make a product that is easy to make.
You will want your product to be simple and manufactured by one factory. Have a go-through of your sheet so that you can add any missing features.
Step 4: Add Pictures for Your Sheet
It gives a better idea to the manufacturers about your product if your product specification sheets have diagrams and illustrations.
You can include colors as well to make them know about the exact shades. You can use imaging to add arrows & text boxes and can also add pictures of details that you want in your product.
Step 5: Finishing your product specification Sheets
So, now you should have every requirement in your product sheet with modifications to manufacture it. Use simple English to make it understandable.
To do multiple revisions until the manufacturing stage is a common thing for sellers. So, have a look at your specification sheet and finalize it to get your product manufactured.
What Format Should Product Specification Sheets be Created in?
The product specification sheets are created in Word or Excel, but you should send your suppliers a PDF file so that it could not be modified. Make sure that the sheet you send to the supplier has your contact number on every page.
So that if any question is to be asked, then the supplier could contact you directly.
How to Use Your Product Specification Sheets?
You can use your sheet on several occasions; some are listed here:
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Requesting Pricing Quotes
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To get better quotations regarding the cost of manufacturing your product, you need to send your product specification sheets to the supplier.
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Supplier Contract
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When the supplier agrees to work on your product, make a contract by having the supplier sign as he/she understands your project well. This will help you if you need to go through any legal proceedings.
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Measures of Quality
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A quality control inspector will check your quality parameters before he/she could perform your product inspections in China.
Tips:
As an example, you create a sheet and send it to a supplier. Later you learn more information that causes you to have to change the sheet. You then send the updated sheet to the Supplier. Their document control now comes into question. They could easily make your order to the old sheet by accident.
If you had written “Rev 1” and “Rev 2” on those documents, it’s a line of defense against mistakes when you order and call out “Rev 2” on the PO.
great informative article, thanks for sharing this knowledgeable information.