Understanding Retailer Requirements and How they effect your Product

Are you selling your products through a retail sales channel? Whether it’s E-commerce or off a physical shelf, most retailers have some kind of quality assurance requirements for the products they sell.

Does my retailer require product testing or inspections?

Two Primary Ways to Find Out:

Many retailers have a vendor portal on their site that provides details on the product requirements for which their suppliers are responsible.

Many suppliers hold relationships with third party test labs who are familiar with the requirements and can help provide a quotation for your specific product.

Do most retailers have quality assurance requirements for the products they sell?

Most retailers require that products meet minimum federal requirements in order to be sold in their stores. In addition to the bare minimum requirements, many retailers require products to undergo third party lab testing in order to ensure that products are good quality, safe for consumers, and compliant to regulations.

How long does product testing take to complete?

Generally testing can take anywhere from 3 days to a month, depending on the type of testing required. It’s important to understand which tests need to be conducted on your product because each of them have a specific minimum lead time. Some testing is required prior to the product being allowed into the country, so it’s important to build QA lead times into the expected time to market.

How much does testing cost?

It depends heavily on the type of product and the number of components the product has.

Snowmelt can help you communicate to your suppliers which retailers you are selling through, so that they can build the cost of testing into your product quote. This can save you time and money in the long run! Download Snowmelt today.