Supplier reusing an old defect concession?
Recover the original concession, identify exactly what it covered and ask the supplier to stop applying it to later batches. Review affected stock separately, then record explicit expiry or approve a controlled specification revision. For factory follow-up in China, brief Cambridge China Bridge.
Recover the original approval and its limits
Collect the concession request, buyer approval, purchase order, inspection report and specification revision used at the time. Identify the accepted defect, product variants, batch identifiers, quantities, permitted use and any conditions. Ask the supplier to show the exact wording it relies on for continued permission. Keep the original messages intact.
Compare the supplier's interpretation with the actual approval. If the scope or expiry was unclear, record that uncertainty and request clarification from the authorised buyer approver. Avoid making a legal conclusion from a short email. The batch cosmetic-defect guide is the place to start when preparing a fresh concession.
Find every later batch affected
Ask the factory when it began treating the concession as the normal acceptance limit. Request production, inspection and dispatch records showing which later batches used it. Include work in progress, finished stock, goods in transit and delivered stock. Record confirmed affected batches and unresolved batches separately; missing records are not evidence that stock is unaffected.
Request segregation of suspect factory stock and pause its release pending your decision. Ask your warehouse to identify matching stock and retain defect samples and photographs. Assess later batches against the approved specification and record a separate disposition for each: rework, replacement, rejection or a fresh bounded concession. Use the batch traceability guide to organise the evidence.
Close the concession explicitly
Send a written clarification naming the original concession and the batches it covered. State that your instruction is to apply the approved specification to subsequent production, and that any further deviation needs a fresh written decision from the named approver. Specify the expiry date or production event, treatment of unfinished stock and the inspection basis for the next release.
Ask the supplier's quality and production leads to acknowledge the instruction and replace any copied concession limits in inspection sheets, work instructions and reference samples. Keep the concession history, but mark its status clearly. Suggested wording: “This approval is limited to the identified batch and defect. It closes after that batch's agreed disposition and does not authorise acceptance of later batches.”
Use formal change approval for a permanent limit
If the supplier wants a permanent relaxation, ask it to submit a specification-change proposal explaining the defect, cause, proposed limit and effect on appearance, function, durability and customer expectations. Have the buyer's technical and quality owners review representative samples and relevant test evidence. Keep the existing specification as your inspection instruction while the proposal is pending.
If approved, issue a revised specification with an effective production point, updated samples, test methods and inspection instructions. Define how existing stock will be treated separately. Obtain supplier acknowledgement before releasing production under the revision. The product specification guide covers the underlying specification pack.
Working out your own order? Send us the product on WhatsApp and we reply the same working day: WhatsApp us
Check safety and verify the factory correction
For UK consumer products, you must not sell goods you know, or should have known, are unsafe. If the defect could affect safety, hold suspect stock for competent assessment instead of approving it as an appearance issue. Treat a proposed permanent change as a reason to review the relevant product evidence.
Ask why the temporary exception became a production rule, who changed the inspection documents and how recurrence will be prevented. Verify the revised instructions and inspect subsequent production against the agreed limits before closing the issue. The corrective-action closure guide covers closure evidence. Cambridge China Bridge's staff in China can follow up factory records and checks; the buyer retains approval of concessions and specification changes.
Frequently asked questions
Does accepting a defective batch change my specification?
Check what the approval actually says. Record your intended batch limit separately from any specification revision. If the wording or contractual effect is disputed, seek legal advice before asserting your position.
What if the old concession had no expiry date?
Recover its batch references and conditions, record the ambiguity and send an explicit closure instruction. Ask the supplier to identify later batches made under its interpretation.
Can I approve later batches retrospectively?
Assess each affected batch against the approved specification. If suitable, issue a fresh concession identifying the stock, defect, conditions and closure point. Avoid blanket approval of unexamined stock.
What if the supplier says the defect is now normal?
Request a formal specification-change proposal and supporting samples and evidence. Keep the current limits in your inspection instructions until the authorised buyer approves a revision.