Factory Evaluations
JCPenney is known for high standards of quality throughout the
world. Trained factory evaluators perform factory evaluations on all factories
that will be used to produce JCPenney exclusive brand products.
A factory evaluation is a determination of a factory's ability to produce a product that will meet
JCPenney quality standards. The evaluator visits the factory and follows the
flow of the production from the receipt of the raw materials to the warehouse
where the finished product is shipped.
During the factory tour, the evaluator verifies that quality controls are in place at every stage of production. The evaluator will examine key
points where strong quality control systems are needed. Those are the areas analyzed and recommendations for
improvements are prepared for the factory.
The workers performing inspections are interviewed to determine if the factory's quality control system is being followed.
Quality control inspection records are reviewed to see if the inspector is accurately recording the results of the inspections.
The evaluator will do a quality audit of finished products to determine the quality level of the
factory. This is a random audit selected from products that are ready to ship.
After the evaluator has completed the evaluation, a report will
be written with an assessment of the factory's quality system. If the factory
is found to have a satisfactory quality control system, they can start producing
for us. If not, the evaluator will prepare a list of recommendations and a
corrective action report that the factory can use to improve their quality
control system. When this process is complete, the factory can request another
factory evaluation.
Many factories throughout the world have taken advantage of the
JCPenney evaluations because improved quality means less defects and increased
profits.
Many manufacturers prefer to use JCPenney approved factories
because of the high quality levels these factories have.