Examples of types of coomplaints which can be expected from Japanese companies
1
Product quality issues in general
Its hard to imagine how many types of quality issues Japanese companies can complain about.
There are so many variations of complaints related to product quality issues you can get from Japan. Of course it may depend on industry and your relation to the Japanese company. It may also depend on who the complaint is from, whether it is an end user or a company dealing with your product on the market.
Examples:
Inconsistent product quality
Packaging defects
Contamination or foreign materials
Broken products
Labeling and language issues
Shelf life issues
Non-complient with Japanese standards
Missing documentation or certificates
and much more
Whats so special for Japan?
What is specific about complaints from Japan, is not the individual complaints. It is the number of complaints, it is the fact they will find everything which is wrong with a product. Japanese will find the tiniest foreign materials or tiniest scratch on the backside of the product. Japanese will find EVERYTHING which might become a complaint.
So if you want to do business with Japan: "Brace for impact!"
2
Inconsistent product quality
Japanese demand a very uniform product. If your product is not uniform, it will very likely lead to complaints and maybe lost business.
Japanese demand a very uniform product.
Examples:
Inconsistent size
Inconsistent color
Inconsistent material
Inconsistent weight
Inconsistent quality level
Inconsistent performance
and much more
Whats so special for Japan?
3
Packaging defects
Japanese value good looking package as it was part of the product itself.
Packaging can be damaged during production, storage, handling, transportation etc. Careful handling of the products can prevent it.
Examples:
Crushed or Deformed Packaging
Inadequate Protective Cushioning
Wrong cartons like wrong logo or brand name
Wrong materials used for packaging
Wrong packaging size
Insufficient sealing of carton
Wrong labels on packaging
Foot print on packagings
and much more
Whats so special for Japan?
For Japanese packaging is part of the product. It has to be perfect. You cant deliver a product in a broken, deformed or wet carton. If you cant deliver your product in perfect packages, you might want to consider another less demanding market to sell your products.
4
Contamination / foreign materials
Within food industry, foreign materials are the most common complaints from Japanese customers.
Foreign materials should not be present in a product. That is obvious. However, it is very difficult to avoid foreign materials 100%. Most companies, especially within the food industry, no matter how hard they try, will experience complaints related to foreign materials.
Examples:
Wrong materials like
Metal, Plastic, Wood
If those materials are not part of the product itself
Products like knifes or tools
Other materials used in production
Part of conveyor belt
Chemicals
and much more
Whats so special for Japan?
The special thing about Japan, is that they can find foreign material, which you need a microscope to discover. Japanese are so used to spotting foreign materials that you will never be able to satisfy Japanese importers 100%.
5
Broken products
Japanese simply wont accept any broken products
It may be logical that Japanese wont accept any broken products. Neither would any foreign company.
Below examples of what Japanese might consider as broken products:
Examples:
Scratches on product
Damages on packaging materials
Damage occured during transportation
Missing parts
and much more
Whats so special for Japan?
The point in relation to Japan, is the definition of what a broken product is. Even a damaged box, which by definition has nothing to do with the product itself can lead to a complaint with the request for you to take back the whole product.
6
Labeling and language issues
Labels for the Japanese market is complex. You need to understand the requirements to avoid complaints.
Examples:
Label size
Label content
Spelling misses
Wrong language on label
Wrong number after decimals
Wrong size of letters on the label
Whats so special for Japan?
7
Shelf life / expiration dates
It goes without saying that you need to be aware of the shelf life of your product and the regulations that apply to your product area.
Examples:
Mismatch of shelf life on carton and product
Mismatch with actual shelf life
None existing dates on label
Wrong calculation of shelf life
Whats so special for Japan?
8
Non-complient with Japanese standards
Needless to say, a product exported to Japan must comply with the Japanese standards. You and your employees need to know the Japanese standards down to the smallest detail.
Examples:
Size of product
Weight of product
Industry specific standards and regulations
Whats so special for Japan?
9
Missing documentation or certificates
Missing documentation is of course a serious thing. This is not a type of complaint limited to Japanese importers. But Japanese requirement for documentation can be a nightmare.
Examples:
Invoice
Country of origin
Health Certificate
Packing list
BL and other transport documentation
Whats so special for Japan?
10
Complaints are not limited to product quality
Issues related to logistics:
Delivery time, delays and missing products etc
On the logistic side, there are also a lot of issues Japanese complain about.
Examples:
Missing documents, delivery delays, wrong information on documents, missing seal, missing boxes, too many boxes, etc.
Whats so special for Japan?