A claim succeeds or fails on evidence, and the evidence is assembled before the problem appears. Buyers who keep retained samples and lot numbers get credits; buyers who send photographs of a defect get apologies.
The file you need before anything goes wrong
Approved sample, sealed and labelled with the date. The specification as written in the PO. The test reports for the lots you received. The loading photographs with the seal number. The inspection report, if there was one.
None of this is expensive. All of it is unavailable after the fact, which is why claims that could be resolved become negotiations.
Writing the claim
State the specification, state the measured result, state the method used to measure it, and state the quantity affected. Do not begin with the impact on your customer; begin with the deviation.
Attach photographs with a scale and a lot number visible. A photograph without a lot number proves that a defect exists, not that it came from this supplier.
What a reasonable resolution looks like
Replacement, credit, or a price adjustment on the affected quantity, plus a corrective action that addresses the cause. A supplier who offers replacement but cannot explain the cause will repeat it.
For a first incident, a corrective action report is worth more than a credit. For a repeat, the credit is the minimum and the relationship is the question.
Preventing the second claim
Add the parameter to the inspection checklist and to the PO. If the failure was a substitution, name the construction in the PO. If it was a process failure, ask for the process parameter to be recorded per lot.
Claims that repeat are almost always claims that were resolved commercially but not technically.
The first message
Keep it to four paragraphs: what the specification required, what was measured, how it was measured, and how much is affected. Attach the photographs and the report. Do not open with the consequence for your customer; open with the deviation. Suppliers respond to measurement and defend against pressure.
What to ask for in the response
- A root cause, not an apology.
- A corrective action with a date and an owner.
- Containment: what happens to the stock still at the factory.
- A replacement or credit schedule for the affected quantity.
If the response contains only the fourth item, the claim will recur. A supplier who cannot name the cause has not investigated, and a supplier who has not investigated will produce the same lot again with a different date on it.
When to escalate
Escalate on the second occurrence, not the first. The first is a process failure; the second is a management decision about whether your order matters. That is the point at which a third-party inspection and a payment-term change are more useful than another email.
The timeline that decides the outcome
Most supply agreements have a claim window, often 30 to 90 days after arrival, and most defects appear after it. That is the structural problem with claims, and it is why the specification and the retained sample matter more than the clause.
The practical fix is to agree, in writing, that latent defects are claimable for a stated period after they become apparent, and to name the test that defines a latent defect. Without that sentence, the window closes before the problem exists.
What a good supplier does before you claim
They ask for the lot number, the retained sample and the test method. That is not obstruction; it is the only way to investigate. A supplier who offers a credit without asking any of those questions is buying peace, not fixing a cause, and the next lot will be the same.
| Evidence | Why it decides the outcome | Approved sample, sealed and dated | Defines what ‘conforming’ means without argument | Specification as written in the PO | Shows what was actually ordered | Test report with lot number | Ties the result to the goods you received | Loading photographs with seal number | Separates a transit cause from a material cause | Inspection report | Shows what was checked before shipment |
|---|
Questions buyers ask before ordering
What happens to quality claim documentation if we need tolerance tighter than 90 days?
On quality claim documentation, expect 90 days.
Is 90 days a limit or a typical value for quality claim documentation?
On quality claim documentation, in practice 90 days: that is what the slat machining holds without special setup, and it is what most repeat buyers accept once they have seen the batch record.
Quality claims: the same question, asked of shutters
The claim that gets paid
A claim is a commercial negotiation backed by documents. Four items decide it, and all four have to exist before the goods are cut.
- The signed specification with the number on it. “As per sample” is not a specification. The clause has to name the parameter, the value, the tolerance and the method.
- The approved bulk sample, sealed and dated. The development sample is not the reference. Disputes are won or lost on which sample the contract points to.
- The lot record showing measured values. Not pass or fail. The measured figure is what establishes whether the lot was inside the band at the time of shipment.
- Photographs at goods-in, before cutting. After cutting, the cause is arguable; before cutting, it is visible.
Timing matters as much as evidence. Most contracts and most letters of credit set a claim window — often 15 to 30 days after arrival. A claim raised in month three is a request, not a claim.
The remedy is usually a credit or a replacement, and the calculation should be agreed in advance: value of the defective units plus the cost of sorting, not the value of the whole shipment.
The sampling table a claim is actually argued with
| Lot size | Code letter | Sample size | Accept | Reject |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 501-1 200 | J | 80 | 5 | 6 |
| 1 201-3 200 | K | 125 | 7 | 8 |
| 3 201-10 000 | L | 200 | 10 | 11 |
| 10 001-35 000 | M | 315 | 14 | 15 |
The reject column is the one that decides a claim. If the inspector drew 125 pieces and found 9 defects at AQL 2.5, the lot fails on the record and the credit is arithmetic rather than argument. At AQL 0 for critical defects the accept number is zero at every lot size, which is why safety items are written as a separate line and never folded into the general AQL.
Three dates govern the file: the sample approval date, the inspection date, and the claim window. Contracts usually allow 15 to 30 days after arrival, letters of credit often 21, and a claim raised in month three is a request. Retain the sealed sample for 12 months, because the argument in month five is always about which sample the contract pointed to.
Four dates and two rates that decide the file
| Item | Figure | Consequence if missed |
|---|---|---|
| Claim window | 15-30 days after arrival | A claim in month 3 is a request, not a claim |
| Sample retention | 12 months, sealed and dated | The comparison sample no longer exists when it is needed |
| Sorting cost | 2-4 USD per unit inspected | Recovered only if it was named in the contract |
| Credit basis | Defective units plus sorting, not the shipment | A 4 % defect rate becomes a 40 % claim and is refused |
Need a quotation you can compare line by line?
Send the material, the annual volume and the destination market. The reply names the parameters we would fix first, the tolerance we hold, and the documents that ship with the lot.
What a claim file needs before the first email
| Evidence | What it has to show | Window |
|---|---|---|
| AQL 2.5 inspection report | sample size per ISO 2859-1, defect classes split | before shipment |
| Retained sample | sealed, dated, signed by both sides | 12 months minimum |
| Test report | ISO 105-C06 or ISO 12947 method named, not a letterhead | per lot |
| Claim window | 30 days from arrival, 7 days for hidden defects | written into the PO |
| Sorting cost | 300-800 USD per 1 000 pieces | charged back only if the claim holds |
| Replacement lead time | 4-6 weeks by sea, 5-7 days by air | air freight if the line stops |
| Photo protocol | 12 images minimum: full, defect, label, carton | taken before sorting starts |
Products in this range
Related reading
- How to Write a RFQ for Textile and Window Covering That Gets a Quotable Answer
- How to Vet a Textile and Window Covering Supplier: Twelve Questions That Reveal the Factory
- Oxford Fabric Specification Guide: D Number, Coating and Waterproof Rating
Sample cut with your values on it · Neutral packing and private label · Consolidation, documents and lead times
