Spector & Co. has been awarded QCA Accreditation by the Quality Certification Alliance (QCA), an independent, non-governmental accreditation organization dedicated to helping promotional product industry companies provide safe products.
QCA Accreditation increases buying confidence because it protects brand equity throughout the supply chain, from the promotional products supplier, through the distributor, to the end buyer and ultimately to the final end user.
Looking back at Spector & Co.’s catalog cover history, you can see how the company has evolved from only selling pens in 1964 to more than 500 products today, including journals, tech, travel, business accessories, water bottles and, of course, writing instruments. Operating out of a 150,000 square-foot facility in St. Laurent, QC, Spector & Co. employees around 400 office and factory staff, including Chris Pearson, VP Compliance and Asia Operations, who leads the responsible sourcing efforts to help promotional products distributors keep end buyers’ brands safe.
Consistently delivering safe, high-quality, socially compliant and environmentally conscientious merchandise may seem like a daunting task with such an extensive product line, but having a process in place, even if it’s rigorous, makes it easier.
There’s a misconception that going through QCA Accreditation is hard, but Chris says the process itself is not difficult. “It is clearly laid out and defined,” he says. “However, it is a rigorous process as it scrutinizes all areas of supply and production. All processes and procedures are reviewed and updated/modified when necessary. Deficiencies are examined and processes are put in place to improve these points and prevent situations from happening in the future.”
Putting an entire company’s procedures under a microscope can be uncomfortable. However, Chris says the challenge to better themselves has paid off in many ways, including landing new business. “We had been restricted from quoting on jobs from a specific customer until we became QCA Accredited,” Chris says. “The Accreditation opened the door for discussion and collaboration on projects that we previously could not be a part of.”
Chris has seen first-hand that buyers’ expectations have changed and they are demanding more. Moreover, therein lies the opportunity. “For any company looking to really evaluate and tighten up their processes, going through the QCA Accreditation Program is a great, honest look that reveals all your strengths and your imperfections,” he says. “If you are truly committed to brand safety and improving as a company, this is a great process to go through.”
“It’s all about reinforcing reliability and instilling confidence in overall brand image,” he says. “Brand safety never stops; it’s a continuous process of constant improvement to ensure we’re putting out the best products we can.” -Chris Pearson (VP Compliance and Asia Operations)
QCA accredited companies endorse a self-certification, complete a rigorous self-assessment, and then submit their headquarters and their supply base to multiple third-party audits. The QCA board uses a scorecard representing the performance of the applicant and its supply chain on the third-party audits as the foundation for granting accreditation.
Spector & Co. becomes the first supplier in 2018 to achieve the esteemed Accreditation for having met the rigorous qualifications necessary to receive the promotional products industry’s only certification dedicated to product quality, product safety, supply chain security, social accountability and environmental stewardship.
Spector and Co. is a leading North American supplier of promotional products for over 50 years. Employing approx. 400 office and factory staff, Spector & Co. ships from its modern 150,000 square foot facility and offers over 500 products; including writing instruments, journals, tech, travel and business accessories, along with its newest categories, Ashbury Bags, SpecFit and water bottles . All promotional products are decorated with their state-of-the-art branding techniques.
QCA Accredited companies endorse a self-certification, complete a rigorous self-assessment, and then submit their headquarters and their supply base to multiple third-party audits. The QCA board uses a scorecard representing the performance of the applicant and its supply chain on the third-party audits as the foundation for granting accreditation.
“We had a department that dealt with everyday compliance and quality processes and worked on our internal policies and procedures. It was a robust system, but there is always room for improvement, and the QCA process helped highlight our shortcomings, said Chris Pearson, Director of Compliance. “This is a big opportunity for us as a manufacturer and for our customers. It demonstrates to the industry how much we care about the compliance, responsible sourcing, and QC process. Also, it gives our customers confidence that we are doing all that we can to protect them and their customer’s brands. QCA Accreditation opens doors for new clients and brands that require QCA certified suppliers for all their orders.”
“Spector & Co. has a history of responsible sourcing best practices. However, like many other QCA Accredited suppliers, the process opened their eyes to a wider view of brand safety and more robust compliance best practices,” said Tim Brown, MAS, QCA executive director – operations. “The Accreditation offered to promotional products suppliers goes above and beyond the average compliance program. Compliance is more than testing for CPSIA and Prop 65 regulations. World class compliance is achievable through a comprehensive program that includes so much more.”
For more information about QCA Accreditation and to inquire about the process and benefits received, e-mail tbrown@qcalliance.org .
There are five categories on which a company is tested in order to get QCA Accredited: Social compliance, Product safety, Product quality, Supply chain security, and Environmental impact. Check out the five categories below to see how working with a QCA Accredited supplier can benefit our clients.
At the heart of any manufacturing facility are the people. Social Compliance is included in the parameters of QCA Accreditation to protect the health and safety of employees. Good working conditions lead to happy and safe employees as well as the production of quality products, which is something that both the distributor and supplier can appreciate. Click here to learn more about Social Compliance .
Consumers want products that they can confidently use and distributors want products that they can confidently distribute. A supplier’s responsibility is to produce and provide products that are free of harmful chemicals and dangerous parts.
The key to quality products is consistency, and the production process largely influences this. Everything from protocol to communication falls under this QCA parameter because safety and quality go hand-in-hand.
Having a transparent supply chain makes your company, and the industry as a whole, safer. Documented security policies, protocol for entering and exiting the building and controlling access to all information technology platforms, etc., create an environment that is predictable, safe, and compliant with QCA guidelines.
Protecting and improving the health and safety of the people and the environment is a key part of corporate social responsibility which makes this one of the most important parameters of QCA Accreditation. This includes anything from keeping restricted substances out of products to the documentation of policies referring to reducing, reusing and recycling materials.
So what does this mean for distributors? It means that they can feel confident that they are working with a supplier that has rigorous, validated, standards for product safety, quality, social compliance, and customer experience. It helps improve processes so that the supply chain is vetted, products are safe, and everything is running as efficiently and safely as possible for staff and customers
Chicago, Illinois-based Quality Certification Alliance is an independent, accreditation organization whose mission is to elevate the standards by which industry firms that import and/or manufacture promotional products provide consistently safe, high-quality, socially compliant and environmentally conscientious merchandise. QCA Accreditation is granted to companies who complete an independent third-party audit and comply with stringent standards, which are based upon a combination of state and national laws, international standards and industry-accepted best practices that are recognized for their strength and effectiveness by QCA Accredited companies, the promotional products industry and end-user clients.
QCA was formed in July 2008 when a group of industry thought leaders met to address the safety, compliance and social responsibility needs of the promotional products industry. By providing the tools required to help companies within the industry, Quality Certification Alliance put the necessary processes in place to deliver consistently safe and safely produced merchandise with an eye on corporate and social responsibility.
Tim Brown, MAS is QCA’s executive director – operations. D E (Denise) Fenton serves as executive director – compliance.
For more information about the Quality Certification Alliance, visit www.qcalliance.org/.
A QCA Certified Supplier is a company that has signed an agreement attesting that all merchandise manufactured for promotional purposes under its auspices complies with the QCA’s Standards for Compliance, has provided self-assessments of its own facilities to the QCA Certification Program administration and maintains self-assessments of the facilities in which its work is contracted. Additionally, this company actively engages in developing and implementing corrective actions to continuously ensure all facilities are upholding compliance standards; and, most importantly, engages third-party auditors to validate self-assessments.