Distress of Big International Buyers of Buying LED Strips

With the development of international trade, the globalization of trade has intensified, and end buyers, small B buyers, and small distributors can easily find new suppliers. As a result, some large foreign brands have increasingly felt the pressure of market competition. The market is becoming more and more transparent, profits are getting lower and lower, and big brands are being hit hard. They need better prices, better services, stable quality, and long warranty. As an LED strip product with a low entry barrier, more and more small companies have joined the LED strip industry. They have a bright appearance, but they actually sell products that are not same as the samples, making some middlemen who are particularly price sensitive is really difficult to do business.

Today I will tell you a real case I encountered. My client Jason was introduced by a friend and told me at the beginning of cooperation:
“I would like to introduce our company. We have been manufacturing in Greece since the 1980s. These materials are used in Greece, Germany and all export markets. Because customers believe in our quality, we have an excellent brand. Currently, we are looking for manufacturers of LED strips, they can ensure our quality. Since we are in competition In a fierce market, so we should not forget the competitive price. Therefore, we already have a series with led strips, and I can send your list to you …. We now have a 2 year warranty, but I I want to know if you can provide it for more than 3 years. “

It is easy to see that the customer is a very powerful big buyer. The problems he encountered were:
“I lost a lot of customers due to quality, so sales dropped. There are yellow silicon on different CCTs on IP65. For example, I bought a 5m roll, 2m is 3000K, and the other 3m is 6500K. After 1 year of use, The edges of the led lights are bright, the lower chip is dying, and there is a problem with the glue. They use 3M but that is a fake 3M. “

Yes, Jason lost many orders due to the following quality issues:
1,5Mled strip has 2M 3000K, 3M 6500K, different color temperature on the same roll.
2. After using for one year, only some of the light strips will glow.
3. There is a problem with the glue.
4. The adhesive is not really 3M adhesive.

 

What caused these problems, how to identify them, and how to prevent them?
1,   5M led strip have different color temperatures, which is a relatively low-level error. This shows that producers do not have normal production processes, and there is no strict internal management and quality management. The current SMD production process is quite mature. All SMD are separated and colored when they leave the SMD factory. As long as the workers are not mixing materials when mounting, the QC is inspected and aging is easy to find and avoid such problems.

The normal QC testing process includes:

Raw material issue and collection process: Confirmation of SMD color temperature (confirm lamp batch and PIN number used)  a Confirmation and signature of order by warehouse staff (number of SMD, circuit board specifications)  à  Audit of lamp bead order (engineering or quality Confirm the color temperature of the SMD used)   à Confirmation and signature of the picking staff (number of SMD, circuit board specifications)

Production process of glue dispensing and pouring products: quality confirmation of semi-finished products (be sure to perform aging or testing of not less than 1 hour for various semi-finished products before dropping glue)  à Test before glue dropping / filling )à Aging or test confirmation after pouring (aging does not exceed 0.5 hours to confirm product performance OK)

There are two places to avoid using the wrong material for the SMD. When the raw materials are sent and picked, the color temperature of the SMD must be confirmed. The quality of the semi-finished product needs to be confirmed when the glue is poured or glued. Find out if a company has internal management processes that can control this risk well.

2. After one year of use, the light strip is only partially light. The most likely cause is that the SMDchip is too small and the current is too large. Some suppliers use small chips with low cost to increase the current in order to make a good charge, so that customers feel these led stripare very bright at the beginning, but in fact this is a way without quality assurance at all. The chip is too small and the current is too large. Because the SMD cannot withstand a large light decay after using for a period of time, then the lamp is dead because most of the thermal energy cannot be converted into light energy.

To avoid these problems, several problems need to be solved: controlling the power of the led strip: the power of the led strip can be divided into theoretical power and actual power. For example: 2835SMD is 0.2W, 120pcs is equivalent to: 120 x 0.2W = 24W, this 24W is the theoretical power, and its actual power will be around: 14W. The reason for controlling the power is to ensure the service life and maximize the luminous efficiency. For more detailed explanation, please see the connection: https://ledstriplightmanufacturer.com/how-to-calculation-the-led-strips-power

In addition, make sure that the chip of the lamp bead is not a small chip, and the PCB board is at least 2OZ to ensure good heat dissipation function. It is usually a small plus workshop without a formal factory. If a company pays great attention to his market credibility then he will not make fun of his products. In what ways do you know whether a company’s market credibility is good? The following aspects are very good methods: A, understand whether this company has some B2B platforms? Similar to platforms like Alibaba, there are people who can advertise on him. You can see his advertising life, and pay attention to the operation of the platform. Generally, he is responsible for his own products and the company. B, request to know the client’s recommendation. A company focusing on its own quality will definitely have some old customers. There is of course a reason why old customers have been working with suppliers for a long time. C. In addition, you can learn about the background of this customer before contacting the customer of the supplier. For example, is this customer a big customer? Has it been in the LED industry for a long time? D. It allows suppliers to provide relevant product quality certifications, such as CE certification. Some companies are doing this for customers, and our company will update it whenever a new CE and ROHS regulations come out.

3. The problem of glue is a quite common phenomenon. Using inferior glue can save a lot of money. Get considerable profit from it. LEDstrip IP65 is generally glued and waterproof, and the glue of this glue can be divided into many types, including silicone, PU glue, crystal glue. The proportion of each glue is different, and more different varieties can be formed. Among so many types, only the silicone has UV resistance, yellowing resistance, and best bending performance. The use of low-quality glue will not only yellow the entire led strip after a few months, but it is also more likely to crack the glue. The picture below is a yellow led strip picture:

Special reminder here is the glue-proof and waterproof light strip, when the glue drops on the surface of the SMD will change the luminous color of the SMD themselves. For high color requirements, if you need an accurate color, you should pay attention to tell the supplier what color temperature you need when choosing this waterproof type of led strip? Is it the color temperature of the SMD or the color temperature after the glue is applied? If you do not want to change the color of the SMD, you can choose other waterproof forms: IP20, IP65, IP67, IP68. In addition to the different waterproof grades, the difference in appearance is also the focus of selection. For more specific details, please see: https://ledstriplightmanufacturer.com/neon-led-strip-manufacturer

So how can we prevent this sub optimal situation? The first is a sample. Take the sample and use the machine to measure the final color temperature segment. It is worth mentioning here that the color temperature measured by different machines may be different. Therefore, the same color temperature segment of different suppliers may be different. The second is to sign a quality assurance agreement. Not many companies now agree to sign quality assurance agreements. Only if you are really willing to take responsibility for your products is there a company with a quality guarantee.

4, 3M is a professional manufacturer of tapes and adhesives, mainly producing tapes. There are indeed a lot of counterfeit 3M brands on the market. On the surface, they are exactly the same, but the effects are different. Introduce a few of the 3M glue models we use very well in the process: 3M 9080A and 3M VHB. 9080A has good viscosity and low temperature resistance. The characteristics of VHB is that it is very firm in the aluminum tank and has good thermal conductivity. Some customers will think what to do if I sign a warranty agreement and the supplier still ignores us after the product quality problem? I think Alibaba’s trade assurance order is a good choice. Drafted the trade assurance order after delivery is still guaranteed the quality of the order, if there is a problem, you can communicate with the buyer, if the communication is poor, you can initiate an appeal to request a refund.

The market is becoming more and more transparent. The brands and word-of-mouth that local brokers, distributors, and wholesalers have finally built up cannot be destroyed by a small number of led strip suppliers. Here we can’t just focus on the price all the time. The cost is not just the price. The quality of the product and the after-sales problems are also a huge cost. In addition, in addition to controlling costs, we must continue to find the pain points of the end consumer, continuously improve the product, and make new products to enrich the product line.

Wish all your dear customers a wealth of money!