| Quality Management | Consistency of production controls, inspection records, corrective actions, and document management. | Valid ISO 9001 certificate, certificate scope, recent surveillance record, quality manual, inspection plans, and sample nonconformity reports with corrective actions. | The certificate should cover the relevant manufacturing activities and the issuing body should be independently verifiable. Quality records should be traceable by order, batch, and inspection date. | Required | 15% |
| Product Standards | Suitability of the trash can design for its intended application, capacity, loading method, and environment. | Product drawings, material specifications, load-test results, dimensional reports, durability records, and applicable standard references. | For wheeled municipal containers, request evidence against the applicable parts of EN 840 or the relevant destination-market standard. For indoor bins, require documented tests for stability, lid function, corrosion resistance, and cleaning durability. | Required | 12% |
| Material Verification | Grade, recycled content, UV resistance, impact strength, and chemical resistance of plastic or metal components. | Material datasheets, supplier declarations, incoming-material inspection records, resin or steel batch traceability, and independent laboratory reports where necessary. | Material specifications should identify the polymer or metal grade, colorant, additives, and applicable performance properties. Outdoor products should include documented UV and impact requirements appropriate to the market. | Required | 12% |
| Chemical Compliance | Control of restricted substances in plastics, coatings, labels, wheels, and metal finishes. | REACH-related declarations or test reports, RoHS documentation when electrical parts are included, SVHC statements, and coating or ink compliance records. | Compliance must match the destination market and the actual bill of materials. RoHS is generally relevant to electrically powered or electronic products, not ordinary non-electrical bins. | Conditional | 8% |
| Factory Auditability | Transparency of the manufacturing site, subcontracting arrangements, worker safety, and production records. | Recent third-party audit, factory video or live audit, business license, site address, organization chart, subcontractor list, and production-floor photographs with dates. | The legal entity, factory address, certificate holder, and bank or contract information should be consistent. Any outsourced process should be declared and controlled through incoming and final inspection. | Required | 10% |
| Production Process | Capability in injection molding, blow molding, rotational molding, sheet-metal fabrication, welding, powder coating, or assembly. | Equipment list, machine tonnage or working dimensions, tooling register, maintenance records, process parameters, and photographs or live video of the relevant production lines. | The factory should own or control the equipment required for the selected design. Process parameters should be documented, and critical molds or fixtures should have preventive-maintenance records. | Required | 12% |
| Capacity and Lead Time | Ability to meet forecasted order quantities without sacrificing quality or delivery reliability. | Monthly capacity statement, current utilization, production schedule, historical on-time-delivery data, labor plan, and raw-material availability. | Capacity should be demonstrated for the exact product family, not only the total factory output. Confirm tooling, sample, mass-production, and replenishment lead times separately. | Required | 10% |
| Tooling and Product Development | Engineering support for customization, design-for-manufacturing, mold development, and design changes. | CAD capability, design review procedure, mold-flow or prototype records when applicable, tooling ownership terms, revision control, and sample approval process. | The supplier should provide a controlled drawing approval process and clearly define ownership, maintenance responsibility, modification charges, and storage conditions for customer-funded tooling. | Verify | 8% |
| Quality Control Plan | Inspection coverage from incoming materials through final packing and shipment. | Incoming, in-process, and final inspection standards; calibrated gauge list; sampling plan; inspection report template; packaging checklist; and shipment-release procedure. | Critical dimensions, wall thickness, lid fit, wheel performance, weld quality, surface finish, color, odor, load performance, and carton markings should have defined acceptance criteria. | Required | 10% |
| Testing Capability | Availability of internal or external testing for mechanical, environmental, chemical, and packaging performance. | Test equipment list, calibration certificates, laboratory accreditation where applicable, test methods, raw data, and third-party reports for representative samples. | Tests should be performed on the final approved material, color, construction, and accessories. Reports should identify sample quantity, test date, method, result, and product identification. | Required | 8% |
| Certifications and Declarations | Validity and relevance of management-system certificates, product declarations, and market-entry documents. | Certificate number, issuing organization, validity dates, scope, audit status, declaration of conformity where applicable, and product-specific test reports. | Do not accept a logo or generic certificate alone. Confirm that the certificate applies to the actual factory and that the product documentation matches the destination market and model configuration. | Required | 8% |
| Packaging and Logistics | Protection against scratches, deformation, contamination, moisture, and transport-related damage. | Packaging drawings, drop or compression test results where appropriate, palletization plan, container-loading photographs, carton specifications, and export documentation samples. | Packaging should protect contact surfaces and moving parts while controlling shipping volume. Loading quantities, pallet dimensions, carton markings, and moisture protection should be approved before mass production. | Verify | 5% |
| After-Sales Support | Responsiveness to complaints, spare-parts availability, warranty handling, and corrective-action speed. | Warranty terms, complaint-response procedure, replacement-parts list, service-level targets, corrective-action form, and references from comparable projects without disclosing confidential customer information. | The supplier should define response times, evidence requirements, replacement or credit procedures, and root-cause reporting for recurring defects. | Verify | 5% |
| Commercial Reliability | Quotation accuracy, payment terms, cost transparency, intellectual-property protection, and contractual accountability. | Detailed quotation, Incoterms, tooling agreement, production contract, quality agreement, confidentiality terms, change-control procedure, and product-liability provisions. | Pricing should identify product, packaging, tooling, testing, shipping basis, and optional components separately. Avoid suppliers that refuse written specifications or make material substitutions without approval. | Required | 5% |
| Overall Decision Rule | Weighted comparison of quality, compliance, capability, delivery, and commercial risk. | Completed supplier questionnaire, factory-audit report, approved sample, test file, quotation comparison, and documented risk register. | Suggested interpretation: 85–100 points = preferred candidate; 70–84 = candidate requiring corrective actions; below 70 = high-risk candidate. Any critical failure in safety, legal compliance, traceability, or product testing should override the total score. | Required | 100% |
