What’s New:
The Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) is a new scheme within the CCC marking program administered by the Chinese government branch CNCA. This scheme gives manufacturers some additional flexibility in the certification process, potentially reducing certification times and cost. This new scheme was updated in October of 2019, at which time several product categories were added to the list of SDoC eligible devices and a transition time was established before SDoC becomes mandatory. For more information on products affected and SDoC details, see What is China’s SDoC.
Challenges Obtaining and Maintaining CCC Certification
Obtaining homologation in a fast, expedient manner should be the goal for any certification program. There may be several roadblocks to a smooth certification process depending on the chosen path. The following challenges have been known to slow CCC homologation programs:
- SDoC scheme is new and difficult to navigate
- Understanding changes in Mandatory/Voluntary/Self-Declared certification schemes
- Communication with the certification body is cumbersome and time-consuming
- Test samples are delayed in shipping, or get stuck in China customs
- Model or part number limitations require continual certification revisions
- Delays in scheduling or failures during initial factory inspection
- Certificates or implementation standards expire, requiring updates to processes and documentation
How Can We Help?
G&M Compliance’s Beijing office was established in 2005. Our experienced personnel in both the U.S. and China utilize the following practices to achieve a fast and efficient homologation experience:
- We have worked with early adopters of SDoC, and have successfully obtained SDoC certificates even during the optional phase of the program
- Keep up-to-date with changing certification scheme requirements and analyze how new requirements can benefit customers.
- G&M’s team understands the testing and approval process, any discrepancies can be resolved quickly by our China team, located near both automotive certification bodies.
- Rely on China team’s experience to communicate directly with customers and minimize communication gaps.
- Assist in shipping samples, and maintain good relationships with customs clearance agencies to expedite the clearance process
- Keep up-to-date with changing model number requirements and help devise model naming conventions to maximize certification coverage.
- Arrange for timely factory inspections upon completion of testing, and provide a certified inspector to assist during factory inspections
Track and alert customers of upcoming certificate renewals with G&M’s Certificate Alert and Tracking System (CATS)
For more information, additional questions, or to request a quote – Please submit an online RFQ, Contact Us, or call.
Mark – A CCC certification mark is required to be placed on the product.
In-Country Representative: Not required for the traditional CCC scheme, but is required for the SDoC scheme.
In-Country Testing: Required. Local testing is also possible, pending laboratory accreditation and periodic witness testing
Expiration Details – Traditional CCC Certificates are valid for 5 years and SDoC Certificates are valid for 10, after which time they need to be renewed. Renewal is generally a paperwork transaction with no need to send samples. For more information on tracking certifications please see our CATS page.
Product Surveillance – Factory follow-up inspections, conducted by the certification body are required for the traditional CCC scheme. The SDoC scheme may require a “self-factory inspection”. These inspections generally occur once a year. Random sample testing for components is common, and generally occurs around the time of the factory inspection
We have found that often times certification bottlenecks can occur within a manufacturer’s organization. As a result, we offer a service to provide internal help managing regulatory certification tasks. Because G&M is not a certification body, we are in a unique position to offer valuable regulatory expertise without any conflict of interest issues. In such cases we place G&M certification experts into our customers’ organizations to manage the certification process for them. Once on the inside, our managers can leverage G&Ms collective experience to guide certification processes in an efficient and cost-effective manner. To learn more about this service see our Homologation Management Service Page.
Untimely expirations of certificates can cause delays in product deliveries. Re-certification of products will generally be treated as new submittals instead of certificate renewals. This can be time-consuming and costly. G&M provides a web-based certification tracking system that alerts users when expirations are coming, provides on-line storage of important certification documentation, and is searchable by certification specific criteria. For more information on this system see our CATS page.