Pier1 Imports

Although Pier 1 Imports has two measures for quality assurance, one of them being the US government regulations regarding various product categories that are studied and communicated to the manufacturers of other countries, and the second being the products conforming to aesthetic standards that guarantee the products fitting the Pier 1 image and Pier 1 customer desire, these quality assurance measures are lacking. There are several other product quality assurance measures that should be explored, implemented and followed to ensure that Pier 1 Imports products are of highest quality.

Although Pier 1 employees communicate both governmental and aesthetic requirement to their agents and buyers, the company depends on its buyers' and agents' expertise to assure that the quality of the products they are importing are up to the standards. However, there are different buyers in different countries with different cultures and thus different thinking and different interpreting capabilities. Thus, a product that might be up to the standards for one buyer might be a product that is not up to standards from another buyer's expertise point of view. In short, there is no standardization and no unification in the process that specifies the exact specifications of a product that is up to standards. There should be unified standards and a unified set of product quality assurance guidelines that all buyers and agents can communicate effectively to the manufacturers they contract with to ensure similarity in the quality level of Pier 1 products.

On one hand, it is mentioned that a lot of weight is put on the aesthetic standards that guarantee that the products fit the Pier 1 image and the Pier 1 customer desires. However, on the other hand, there has been no reference to the importance of the raw materials used and the steps taken to ensure that they have the right specifications, nor has been there any information regarding these raw materials' reliability, durability, and high quality standards, which consequently implies a reliable, sturdy, and durable final product. Pier 1 Imports stresses on the aesthetic requirements, while allocating little weight to the products components and the raw materials deployed in making those final products. Pier 1 should hire experts from the technical field. These experts should gather information about the right specifications of the raw materials needed to manufacture Pier 1 Imports final products. They should unify those specifications, make them available in a form of a document, and train