Apparel Producers are present in almost every country. In their capacity, you will find all kinds of small, medium, and enormous clothing manufacturers. But, still, brands find it challenging to get one. And even if they do, things usually do not work out as they want to. This is a common issue with startups regarding finding the right supplier. Custom clothing manufacturers demand a sizable order to run their units. And for startups, meeting that threshold is difficult. As a fashion tech pack designer and consultant, I get a lot of queries from startups for production. It is challenging to work on a low MOQ order. Often, emerging brands find it difficult to understand the sampling and production process. And they come with complaints about their previous vendors. In short, there is always a gap, and we can try to figure it out.
Startups often come with complaints from the previous vendors they have worked with. The complaints are that they find it challenging to convey their idea due to language issues. Or the vendors they work with do not keep up with the timeline or quality as desired. A common complaint is that clothing manufacturers do not understand what I want. As a result, sampling does not come as expected, or issues with production and delay. Brands wonder what went wrong in their process and where the gap is. Startups end up spending a lot of their time and money for nothing. Loss of effort, time, and money. Now, have you thought about the real reason behind this mess-up? In my view, there is nothing wrong with a clothing manufacturer. It is in the process startups follow.
Reason For Low-Quality Apparel Production
Fashion labels jump into production without proper preparation. If you send an image and expect a custom clothing manufacturer to replicate it, you are inviting trouble. Here, you expect the clothing manufacturer to understand the style. Make the pattern with no measurement specs and no technical instruction whatsoever. In other words, they start apparel production without doing proper preparation. This is because you are not serious about your brand, man!!. And even if you are, you don’t look like one. And no clothing manufacturer wants to get involved with a brand with no base. As a result, you end up spending your time and money with no result. Apparel production is a serious job that needs attention before you even consider getting into it. Preparing yourself with a solid plan before floating your order would be best.
How to Connect with an Apparel Producer
Finding an apparel producer is easy. Look through an online directory; you will find lots of them listed there. Hold on! The information that you get from the directories is raw. You need to validate them and make sure they are the right fit. Finding the apparel unit capable of doing your style is essential. Not all factories do everything, and each has its specialty in one of the categories. Some can produce knitted garments, and some can be woven garment specialists. Their machinery setup is based on the type of garment they produce. So, figure out whether the factory-assigned production is equipped to make garments. If you are unaware of this, take the help of a person who knows. The best thing would be to hire a consultant with experience. Here are a few questions you can ask to find out if the factory you choose is the right fit.
1. What is the Specialty of the Factory?
Not all production units produce everything. They stick to one category and sometimes one style and keep making the same thing year-round. For example, you will find factories that do only button-down shirts. They are specialized in it and prefer to produce only button-down shirts. Same with t-shirts, hoodies, and so on.
2. Factory Size, Production Capacity
This is important to consider before approaching the factory for an order. If the factory is too small or large for your order, you may have issues during production. So, you have to choose the right factory size based on your order quantity. Know the factory size and production capacity.
3. Get an Idea about Supporting Units for Apparel Producer.
Apparel Production Units, whether big or small, do not have all the facilities In-house. For example, they must depend on Print, Embroidery, and Washing units outside. Although manufacturers do not want to reveal their contacts, you can still get an idea. A production unit’s success depends on the quality of its supporting units.
4. Understand the Concept of MOQ of Apparel Producer
MOQ ( Minimum Order Quantity ) is the quantity that amounts to a factory that needs to be in operation. Below that quantity, the factory either functions partially or not at all. Factories working below the minimum order quantity are never profitable. So, if they get orders below their MOQ capacity, they refuse to take them. Clothing manufacturers consider MOQ the most essential criterion for accepting any order. If the order is below the minimum quantity, they refuse to take it.
5. Apparel Production Costing
Every brand wants to plan its production, an inevitable part of the business. To do so, the brand seeks cost estimation from multiple vendors to compare. That’s how they decide on whom to roll the production order. But production costing is not just a number. Calculations of materials and labor charges are considered to get the correct cost. Merchants follow the material bills to prepare the cost. But, most startups do not consider those things and ask for cost. The issue is when you ask for a cost with an image, you will never get the cost close to what it is. Manufacturers give much higher costs to be on the safe side. But if you are prepared with a tech pack and spec sheet, there is every chance you will get the correct cost.
You need to consider all the above points before approaching an apparel producer. The best way to do it is by preparing technical drawings ( tech Packs ) of all your styles in the collection. This is especially important for those who are into custom clothing. Whatever your collection, a tech pack and detailed size chart are necessary. Brands looking for regular tech packs can get them from the Tech Pack Template Store.