Garment manufacturing units are everywhere in the world. However, brands find it challenging to source and approach a production unit. Even if you find a suitable manufacturing unit, they fail to get your job done because they follow the wrong approach. Garment units follow specific processes to accept and execute apparel production. Startups usually send a long email explaining their style and expect a garment manufacturing unit to provide them with the cost. You need a tech pack designer to prepare your style’s technical drawings and spec sheets. Also, it would help if you decided on how many pieces you want to produce. If your order quantity matches the MOQ of your manufacturer, you can get the cost. Ready-to-wear fashion companies usually seek a technical package and order quantity to give the price. Typically, garment manufacturing units do not respond to inquiries that are not structured.
How to approach a Garment Manufacturing Unit
When you try to explain your style through many emails, misunderstanding is bound to come. More than simple misunderstandings may create some complicated situations in apparel production. The best way to demonstrate your ideas is through tech pack design. For this, you should take the assistance of a technical clothing designer and prepare proper tech packs for your styles. Clothing manufacturers understand the tech pack better than any other way as they are comfortable with that. So, any change in this may lead to misunderstanding and adversely affect your production. To make the production process smooth and effective, you must give the garment manufacturer the proper technical design.
There are several ways to approach a garment manufacturer for perfect apparel production. However, providing technical specifications is a robust technique for inputting a garment unit. I suggest getting a technical designer’s help if you do not have a tech pack. To convey your design ideas to a clothing manufacturer, you can follow the steps to structure your ideas to prepare a tech pack. A comprehensive fashion tech pack is the right step to start the apparel design and production process from scratch.
Following a few pointers before approaching any clothing manufacturer for your collection production. You should have the answers and preparations to give proper input to a vendor and produce your garments effectively. The following are the essential pointers about “How to Approach a Garment Manufacturing Unit for Production.”
Prepare a Detailed Tech Pack and Proper Garment Measurement Size Chart
Ensure you have a complete tech pack and a correct garment measurement spec sheet ready, including garment sketches, fabric details, trims, stitching specifications, and graded size charts. Tech packs help the manufacturer understand your product requirements precisely and allow manufacturers to give you accurate pricing. Most importantly, you have control over your production regarding quality and your style’s vision.
Understand the Manufacturer’s Capabilities
Not all clothing manufacturers do all kinds of garments. For every style type, there are specialist garment manufacturing units. For example, some factories only do denim garments, and the same applies to knitwear and woven garments. So, research and choose a manufacturer specializing in your product category (e.g., outerwear, activewear, or lingerie). So, it would help if you properly reviewed their production capabilities, minimum order quantity (MOQ), and past projects.
Know Your Quantities and Timelines
Know how much you want and when you want your products at your warehouse. Clarity in production quantity and timeline is crucial when approaching a garment manufacturing unit; the first question is the quantity you wish to produce, which is a deal breaker for many clothing manufacturers. The amount you want to make and the timeline you wish to make are two essential questions. So, clearly understand your minimum order quantities (MOQs) and desired delivery timelines. Be ready to discuss your lead times, as manufacturers may have tight schedules.
Ask About Sustainability Practices
Sustainable clothing is the need of the day today. Most brands are focusing on creating sustainable clothing. If sustainability is critical to your brand, inquire about the manufacturer’s sustainability practices, such as using eco-friendly materials and waste management.
Have a Budget in Mind
It is essential to decide the price per unit for each style. In other words, you should have an approximation so that you have an idea about the cost of production. You can have it during the tech pack design process. Most brands prepare a bill of materials to arrive at this approximation and compare the cost of production with that of different vendors. So, knowing your budget per unit, including labor, material, and shipping costs, is good practice. Be transparent about your budget and ask the manufacturer for a breakdown of costs.
Clear Communication and Expectations
Set expectations with the garment manufacturing units and document them as an NDA and Production terms and conditions. Establish clear communication lines from the start and outline the expectations. Also, to communicate, ensure you have the right tools with the clothing manufacturer, and if you are doing it overseas, make sure you know each other’s timelines to discuss.
Discuss Sampling Process
Understand their sampling process, how many revisions the manufacturer can do, and how long it takes. Please inquire about the cost of samples and the timeline to ensure it fits your launch schedule.
Visit the Factory (If Possible)
If feasible, visit the factory to evaluate the working conditions, meet the team, and ensure quality control measures are in place. Knowing the factory’s location and working conditions is essential if you are a local. Also, you get to see the work quality from previous productions. Understanding the factory conditions helps you access their capabilities and quality craftsmanship.
Negotiate Contracts and Agreements
Negotiate and sign a clear contract that outlines production timelines, payment terms, and intellectual property protection. If necessary, protect your designs with non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
Quality Control Measures
Ask about the manufacturer’s quality control processes, including inspections during production and the final product check before shipping. If you are producing decent quantities, hiring an external quality checker freelance is always advisable to access the production process and quality check your garments. Sometimes, you cannot just depend on the factory’s quality-checking process.
Urban Purple, a Fashion Design Company
Urban Purple is a group of technical fashion designers and consultants. We also run a digital download store for fashion tech packs, graphics, and textile prints. Visit our template store to learn more about our offering and buy fashion tech packs. You can choose your collection tech packs from a wide range of fashion tech packs. Usually, brands can test the accuracy of the tech pack in a factory environment. So, you can choose your styles and buy from there. Download the apparel Tech Pack Template with a detailed measurement spec sheet. You get the source vector file of the tech pack with the spec sheet in Excel format. Fashion Consultant and Owner of Tech Pack Template. An Online Store offering Tech Pack Template with detailed size charts. Download the Tech Pack template with a detailed size chart in Excel format.