10 hot tips for a better manufacturing experience

1. TECH PACKS

Having your tech packs up to a high industry standard with all details clearly instructed is vital to avoid costly back and forth and time delays to get samples correct. 

2. REFERENCE SAMPLES

It makes it a lot easier to size the garment you are trying to design as well as source the fabrics you are after if you can provide reference samples – a lot of guesswork is taken out and, therefore time is not wasted.

3. PROVIDE CLEAR FABRIC DESCRIPTIONS

Ensure you give a detailed description of the fabric you want to use, there are many qualities of the same fabric type. Do you want this fabric to be premium or do you want an affordable price point? Changing fabrics multiple times will be costly and cause delays. 

4 . BEFORE GOING INTO SAMPLING

Ensure you ask questions and get them answered before moving into sampling with the manufacturer because you don’t want to waste time and money sampling if you are not going into bulk with them. Before you move into sampling, you should have an approved quote for production.

5. KNOW YOUR SAMPLE STEPS

The first few sample rounds may take some tweaking, don’t be disappointed if you get your first fit sample back and it is not identical to what you had envisioned. Sometimes what has been designed digitally takes time to translate on the garment physically. You may shorten this process with our virtual 3D sampling service, then you can review and edit your virtual sample to see the instant result before you make your physical garment, saving time, money and waste. Learn more about sample types here.

6. QUOTATIONS AND REALISTIC TARGET PRICING

Remember a quote is an estimate based on the information you have provided, if this information changes, the price will change. Ensure your price expectation is realistic to your product type and the QTY that you produce. 

7. USING TOO MANY FABRIC TYPES AND COLOURWAYS

The MOQ is not only determined by the factories, but by the suppliers.  Using multiple sustainable fabric types and a number of colourways across small QTY, is often too complicated and unfeasible. Be realistic about your options.

8. FLEXIBILITY IS KEY

Small MOQ requests with sustainable fabrics and tight timelines all require flexibility. The first few production runs with a new project are always a little bit more complex while you iron out all of the kinks. 

9. TESTING SAMPLE AND BULK PRODUCT

Once you get your samples in the correct fabrics, testing and reporting must be submitted for final approval. If you approve a sample for bulk production without thorough testing, the factory will not be prompted to make any changes and you risk defects occurring in the products after it is too late to do anything about it.

10. SCHEDULING A PHOTO SHOOT OR A LAUNCH WITHOUT PHYSICAL PRODUCT

Making expensive plans without actual products in your hands is risky business. Delays can occur so you should always tell everyone necessary about any bookings in order to ensure the product is ready.