The Ordering Process
I thought I would theme this post about the actual ordering process – maybe some people are aware how it works but for those who don’t and are interested please keep reading! This is the ordering process I follow when purchasing garments I’ve designed and I’m getting manufactured with our factories in China. If you’re interesting in reading about this please read our previous post on “Finding a Manufacturer“.
Previous to placing any bulk orders is the sampling process. I tend to start this in about February time in preparation for placing a bulk order in September. I first look at what items have sold/are selling well and also are there any colour ways that have been particularly slow. That way I can start to focus on what to garments to include and then which colours. For example, the White Half Zip sells very well for us and so I would want to keep this in the range going forward. A grey top however may not be as successful so I would be inclined to drop this colour way. Many of the big companies will have a core range/colours that they stick with every year. I do to a point but if something has slowed down or become a bit dull then I’ll update it or replace it with a new, more interesting product or colour.
I play about with new print ideas, which have started to work well for us, the new striped top is selling extremely well! Once I have a general range together I’ll then decide which pieces to sample. This is especially important if I am introducing a new product to the range as it can take a long time to get the style, quality and finish of this right. For the half zips say, we have sold these for many years and so the samples are really there to see how the new colours look. Samples are expensive!! Each one is about $50-$60 and so it is important I make sure I am sampling up the right thing! Many companies will sample up one colour way of a style and then sell the rest of fabric swatches or CADs but I find its much better to sell the range if I can get a sample of each colour way, if I can.
Getting new clothing samples back is one of the most exciting parts about having the company – seeing your design come to life! Sometimes they don’t turn out how I want so it’s then a case of going back to explain what I would like changed. If it’s only a small thing I won’t sample the garment again as I trust that the factory will be able to make the change – I receive pre-production samples anyway before the bulk is made so that is another chance to check everything.
Throughout the planning stage I need to consider the minimum order quantities (MOQs). There is no point in sample up a colour way if I don’t actually have the budget to buy it. But equally I have to commit to a style in certain quantities. For example, for the crewnecks I had to commit to 100 pcs per colour way but at least 3 colours – so 300 pcs in total. In that instance I wanted to do 4 colour ways and so meeting this minimum was no problem. On the other hand, for custom print designs for the half zips (like the striped half zip_ I have to commit to at least 300 pcs in that one colour way. It’s a case a planning it all out to see what I have the budget to buy, what will make an appealing range and equally give the margin needed to make a profit. And then hoping the samples turn out well and subsequently that the customer likes the range!
So down to the ordering. Once the range has been finalised it’s then a case of confirming quantities with the factory as well as the size breakdowns. I used to produce an XL but it didn’t sell very well and so I had to drop this size. Now we just do S,M,L which does make things much easier to plan, buy, store and sell!
Once all of the above has been confirmed it’s a case of paying! Some factories ask for 50% up front, some less. This is paid in USD via the bank. Once they have received the funds they will begin making the bulk order. This often takes around 2 months, and within this time I will receive pre-production samples to check colours, quality, sizing etc. Once these are approved the order will be completed and thats when I have to pay the remaining balance. So we have to pay fully for the order often 3 + months before we even receive the goods – and this is a hard part of the business to manage! We ship everything via sea and have to allow enough time to do this. So we start planning in February, pre-sell as much as we can to retailers in July-Sep, place the bulk order in Sep and then receive it in January for it to then be sent out to shops and our customers from then on! It’s a process that can be planned within an inch of its life but inevitably something always happens along the way then needs to be dealt with or overcome but that’s just part and parcel of it all…. I’ll do a “Trials & Tribulations” blog post at some point highlighting some of the things that have gone wrong!
