Clothing Brand Manufacturers: The 12-Point Procurement Checklist

Getting a quote from a clothing brand manufacturer is no problem. Assessing whether they are the kind of long-term partner your brand needs is another matter.

Price is of very little value by itself. An inexpensive quote from the wrong factory could literally cost you far more in delays, quality issues, returns and missed deadlines than an honest quote from the correct one.

Refer to this guideline when leading a review of the factory‘s ability to produce a certain style, or when sourcing an initial order.

1. Manufacturer or Trading Company?

Secondly, see if you are dealing with the factory directly or only a trading company.

Ask for:

• Address of factory and recent photographs or video
• What proportion of production steps are carried out in our own factories
• Which of the processes are outsourced
• No. of production workers, that is.
• Main category products 1st level. If values are listed for some sections, it will be a group of them.

In addition, watch out for suppliers that do not permit you to see their production floor, supply an address that cannot be confirmed or give you vague responses as to what they produce.

A trading company is not always a bad way of doing business. It can work well when you require goods from many different factories. The critical factor is about being confident with someone else.

2. Do They Actually Make Your Type of Clothing?

Most factories say they can do almost anything and they can be right. However, they often have some categories in which they excel and excel a lot.

Ask for examples of previous work in your product category, such as:

• T-shirts
• Hoodies, sweatshirts
• Jeans and denim It is a close competition between underwear and jeans on who the number one selling apparel is. Jeans are also a very big edge of the other ways of wearing.2
• Shirts and blouses.
• Jackets
• Dresses
• Knitwear

Theirs’ than your product, the equipment and the way they produce it, and their setup should be right for your product. A denim factory, for example, will have very different ability then a knitwear producer.

3. Does the MOQ Fit Your Business?

MOQ is more than one number. Ask about:

• Minimum order quantity by style
• MOQ per colour.
• The possibility of blending colors.
• If you can break the sizes up; That is each can have a different size; then it is cost effective. Does the large need to hold a small or can it hold a larger.
• The availability of smaller trial orders

Having a low MOQ is good but it needs to correspond to the concerned products’ real sales volume.

Bringing in 500 of an untried style to reduce the unit cost may be more risky than ordering 100 for a little extra cost;

The right MOQ will allow you enough flexibility so that you are able to test products prior to scaling up.

4. What Does the Sampling Process Look Like?

A factory should be able to clearly explain its sampling procedure to you prior to offering you any bulk purchase.

Ask about:

• Sample cost
• Sampling time 1.9. Lead time 2.6.7. Lead time The time from the moment a customer places an order to the receipt of that order in the hands of the customer. In both Just-in-Time and Kanban systems, this time period is shorter than the traditional procurement Lead time.
• Number of sample resubmissions:
• Whether or not the sampling fee is charged against the bulk order
• Mediterranean route international sample shipment.

A typical process is:

Proto= Sample identifiedbytester feedback→ Revision (atbuilt phase)→ PreProduction protoafter revision→ Approvedprotofor1 st run on production line. Once approved, mass production is carried out, and the product is fed back into the process for the next production cycle.

If final sample is ratified, make it the master sample for production bulk.

5. Where Do They Source Their Fabric and Materials?

Fabric is a big influencing factor in the quality and expenses of a garment.

Ask about:

• Material makeup and weight
• Fabric suppliers
• Shrinkage and colorfastness testing.
• Whether the fabric is inspected prior to production
• Availability of good quality fabric.
• Level of quality of zippers, buttons, rivets, and other trims

Always recheck that the material for bulk production is exactly the same as the sample approved by the buyer. If you want to use particular fabric, state the specification in your order.

6. How Does Their Quality Control Work?

Don‘t just ask do they have QC in the factory. Uncover what the process is really like.

Ask whether they inspect:

1. All incoming fabric and trims.
2. Cutting and sewing in the production process
3. Finished garments
4. Pre-shipment products

Also ask:

• What inspection criteria do they adopt?
• Are they able to give inspection reports?
• Are they receptive to third-party inspections?
• How do they deal with defects and measurement tolerances?

Your own specifications must be written with the criteria of what is acceptable before you proceed to production.

7. Can They Handle Customization and Private Label?

When you‘re creating a fashion brand, you need your supplier to be more than simply a producer of the garment.

Check whether they offer:

• Custom woven and care labels
• Hang tags
• Custom packaging
• Custom trims
• Printing
• Embroidery
• Wash treatments
• Custom sizing

In terms of production, do you know if it will be OEM, ODM, or private-label production?

OEM you give the design & specs. In an ODM, the manufacturer says here is an already existing design, put your label on it. Private label usually is an existing or developed product with your label on.

8. Can They Handle Your Future Growth?

What may work one-way for a small factory that is equipped for 200 pieces, might not be the right solution when your orders are 2,000 or 5,000 and much more.

Ask about:

• Monthly production (units)
• Amount of styles they can playback at the same time
• Peak-season capacity
• Workforce stability
• Outsourcing during peak times. That is, employing the services of external vendors/business partners.
• How the orders are being prioritized using different methods.

The appropriate workshop/manufacturer should be able to provide small-trial-batch as well as larger production runs.

9. What Is the Real Lead Time?

For example, this factory would tell you “15-20 days” to do the project. Discover what they actually mean.

Your full timeline may involve:

Sampling −> Fabric and Trim Sourcing−>Bulk Production−>inspection−> Packing −>Shipping

Please request separate estimates for sampling, sourcing, mass production and shipping.

Production times are product and order specific, so don‘t depend on a generic number. Plan a cushion of time into your launch schedule, especially on your first order.

10. What Does the Price Actually Include?

Wheresource comparison ‘do NOT compare a supplier‘s quotations until you know what all the prices mean’.

Ask whether the quote includes:

• Fabric
• Cutting and sewing
• Trims
• Printed or embroidered
• Washing & Finishing.
• Packaging
• Sampling
• Shipping to the port.

The more usual pricing models are FOB, CMT or Full Package Production, FPP.

A CMT quotation can appear to be a bargain because it accounts mostly for manufacturing labor where as FOB or full-package quotations will include materials, other costs of manufacturing etc.

So, always look at the quotes in the same way.

11. How Good Is Their Communication?

The communication between the people at the stage of quotation and sampling .

Pay attention to:

• Response times
• While the responses they give whether to answer questions directly,
• Your tech pack. As a designer you can‘t expect the business to know what actually goes into a tech pack, so if your idea is confusing or incomplete, the business might not be able to interpret the information correctly.
• Whether they ask the right question, which can be thought of as whether they ask useful questions.
• Their level of proficiency in spoken English.
• Would you prefer having a direct point-of-contact?
• What issues are considered a problem, and the way in which they are reported and managed.

If your orders are difficult to place, they surely will not be any easier once production has begun.

12. Can They Become a Long-Term Partner?

Lastly, step out of your first order:

Ask yourself:

• Will they be able to cater for bigger orders as my brand grows?
• So: Can we make a range in parallel?
• Have they the capacity to innovate with me?
• Are they capable of keeping the level of quality as the volume gets bigger?
• Are they interested to have a long-term relationship?

The right manufacturer will be able to expand with your business, not that you‘ll need a new factory each time your volume increases.

The Full Checklist

Before choosing a clothing manufacturer, make sure:

☐ They are based in the factory and/or reveal how they do business and/or are even located in the factory.
☐ They have relevant experience with the category of product you will be testing them on.
☐ Their MOF balances well with your current monthly sales volume
☐ They have a clear sampling process established a well defined sampling process
☐ Their fabric & trims, etc., are suitable for your needs
☐ They have strict quality controls in place
☐ They provide the customization and branding services that you want
☐ They can support forthcoming expansion by their manufacturing capacity
☐ Their wait times are reasonable
☐ Their pricing explicitly indicates what is included
☐ Using appropriate mouth movements they make themselves understood clearly. They maintain good eye contact and keep in touch through gesture, facial expression or eye contact.
☐ Has the potential to be a consistent manufacturing partner

JiuvelWear

Dongguan Jiuzuo Clothing Co., Ltd. (JiuvelWear) is a direct clothing manufacturer based in Humen, Dongguan, China.

We produce hoodies, denim, T-shirts, jackets, and casual apparel for fashion brands, startups, and retailers worldwide.

• Direct factory
• MOQ from 50 pieces per style
• OEM, ODM, and private-label services
• In-house pattern making, cutting, sewing, washing, and QC
• 10+ years of experience working with international brands
• Support for both small trial orders and larger production runs

If you’re comparing clothing manufacturers, the goal isn’t simply to find the lowest quote. It’s to find a factory that can consistently deliver the quality, communication, flexibility, and production capacity your brand needs.