On Demand Clothing Manufacturing for Brands Cutting Inventory

On demand clothing manufacturing provides another option for brands to consider manufacturing. Rather than committing to high levels of production before a product has proved itself, a brand is able to plan for smaller runs, follow actual demand and make more once the style has been proven.

This can impact the relationship between product development and stock for newer clothing firms… For newer clothing businesses in particular, this can alter the dynamic between product development and stock.

Why Inventory Can Become a Problem

If a product is in demand an item to be produced to be worn that is made purely from speculation is beneficial.

However, it is not the case for each and every product of such expanding fashion brand.

A new collection might comprise of many different colors, a variety of sizes and an assortment of styles. Various items within a collection may be driven very hard or could be sub products.

When demand is over-predicted, older stock might later require reduction or storage etc.

It‘s not just the price of the garments that presents the problem. Any items that can‘t be sold also affect revenue because they are cash tied up that could be used to finance new supplies, marketing, research and development.

On Demand Does Not Mean Making One Garment at a Time

Sometimes the term ‘on demand’ may be misleading, as one might interpret it as referring to each particular item that is only manufactured when an individual customer places the order.

But this isn‘t necessarily the way the model operates.

Another option for many apparel brands is to produce closer to the anticipated demand by using producing in smaller quantities or more frequently.

The brand is maybe started with small amount of quantities, it is getting more popular then will keep a watch on sales: then the company go for the next batch.

The immediate aim is to reduce planning.

This is to make the production more Demand-driven.

Start Small When the Product Is Unproven

It‘s always a bit of a gamble to some extent, when introducing a new clothing style.

Even if the showroom photo shows a solid design, whether or not there is any customer appeal.

Although a smaller initial production can help, less risk is incurred through a big initial buy until the customer and the market are able to provide more information.

This can be particularly useful for:

• New brands
• Different new product categories.
• Seasonal designs
• Trend-driven styles
• Experimental colors
• Limited collections

The first production run may function as such both a test of market acceptance and an inventory investment.

Let Sales Influence the Next Production Run

When a product is launched, the real customer behavior is valuable information.

Say, a brand first releases a hoodie in four colors.

Eventually, after several weeks, one colour might be the clear winner.

We won‘t be producing the same amount of each color again but the next plan will be based on customers’ actual purchases.

This can include the sizes and styles too.

Demand data has the ability to refine production decisions over time.

Product Development Still Comes First

Close to demand production does not eliminate the importance of proper product development.

If the garment is good it still requires a good fabric, good fit, good construction and good finishing.

Before production, brands may need to establish:

• Measurements
• Fabric specifications
• Colors
• Artwork
• Labels
• Construction details
• Packaging requirements

You can see an acceptable sample which can be used as a reference in the production.

This becomes particularly significant when it is anticipated that a product will be reproduced on several occasions.

Small Runs Can Reveal More Than Sales Numbers

The benefits of a smaller production run also extend beyond the number of units which can be sold.

Customer feedback can also say something that cannot be seen from the sales data.

Customers might comment that:

• The fit is perfect; it runs very loose so using the decimal system was not an issue.
• A fabric feels particularly comfortable
• As a result of the third property we would expect. We would expect a true test, that trial and error would return a result.
• But a somewhat different length would suit more
• A product requires a different size.

These then could impact the following release of the product.

I.e. production turns into an ongoing learning process.

Replenishment Can Be More Important Than a Big Launch

Some brands put a lot of emphasis in the collection launching.

However, there are some products for which this method does not work.

The ability of a brand to have selected few powerful products, replenished regularly.

Control by inventory rather than make a single forecast for the whole year, production is controlled flexibly and varied with the inventory.

This is especially helpful for away-from-core product which, in all likelihood, customers will buy during the year.

Not Every Product Should Be Made on Demand

Demand Production is not always the perfect solution for each garment.

There are some products that can be produced as larger quantities.

A stable demand style with high production volume is likely to require larger quantities as well as more extensive production planning.

Larger run can sometimes help to improve production efficiency lowering the cost per unit.

This is of course for a product that is not a best-seller. For a best seller, the worse it produces too little so that we have premium stock-outs.

The aim is thus not to achieve the lowest period quantities possible for all items.

To match the production method to the demand pattern of the product.

A Hybrid Production Model Can Make More Sense

There are several ways to approach branding that many brands and companies could take advantage of.

For example:

This way of working is typical of a new style:youstart with a small production run, market thestylefor a while and then go into replenishment production.Once the style works you enter a larger production.

A proven core product may go into larger production while a new seasonal style may only go into a few smaller runs.

This gives every brand the opportunity not be forced to give the single production model to every product.

Seasonal Fashion Makes Flexibility Valuable

Demand for fashion may change very rapidly.

A product that works well during one season might become much less relevant at a later point.

Thus, high volumes may increase risk when a style has a shorter life.

Brands are better able to adapt to changing conditions by producing closer to demand.

It can be helpful in seasonal shades, holiday ranges, trend driven items and limited editions.

On Demand Manufacturing Can Support More Product Ideas

A less committed to large outsized inventory commitments a brand is the easier it can be to experiment.

Furthermore, rather than pouring considerable resources into a handful of significant launches, a brand can try out numerous concepts on a smaller scale.

There are some that will work.

Some will not.

What matters is that unsuccessful products need not result in the business having large stocks of clothes to get rid of.

Then, the successful product can have larger attention and production capacity.

What Changes for the Manufacturing Partner?

An on demand approach also impacts the way the brand interacts with its manufacturing partner.

Producer may led to more little batch production with orders, bigger batch sizes.

The manufacturer must have a thorough understanding of the approved product in order to produce it reliably.

Enabling accurate product specifications therefore becomes particularly helpful.

If a hoodie is reordered multiple times re-used the fabric, measurements, color, construction should match approved product.

Production Speed Still Matters

Slashing inventory isn‘t very beneficial if it takes so long to make that your best seller isn‘t in stock for weeks at a time.

For brands where there are shorter runs and higher frequency of replenishment, production scheduling does come into play.

The ideal process connects:

Demand ->stocks-> production planning –> manufacturing -> replenishment

The more easily this cycle turns in this way, the more simple it is for a brand to ensure that its products stay in stock with out having too much stock.

On Demand Is a Production Strategy, Not a Magic Formula

There is no production model that removes all inventories risks.

Brands still must predict demand, plan material, approve the product, and schedule manufacturing.

Production decisions can be made living closer to current market information the difference.

The business might also consider what customers are buying today and what should be produced next rather than asking how many garments the brand might sell in 6 months time.

That transition can help make merchandise planning more dynamic.

When a Brand Is Ready to Scale

A product that is successful on a small scale may indicate large-scale commercial potential.

This creates a natural progression:

Test-learning-refine-restock-scaling

There is no need for brand to make the choice between tiny quantities to huge production runs straight away.

If the market research substantiates demand then output will increase.

Building a More Flexible Clothing Business

However the real benefit of ‘on demand’ clothing manufacturing is the ability to be flexible:

Will enable a retailer or brand to: offer a product without automatically committing to a huge inventory; rely on customer response for future production decisions; and dedicate more resources to styles that show real demand.

Custom apparel brands: JiuvelWear is the apparel manufacturing company of Dongguan Jiuzuo Clothing Co., Ltd. It is headquartered in Guangdong, China. They collaborate with clothing brands and provide apparel development, sampling, private label manufacturing and garment manufacturing.

On demand production does not mean no planning. Instead, it means bringing your production planning closer to the information and signals coming from the marketplace.

For a running apparel company that could mean making fewer needless speculation on inventory and more space to invest on the products customers really need.