Remember While You Choose Clothing Manufacturer
TIPS:
- You always need a strong backup. Hence never quit searching once you’ve found great clothing manufacturer.
- Document all the manufacturers you have contacted, and what the result was. Maybe they make a product that is too cheap for you, but you may want them down the line when you offer a lower-priced option. Or perhaps their minimums are too large, but in theory your quantities will grow and you will always want a manufacturer that can do larger quantities for you.
- Evaluate them as you go. Do they respond to emails? Answer the phone? Are they quick to get back to you? If I get someone who is impossible to contact or who rarely responds to emails, then I get concerned. It is one thing to deal with this when you are researching manufacturers, a whole other when you just got a huge order from Net A Porter and you are frantically trying to reach your factory to find out if they can make it on time. Reliability is key from a manufacturer, and if they are slow responding or late with their first set of samples, you should be listening to the alarm bells.
- It is really important that communication with your factory is easy. Do they speak your language? Are the time zones close enough that you can speak to them during their business hours, without having to be up at 4 in the morning? This is when manufacturing close to home can make sense.
- Always read their business policy or go through their FAQs.
