How to Successfully Liaise with Production Factories for Your Intimate Apparel Brand?

Starting an intimate apparel brand can be both a thrilling and daunting experience. In order to bring your designs from concept to reality there is no alternate of a successful liaison with the production factories. You can do it by yourself or prefer to hire an expert to do the liaison on behalf of you. Here, we will discuss the key steps needed to take and maintain to ensure a successful liaison with the production factories.

The term ‘Liaison’ refers to co-operation and effective communication between different parties. The first step to liaise with production factories is to define design aesthetic and requirements in industrial standards. In order to do so, you must have a clear vision of the look, feel, and fit of your intimate apparel before you start the process. This means determining the fabrics and trims that you will use in your product line. As well as any special features or details that you want to include. Make sure you have a complete understanding of the desired construction techniques and design details. Even before you start looking for a production factory.

Beside the design essentials, you need to become familiar with the regulations and standards. Those are basically imposed by the authority of your country and the country where you choose to do production. Next step is researching to find out the best specialized factories for your type of garment. You should have a good understanding between CMT vs FPP factories for doing so. Reach out to your chosen factory with a complete detailed tech pack. Either developed by yourself or with the aid of a technical designer or product developer.

A complete tech pack should have detailed measurements (spec sheets), CAD sketch, information relating to color (Pantone), fabric and trims, construction and components call-outs and any other potential details. Aside, you need to provide the factory a bill of materials (BOM). BOM includes a list of all the materials needed to produce the garments associated with detailed information of each material. Such as fabric widths, and weights. You also need to provide a grading chart to the factory. This is to escalate the patterns to different sizes of your product and provide tolerances depending on the type of garment produced. Providing a detailed tech pack is a must for successful liaising with production factories. 

Not all textile factories do production of intimate apparel. Hence, it is a must to inquire about the factory’s capabilities in terms of MOQ, design, materials, specialized machinery, quality control, and turnaround times. If it is within your possibilities, schedule a visit to the factory to get a feel for the operation. Visit the workspace and meet with the factory owners or workers. Ask questions about their processes and look at the equipment they use. Also, look for any signs of problems like disorganization or safety hazards that could affect your production quality and regulatory standards.

Once a factory is selected, the next step is to negotiate pricing and terms. This is a delicate process that requires a deep understanding of your market and the manufacturing process. You need to understand the market rate for labour, materials, and production services. You will also want to consider any additional fees, such as for product development fees as well as sampling, that the factory may charge. Make sure you understand if the pricing they are providing is FOB or EXW. Analyse if that works for you, or at least to understand additional costs that will be needed for the production to arrive at your warehouse or fulfilment center.

Be sure to discuss payment terms and conditions upfront and get these in writing. Most factories do not offer terms when they’re first starting out with a new client. But that is something that can be negotiated along the way, the more you work with your supplier, when you build mutual trust. Understand when you will need to make a deposit and for how much. This is very important when you are starting out the relationship with a vendor.

Most factories will request a deposit of either 30% or 50% prior to starting a bulk production. They will request the remaining amount once they finish the production prior to shipping to you. Understand this well and make sure you align with what they are requesting. If you are able, negotiate to pay a small final percentage once you receive the production, but this will really depend on your factory and oftentimes they are not as flexible- be clear to avoid any surprises once you are going into bulk. Make sure you are clear about any liabilities related to quality control, product safety standards, shipping and logistics. Make sure you have a plan in place to deal with any issues that may arise.

Be sure to maintain a professional relationship with the factory throughout the liaison. It includes but not limited to the negotiation, production and all the way to receiving products. With clear communication, a good understanding of your market, and an eye for detail, you will be able to negotiate a favorable pricing and terms agreement that is beneficial for both you and your production factory.