It’s almost every designers quest to find the right manufacturers or suppliers for their clothing line. As a designer myself I went through an arduous process of finding the right people. Being a start-up, I was looking for a small quantity manufacturer and a supplier for embroidery job work. At the time of my research, I was residing in the UK completing my masters.
Even though, there are many ways to find the manufacturers, it is one of the biggest and important challenges for a clothing business.
You can use the following methods to search for clothing manufacturers in India:
1. Online Directory of Apparel Manufacturers
2. Trade shows and Exhibition
3. Search Engines
4. Word of mouth
5. Sales Agents
6. Visiting the country of manufacture
Questions to Ask your Manufacturers
It is relatively easier to find manufacturers in India as it was my home country. At least, that’s what I thought at that point of time. I lay out a set of questions or rather checklists before I contacted my vendors which is the best place to start to have clarity of your clothing business. The main questions you should be asking are-
1. What kind of products they make and if they can meet your special requirements if any?
2. How ethical and transparent is their supply chain? (If they are not ready to disclose important information to you, steer clear!)
3. What are the services they provide (patterns, grading, prototypes, fabric sourcing etc.)?
4. What is their minimum order quantity?
5. What is the price estimation for your prototypes or production order (Ask for a quotation)?
6. Do they have an agreement or terms and conditions for payment, delivery and confidentiality?
7. What is the estimated time to complete the production?
Honestly, it wasn’t easy to get the answers to all questions. The answers we got were brief and unsatisfactory. Being a startup brand, we were not given the attention or the time we deserved. If you get the answers to all the questions, you can make your shortlist of suppliers even shorter. Look out for the red flags, one of them being, hard to reach, they will probably do the same continuously.
The Budding problem
A pro tip for you is that if you have found the right manufacturer that ticks all your list, make sure to nurture that relationship. Do not treat them like they are replaceable due to the vastness of the market, because they aren’t. You will find a lot of suppliers promising the moon to you, but they might end up wasting your time. While I was in the UK, a manufacturer made all kinds of promises to me initially. At the end of two months, turns out they could not make my product.
Quality and communication being important to us, we decided to travel back to our country to find our production partner. Through references and word of mouth we got in touch with the potential manufacturer and visited the factory unit as ethical supply chain was of supreme importance to us.
While we were happy with our production partners after the successful launch of our brand, we couldn’t stop thinking about the complexity of finding a manufacturer in India. India was such a huge marketplace for manufacturing quality fashion products and a great hub for textiles and handicrafts. It was a shame that the good manufacturers were shadowed by the big production houses due to lack of their ability to connect with potential brands through marketing techniques.
My peers in the U.K. often asked me for help in assisting them to find manufacturers for their products in India. They faced issues in finding quality suppliers with low minimum order quantities. They were looking to manufacture in India to reduce their cost of production and to venture into surface textile designing. They were overwhelmed by looking into the online directories as they did not know how to choose one from a long list of suppliers. It was justifiable, as I have been there taking hours in shortlisting suppliers. I realized it was imperative to have an easier process that helped designers over the world to make better choices when it came to manufacturing in India with respect to their product, quantities, delivery time and communication.
Fostering Change
It was time to innovate change and get my mind across reducing the complexity of choosing manufacturers in India. After massive research and field study I tied up with the best manufacturing units (clusters) in Delhi and Mumbai ranging in their specializations from Casual to Luxury wear (Men, Women and Kids Wear) all under one platform, Hemming Bee. Bringing quality craftsman under one roof and exposing them to a larger clientele brought me closer to my solution.
As a person who has been on both the sides of clothing business, the designer as well as the manufacturer, I can say that choosing your supplier is a big decision for your business. Take your time in researching the one that suits your business needs. The extra time you put in now will help you avoid any major setbacks in future that will cost you time and money. Do not forget to share your vison and brand values with them as you both will be investing in each other’s businesses. Hopefully, you will find a great match to successfully start your own business.
If you have any further questions about clothing manufacturers, drop in a comment below or even mail us. We are always looking forward to help you!
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