Whether a new or old brand, it is not easy and simple for hunting clothes buyers to find suitable suppliers. If this has been a problem for you, hope this article can give you some help.
First, define your brand’s needs and what service and request you want from your supplier.
Second, how many different types of suppliers are in the market, and what the advantages and disadvantages of each are.
Finally, once you choose the type of supplier your brand needs, what are the key points that a quality supplier will have in a long-term partnership.
Sorting out hunting apparel brand buyers’ needs
- Developing the correct style from the tech pack
- Sourcing the right fabric and trims for hunting clothes
- Arranging bulk production as required
- Transporting to designated delivery points
Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of different types of suppliers
Manufacturers
As hunting clothing is a very niche category, it is difficult to find factories that specialize in hunting clothing. Generally, the only way to find a corresponding factory is by differentiating between fabrics and styles.
Advantages
Production:
- Specialize in one type of product
- More efficient in production.
Price:
- No extra control costs
- Prices are low than trading companies and sourcing agents
Disadvantages
Order service:
- Big MOQ
- Communication might be difficult
- Service is quite ordinary
- May refuse small or complicated orders during the peak production period
- Quality needs frequent supervision.
Style:
- Style is quite simple or classic, can not meet different products
- Inflexible
Samples:
- Difficult to understand the functional requirement for hunting clothes
- Poor sampling service
- Not good at the sourcing of sample fabrics and accessories
- Not good at custom-made
- Poor control on sample details
Traditional Trading Company
Traditional trading companies service many different products, rarely specializing in one type of product. So they don’t have much of the expertise associated with hunting garments.
Advantages
Order service:
- Dedicated salesman and good customer service
- Good communication
- Smaller MOQ
- Flexible in all kinds of orders
- Good QC service and logistic service
Styles:
- Can handle more complex styles
- Can find the right factory according to the style
Disadvantages
Production:
- Longer production lead times
- Fabric and trims sourcing reliance on factories
- Not professional as factories on the workmanship, need to ask factories for the solution
Price:
- Higher than manufacturers, due to the extra control costs and margin
- Samples:
- Longer sample lead time
- Sampling relies on the factory, all information and requirements have to pass to the factory
- Not good at the sourcing of sample fabrics and accessories
Sourcing agents
The purchasing agent is more like a direct translator and messenger of information between the customer and the factory. As such, the expertise in hunting clothing or even clothing may not be as good as that of the factory.
Advantages
Order service:
- Dedicated salesman and good customer service
- Good communication
- Smaller MOQ
- Flexible in all kinds of orders
- Good QC service and logistic service
Price:
- Generally a fixed percentage of the service fee
- Slightly better than the price of the trading company, more expensive than the factory
Disadvantages
Style:
- Easy to make mistakes in the complex style, due to not professional itself
- Not good at finding the right factory according to the style
Production:
- Not easy for them to control the factory, due to no long-term cooperation with the factory,
- Not professional in solving the problem during production
- equal to the customer and the factory direct translation
Samples:
- Sampling, like production, is mainly dependent on the factory and the sample time is long.
“New” Trading Company
The new trading company is a one-stop-shop for specialized products, such as hunting clothes, skiwear, outdoor tents, etc. Therefore, if you find a new trading company that specializes in hunting clothes, you can get a very professional service.
Advantages
Production:
- Direct purchase of the fabrics and accessories, quality control from raw materials.
- Has long-term cooperation with the corresponding factories
- Special QC to follow up the orders
- Can provide timely feedback and solution to customers on the production
Style:
- Specialize in products for one purpose, e.g. skiing, mountaineering, hunting, camping, etc.
- Sourcing fabrics, accessories, styles, sewing, andfinishing techniques from all aspects(use, function, and scenario).
- Have a deep understanding of the customer’s design and can direct factory production.
Samples:
- Having an independent sample production department, the sampling time will be quick
- Can provide timely feedback to the customer’s design department on any unreasonable design
- Order service:
- professional and smooth communication, timely service feedback, good service attitude
- Can deal with different kinds of orders
- professional and responsible after-sales service
Order service:
- professional and smooth communication, timely service feedback, good service attitude
- Can deal with different kinds of orders
- professional and responsible after-sales service
Disadvantages
Price:
- Same as traditional trading companies, more expensive than the factory
4 key points of a good supplier worth working with in the long term
The right balance between quality and price
For brands, there are certain supplier management costs that cannot be saved. For example, if pay more attention to the inspection and packaging, the appearance of the finished garment can be improved greatly. In this way, enhancing the brand’s value and image, boosting purchase rates, and reducing returns. 10-15% of the cost can result in 25%-50% extra profit, or even a 100%-200% increase in sales volume. It is so important to select the right supplier that will allow you to keep a good profit over a long and stable period of time.
We can always find cheaper products from the market, but you certainly won’t buy from a supplier that is 15% below the market price. As you know very well that you get what you pay for, to make sure that the quality is up to your requirements and within your budget. Unreasonably low prices can bring a compromise in quality or quantity, or worse still, fraud.
Previously, a new customer, after working with us on one order, placed a second order with another supplier, as his jackets were US$1.73 cheaper than ours. Six months later, we received an email from this customer. When he received the goods, the quantity was 43 pieces less than the packing list, and the quality of the bulk shipment was worse than the sealed sample. He indicated that he would go back to cooperate with us for the following orders. Sometimes more can be lost to save a little budget.
The supplier’s sales staff has expertise
Serving brands requires a lot of expertise from the sales staff. A good salesman should be familiar with the product. Such as the material, price, advantages, disadvantages, product characteristics, and use scenarios, etc.
He must be clear about the customer requirements and arrange the style/production/shipment. He will be able to answer your queries and provide multiple solutions (such as providing suitable fabrics, accessories, etc.)to save you time.
Most of the bottom salesman in trading companies graduated from the university shortly. They can handle the daily emails, but don’t have much experience in import and export trade. May not know the products as professional as you. This will waste a lot of time communicating and may not end up with a product that meets your requirements.
So, if you feel satisfied with the supplier’s product quality and price, but the salesman is not good at communicating. You can tell the owner of the company directly so that he can get a better and more professional salesman to take charge of your order.
High communication efficiency
A good supplier will pay close attention to the efficiency of communication. Generally to ensure that within 24 hours respond to routine questions. Timely communication can solve most of your worries and ensure that the entire order or sample process flow and avoid mistakes. Especially with customized services, many details need to be communicated one by one. If inefficient, a lot of time will be wasted in waiting.
In international trade, the time lag with foreign customers can result in delayed response time. To ensure that important matters are communicated in a timely and efficient manner, chat tools can be used. You may prefer to use Whatsapp, Facebook, or Skype, which most suppliers do use, but not in real-time, or even not at all for some suppliers.
I recommend using Wechat. This is a must-have for everyone’s daily life in China, it is easy to contact the supplier via Wechat.
Good responsibility – attitude to problems and solutions
From the initial design to the final garment being exported to you, there are so many steps involved. In the production of a customed garment, problems will inevitably occur. What is scary is to encounter irresponsible suppliers who do not deal with the problem or even ignore it. It will directly cause losses to the brand. For example, if the factory sews the labels with the wrong position, or some comments are not modified to. A reliable supplier with high responsibility willing to cooperate with changes is the key to a smooth order.
A good supplier clearly understands that the customer and the supplier are working together to pursue a win-win situation. We are all working together to produce a good product and to cooperate in the long term. Therefore, regardless of the size of the order, reliable suppliers treat equally. They hold a positive attitude to complete seriously. And will not be for the immediate benefit, perfunctory, or even deceive the customer, to avoid or shirk responsibility.
