How to order materials and produce faster

Material after the window closes — production late

In wholesale fashion B2B, boutiques expect goods at the start of the season, so production must start earlier and fabric must already be at the workshop. Most brands still order materials only after the wholesale order window closes, once quantities from every boutique are known. Only from that day do fabric lead time and sewing time run, so shipment reaches the boutique mid-season.

• material ordered after the order window closes
• production waits for fabric delivery
• shipments to boutiques go out late

Fabric lead time starts too late for the season

Pre-order window — the period when boutiques place wholesale orders for a collection before the season.

Lead time — the period from placing an order with the material supplier to the fabric arriving at the workshop.

MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) — the smallest quantity of material a supplier accepts in one order. Example: a mill may require a minimum of 200 metres per colourway.

Wholesale orders build through the whole pre-order window. Material lead time often spans weeks or months. When the brand waits to order material until the window closes, lead time and sewing start only then, while the boutique delivery date is already close. MOQ also lifts the quantity to decide above the sum of ordered units alone.

Material demand and forecast while orders are still being collected

Late shipments have many causes. On material ordering we address it on two levels:

• we keep material demand from customer orders up to date, so it is clear how much material is needed now to sew the collection
• when collection runs through B2B Space, we forecast material quantities by the end of the window (with MOQ and prices) in three scenarios

Material orders can then move significantly sooner relative to the window close date.

Steps

1. 1For the order window a Production Run is created; it calculates material demand among other figures.
2. 2Material demand is visible in "Material Planner".
3. 3Material Planner shows how much material is in stock (if any), what demand is, and how many metres or kg to buy.
4. 4When the run collects orders from B2B Space, Material Planner also shows a forecast for the end of the window: three scenarios (cautious, mid, high) and how confident that figure is.
5. 5In "Decide", the material quantity to order is accepted.

Example: March run, cutting 15 March, Navy wool.

On your side

• For reliable calculations, enter consumption for each style (BOM) properly.
• You decide the final material quantity ordered; Go4's job is to give you the data for that decision.

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