Sourcing partners trim the complexity of global apparel production
By Martin Vilaboy
One doesn’t have to be an apparel product manager working at a major label to understand the expansiveness and complexity of the global textile and apparel supply chain. Even from a distance, it’s not hard to imagine the multitude of suppliers, service providers and factories – stretched across any number of time zones and country codes – that can be required to produce the units of just one performance piece. Contestants taking their first crack at such an endeavor literally can expect to be schooled on just about anything from thread count to customs to Cambodian cuisine.
On the other hand, it doesn’t have to be quite so daunting. Outdoor vendors and brands can now leverage the knowledge and experience of experts who have already learned the lessons and mastered the machinations of global apparel manufacturing. Of course, there long have been companies and consultants created specifically to provide expertise and assistance on each specific area of apparel production, from product design and development to component sourcing, manufacturing, distribution and even marketing. And while large merchandise-sourcing corporations that pull all these facets under one roof have existed for some time, working with these large conglomerates can be just as frustrating and intimidating as going at it alone for all but the largest brands.
A few companies, however, have pulled together such an impressive array of supply chain services to create a “one-stop-shop” value proposition for outdoor and activewear vendors and brands looking to launch, extend or expand an apparel line or collection. In other words, it’s a model that effectively flattens and shrinks the global apparel supply chain. The upshot is a lowering of the barriers and risks involved in introducing apparel lines, while simultaneously increasing the chance of success.
What’s more, their services do not come at a premium, but rather can lower costs, both in terms of capital expenditures and price per unit. Even better, these companies have outdoor and sportswear pedigree, in turn offering specific understandings of the needs and intricacies of performance and active apparel markets.
“Most of all, we really try to be a much deeper resource than you can get from any other sourcing model,” says Fred Butts, CEO, owner and managing partner of global souring company One Source Apparel, based in Portsmouth, N.H.
Butts cut his teeth on outdoor apparel working first at LL Bean in inventory and product development. From there, he went to Polartec for several years, where he was exposed to the inner workings of the dozens of vendors and brands that used Polartec technologies. Also working at Polartec at the time was John Mitchell, who’s now on board at One Source Apparel as vice president of global sales and new business development, after stints with Cocona (37.5), Dyersburg Fleece and Outlast.
The combined experience has enabled One Source Apparel to build a “soup-to-nuts” portfolio that starts with product design and development capabilities and carries through to the sourcing of materials and technologies to managing and overseeing manufacturing and ends with marketing and training support down to the sales and store level.
Meanwhile, Shrewsbury, N.J.-based Vertical Source has compiled a similar set of supply chain services for outdoor apparel and aspiring active wear brands.
“We can handle the design, do the tech packs, source the materials; and then we have the relationships in place to manufacture the goods,” says Christopher Neary, Vertical Source CEO and president. The model also includes quality control at all levels, and Vertical Source is currently pulling together a logistics division that includes customs, warehousing and pick and pack services.
Neary, for his part, started his journey in the global supply chain as a buyer at Buckman Ski Shops, a five-store chain based in Ardmore, Pa. After a stint in investment banking, he worked in government contracting for a clothing manufacturer for the U.S. Department of Defense, before starting a 13-year career as a sub-contracted sales agent for Concept III Textiles.
At both One Source Apparel and Vertical Source, customers can start from scratch, with just a garment concept or interesting textile, for instance, or utilize the companies for only a few steps of the process. Think of the model as a type of “value added reseller” for performance apparel, similar to how an IT value added reseller might source hardware from giant Cisco, network services from AT&T and software from Microsoft and integrate the pieces into a customized solution for a specific small or mid-sized business.
Indeed, it’s been estimated that as much as 70 percent of SMB information technology spending goes through IT value added resellers. And there are a number of good reasons why that is. Those reasons parallel the benefits offered to apparel brands by global apparel supply chain providers.
For starters, consider a mid-sized baselayer company looking to launch into yoga apparel, or a footwear brand looking to extend into lightweight shells, or even a large retailer looking to private label a small set of garments. Traditionally, their first step would be to bring design and development capabilities in-house and incur the cost of starting up this new division within the company.
“We eliminate that overhead,” says Neary.
That overhead, and subsequent risk, is replaced with functioning teams of experts in design, development and sourcing, as well as fit, pattern and color specialist, and decade’s worth of industry contacts and connections.
“All of that stuff is internalized within our company,” says Butts. “We also are taking care of all the communication with Asia, which in itself is a lot of work.”
Garment production partners likewise dedicate resources to monitoring the most recent innovations and trends, says Butts, keeping up with trendsetters and continually gauging which direction new developments might go.
Once initial plans for a new line are laid, the next step is likely sourcing the materials. For a brand going at it alone, that likely means visits to various fabric suppliers. And as should be expected, fabric supplier ABC will only show fabrics from their stable of ABC brands. Sourcing partners, on the other hand, tend to represent options from a cross-section of suppliers and sources, providing customers with more options and solutions from the get-go.
“We can do those cool brand-name technologies; but if you just can’t get there because of the price, we can go with a similar non-branded fabric, if that better serves you,” explains Mitchell. “Or we might be able to engineer something in one of our China and Vietnam facilities, if you want a fabric that is unique and all yours. We have that type of wherewithal with the partnerships we have formed over the years.”
Existing and established relationships with a matrix of factories around the globe, including some of the world’s largest, is another key part of the value equation. With offices on the ground in places such as Ho Chi Minh, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei and Seoul, and regular trips back and forth by U.S.-based executives, global supply channel partners serve as advocates for their customers.
“When we bring a factory a new client, we take the time to explain to the factory who that customer is,” says Butts. “We show them the history of the customer and try to embody more than just a tech pack and the cost of the garment.”
Due to the existing partnerships and the higher volume of business they bring, companies such as One Source Apparel and Vertical Source also are more likely to have the phone picked up when they call with a problem or request.
“We form owner to owner relationships,” add Butts. “So should there be a problem or a misunderstanding or a challenge, we are interfacing directly with decision-makers.”
“We have factories we work with all over the world, but we have our favorites where we know the quality is going to be there,” says Neary. “We know that if we really need something by the end of October, and it’s the first of August, our partner factories are going to figure out a way to make it happen because of the relationship. If a customer wants a $100 jacket but only wants to pay $80, we know, if at all possible, our manufacturing partners will help figure it out and make it work.”
Customers of the sourcing model also can rest assured that the proper vetting of factories has taken place.
“We see hundreds of factories a year, but we don’t select a hundred. We select just a couple,” says Butts. “We know who is good at down or lightweight polyfill, or who is really good at flat-lock performance shirting. And as we build those competencies, we open up the breadth of what we can do.”
Factories are also vetted in terms of the increasingly important element of social compliance, effectively eliminating another burden and concern of launching an apparel line.
“That is huge right now, and it can all be done through one company,” says Butts.
It almost goes without saying. Launching an apparel line or extending a brand into a new category can be a risky affair. That risk is multiplied by every technology, supplier, manufacturing facility, time zone and language that are added to the mix. An experienced sourcing partner, with hands on the project all the way from initial concept to completed garment, from design table to retail floor, makes the whole process less daunting and the global supply chain a much smaller world.
