Imports Oriental Blog

Danny Coyle

MOQ: 3,000pcs/color

This detail may send new apparel importers running. High minimums often discourage new buyers from taking a risk on new products, which makes sense – if the product doesn’t sell well, you’re stuck with merchandise taking up space (and cash) in your warehouse.

However, most suppliers don’t set arbitrary minimums – there are reasons behind the numbers they come up with.

Understanding what governs your supplier’s MOQs can help you in 2 ways:

1)      it can help you be aware of the problems your supplier faces

2)      it can make it easier to find a minimum that works for both parties

In this two part article we will look at two common MOQ problems and creative solutions that have worked for us.

Third-Party Fabric Production

Apparel MOQs can be based on the amount of fabric required, since many manufacturers purchase fabric from a third party provider. If your supplier says he needs a minimum order of 3,000 pieces, he may actually mean he needs to order at least 3,000 meters of fabric.  If this is the restriction governing the MOQ, here are several options to pursue, allowing your supplier to meet his fabric minimum while making it a less risky investment for you.

• Make a variety of items from the same fabric

Oftentimes the buyer can suggest making different items from the one fabric.  When you order 3,000pcs many suppliers will allow you to include a range of sizes or styles.  We’ve often gotten around this MOQ issue by making scarves with the same fabric used in our blouses.  By being creative in cutting the fabric we’ve found a use for a significant amount of our unused fabric.

• Use Stock Fabric

Many fabric-dying houses keep small amounts of fabric in stock. We’ve found that the most important consideration in using stock fabrics has been color. If we are willing to compromise on accuracy of fabric color, suppliers may agree to do smaller orders from their own stock fabric. However, keep in mind that color, quality and quantity may vary widely from month to month (and from factory to factory).

Next week we’ll look at another issue that affects MOQs – staffing problems.

Click here to read part two.