by Jessica Liu on Feb 2 2018

in Apparel Industry News, Fashion Trends, Supply Chain Managment, Events

How to use fabric supplier doing QRM (Quick Response Manufacturing)mode?

The supply chain of QRM (Quick Response Manufacturing) mode has become the trend of the apparel industry, most of the enterprises that do not do it are struggling because of more and bigger brands have begun doing fast fashion mode.

The fabric as the core of quick response mode of apparel supply chain must be kept up with his development, so for fabric suppliers are facing a new challenge as well.

How ZARA & UNIQLO to cooperate with the fabric factory?

ZARA:

About 60% of fabrics come from the factories of ZARA’s internal group, all using the stock fabric. Others of 40% fabrics come from their cooperated supply chain fabric factories (those fabrics are stock as well), once ZARA needs to use that fabric, they can be delivered within 3 days.

So this is ZARA’s mode: Cooperated with fabric supplier & using stock fabric.

UNIQLO:

The principle of developing fabrics is joint development with medium and large fabric suppliers.

According to the sales situation, UNIQLO will determine the quality requirements and price of the fabric, then their cooperated fabric factory will design and develop its requirements; Once the development succeeds, UNIQLO will buy the entire year quantity of fabric (normally at a million meters), that requires the suppliers to ensure that the quick response of speed.

At the same time, in order to ensure the stability of fabric quality, UNIQLO has even have stepped in the supply of raw materials, a wool ranch in Mongolia (an inland city) is specially bred to provide with fabrics for UNIQLO.
Is that must be the stock fabric can operate the fast fashion?

We say that YES!

3 Ways to the fabric supplier doing QRM (Quick Response Manufacturing) with Brands.

1. Prepare gray cloth

For the fabric they mainly promoted, most fabric suppliers will prepare a part of the gray cloth. With gray cloth, you can do QRM (Quick Response Manufacturing). Normal dyeing needs about 3 to 5 days, some of which need to be processed later, and can be done in 7-10 days.

For most of the domestic brands that doing fast fashion, it is acceptable to deliver the cloth in 10 days and make the garment in 20 days. After all, there are no companies like ZARA in China so far.

      2.Manage & allocate inventory effectively

The fabric supply chain channel also has the circulation of inventory fabric, many fabric suppliers will promote the products in multi-channel. For their main products, there is a certain inventory in the channel (otherwise the fabric supply chain cannot be transferred). We call this inventory also a “stock fabric”. How to effectively manage and allocate the inventory in the channel, that is the fabric suppliers need to think about it.

     3. Set the highest inventory and minimum inventory

Once the fabric of a certain color is lower than the minimum inventory, the factory needs to start the production immediately.

This is especially suitable for basic fabrics, which can guarantee both sales and inventory risk.

More Relate article about  DC platform :

1 .  What We Do ? 

2. DC PLATFORM : New Energy of Apparel Industry – Quick Response Manufacturing

3. Designers & Quality Assurance Updated Of B2B DC Platform 

4. How Chinese Use DT (Date Technology) to reforms apparel industry based on IMS and Quick Response?

5. Apparel Supply Chain + Intelligent Store

6. How to operated the Design Interconnection of DC?

7. How DC integrate all resource to make quick response manufacturing of apparel supply chain?

8. How to do fast fashion and where to find the apparel manufacturers?