A professional Bali clothing manufacturer could be distinguished by these 5 indications. Not all manufacturers have the no 2 on this list!
5 Clear Indicators of the Professionalism Level of Bali Based Clothing Manufacturers
Any Bali clothing manufacturer could claim that they are professionals, that they will deliver the results you desire. But these are the indicators you can use to judge whether such claim is substantiated:
1. Years of Experience
Years of experience is not an absolute indicator about a professional Bali clothing manufacturer. But any garment manufacturer in Bali that has stayed long in the business must have some degree on professionalism. It must’ve had help them to survive in the business.
And yet, the length of its experience does not tell you everything about a Bali clothing manufacturer. You should also ask what kind of clothing that the manufacturer has produced so far.
For example; if you find out that an activewear manufacturer Indonesia has been active for 20 years but has no experience in producing the kind of jacket that you want to manufacture, then you should think again about hiring them.
However, if the clothing manufacturer is willing to try to produce new style in a professional manner, like preparing the tech pack and all, perhaps you could give it a chance. Especially if you are not in a rush and that you are patience enough to wait until the clothing manufacturer gets it right. But are you?
2. In-House Pattern Maker
Clothing manufacturers in Bali with in-house pattern maker(s) works more efficient than the ones without. Normally a manufacturer who provides full package production services has at least one in-house pattern maker and it really expedites the product development process; especially for the making of a tech pack.
Shockingly, finding a good, professional pattern maker in Bali is not easy, especially the one with ability to work on complicated designs! And yet, you are not going to have a good product (hence good reputation for your label) if the patterns for your designs are not good!
So, you need to examine carefully whether a manufacturer employs a capable in-house pattern maker. You can ask about this before you appoint a clothing manufacturer. Or, you can ask about this after you receive the sample(s) that you ordered from the manufacturer.
But to be fair, not having an in-house pattern maker does not always make a clothing manufacturer unprofessional. Even the most professional Bali clothing manufacturer could temporarily not having an in-house pattern maker for internal reasons. It doesn’t mean the manufacturer wouldn’t get one very soon.
Having an in-house pattern maker in place when your order comes makes the clothing manufacturer works more efficiently. It also reducing the possibility of your designs being copied without your consent and being given to someone else (most likely your competitors), because a professional Bali clothing manufacturer will and should keep the patterns within their premises.
You can learn over time about this when you gain more and more experience about sampling process in garment industry.
3. Good Communication Skills
Language proficiency is just part of communication skills. Whatever language being used, a professional Bali clothing manufacturer should be able to completely understand your requirement. The manufacturer should also be able to provide clear and timely progress report, in a language that you understand.
And, most importantly, the clothing manufacturer should not be difficult to reach!
Perhaps, due to time differences, depending on your location, the clothing manufacturer is not going to be reply during your normal working hours. But a professional manufacturer should be able to reply during their working hours (which means only a few hours difference, not a few days difference!)
But if language apparently becomes a barrier in communications, perhaps you can consider to hire a translator to help you out. This could be a little thing that, in fact, overlooked by a lot of startups. And yet, this little thing could make or break your business.
4. Fabric Sourcing
A professional Bali clothing manufacturer knows how to source fabric in the most efficient ways. As long as you are not requiring some kind of specific rare fabric, then a professional Bali clothing manufacturer should be able to source it for you.
A professional Bali clothing manufacturer should also be able to acquire the fabric at better prices than if you source them yourself. After all, such ability shows how good the supply chain management of a clothing manufacturer.
However, it’s not enough for the manufacturer just to be able to source the fabric. A professional Bali clothing manufacturer should be able to also calculate for you the amount required for your work order. The more accurate the calculation, the more cost efficient the production. It can even save you a lot of money because you wouldn’t have to pay for a lot of cut-offs and excess fabric.
5. Business Ethics of Clothing Manufacturers
Business ethics should go beyond the common standard of punctuality, respect and confidentiality. It should extend all the way to the end of the production process; what to do with the wastes, cut offs & rejects.
A professional Bali clothing manufacturer would not just dump the cut offs and wastes in a landfill (damaging the environment) or even simply burn them off when the work is done! It also wouldn’t sell the rejects for a big discount, especially in local market places (damaging the value of your brand). Instead, the manufacturer would ask for your directives on what to do with them.
Perhaps you want to create some things using the fabrics cut offs; like tea towels, napkins, blankets, door mats, etc. Or perhaps you want to have them sent to some third party entities who could use them to make something useful.
It should be your decision and a professional Bali clothing manufacturer would follow your directives because you were the one who paid for the fabrics. You can make an agreement about in what way the clothing manufacturer get additional compensations for handling the cut offs, waste and rejects.