Global sourcing for textile and apparel products has become increasingly common. As an integration and coordination of procurement, manufacturing, operations, logistics, and even the whole upstream supply chain management across the globe, sourcing textile and apparel products globally has a lot of benefits. These include obtaining higher quality goods with lower costs, accessing worldwide technologies, reducing the impact of regional crisis, and enhancing the competitiveness of the global market.
However, to enjoy the benefits of global sourcing, companies might also need to accept the risks and face mistakes that occur. The good news is that it still isn’t too late to learn from these mistakes and develop smart approaches to avoid them. Here are some major mistakes made by textile and apparel companies when sourcing globally.
Lack of smart sourcing methods
Having a clear sourcing strategy is always a good start. It is more than just knowing which country to source from, but also how to find the right or most suitable suppliers according to your requested goods, quantity, budget, and timely delivery is also essential. The traditional way is to attend textile trade shows, but the modern trend is sourcing on the internet through an online B2B marketplace, which offers an advanced and quick way to find the exact textile suppliers you are looking for. For example, BizVibe uses cutting edge machine learning tools and multiple sophisticated algorithms to help you find the most suitable suppliers.
Not verifying the supplier before placing the order
Trusting a potential supplier always comes with risk, which is why verifying the supplier to fully understand their production capacity, quality standards, and price range is vital before placing the order. Requesting a sample or even visiting your potential or shortlisted oversea suppliers’ factories is not mandatory but is very important, as it will give you a clearer insight of the work conditions and the professional and technical abilities of the suppliers. Alternatively, you can search and find suppliers on BizVibe’s platform, as all the listed profiles there are verified, and relevant information is up to date.
Only focusing on costs but overlooking suppliers’ weaknesses
Reducing production cost is the biggest reason why textile and apparel companies source globally, but suppliers’ weaknesses should not be overlooked because of these costs. For example, Bangladesh has very low labour costs and can handle high-volume orders, but the quality of the products it manufactures is variable and suppliers there are often set up inefficiently and infrastructure and energy supply risks are high.
Not enough communication with suppliers
Communication can be a huge barrier to global sourcing. Even after you’ve found the supplier and placed the order, lack of communication regarding product specifications and requirements could cost you a great deal. Thankfully, BizVibe allows users to easily contact buyers and suppliers, receive updates from each other in a customized newsfeed and chat in real-time about samples, product specifications and requirements, ongoing productions, delivery turnaround and shipping costs.
No outside quality check before shipping
Quality control is always a risky thing when it comes to global sourcing. Many importers rely on the supplier to perform QC inspection on goods, but the supplier’s staff are often biased. That’s why it’s highly recommended that you arrange a third-party or your own staff to inspect the goods at the factory, especially when working with new suppliers. Ideally, quality inspection should also take place at an earlier stage in production to make sure there are no issues for further production.
Today, the online B2B marketplace has opened up non-local and overseas manufacturing and textile sourcing to textile and apparel companies of all levels. Unlike trade shows, there are no entrance fees, travel expenses or time off work required; sourcing on the internet can happen anytime and anywhere.
A good place to start is using BizVibe. Type in the specifics of the textile sectors with tags like supplier, buyer, manufacturer or wholesaler, and you will be able to scroll through some of the most suitable company profiles, and find the perfect textile suppliers or buyers with only a few clicks. BizVibe not only offers links to other vendors, but also brings those vendors to you.
Thousands of the world’s leading textile companies can be in your contact list if you join BizVibe today! Whether you are looking for reliable suppliers, top textile manufacturers, wholesalers and potential customers in over 70 major countries, or benchmarking what your competitors are buying and which suppliers they’re using, BizVibe can help you connect with sales prospects in the textile industry across the globe.
Register for free now to build your own network of global textile companies on BizVibe
Read more:
How is Digital Technology Changing the Textile Supply Chain?
How BizVibe Can Help You Tackle the Top Challenges in the Global Textile Supply Chain
