Today we’re talking about best practices when you change manufacturers in your product-based business. We’ll discuss reasons to change manufacturers, where to find them, and what to say and do to get the best product result.

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I Blew It

Recently in my bag business, Bodomint, I sold out of my best-seller, the Joni backpack in camel. I should have been more on top of this. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of having two listings on Shopify for the same product. I intended to get rid of one listing and transfer all the customer reviews over to the new one, but I just kept not doing it.

So every time someone would place an order for one listing or the other, the quantity wasn’t being deducted from the same Inventory list. I thought I had kept an eye on it, but I still ended up thinking I had more stock than I did. One day I went to my storage place to get more boxes and realized, “Oh cool. I’m totally out of all of these boxes of my best seller.”

So ideally I should have started the process sooner. I already knew that I wanted to change manufacturers, I just thought I had more time. Unfortunately, this has also affected my sales since that is my number-one seller. Had I been more on top of it, it wouldn’t have taken such a toll on my sales numbers.

So now I’m trying to make a good product with a good manufacturer without rushing past the details. But I need to pay the bills! I need to sell these products ASAP! But I don’t want to rush past the details. So stay on top of your inventory so you can avoid that situation.

Why Change Manufacturers?

High MOQs

I decided I wanted to change manufacturers because the last manufacturer I used had very high minimum order quantity (MOQ) requirements. So I had to order around 600 units. I could break that up by colorway, so I could order 200 to 300 per colorway, but it had to add up to 600 total. Right now I just want to order the brown or camel colorway.

Communication Lacking

Another reason I wanted to change is that the girl I used to work with is no longer at that company. So, I’m kind of bummed about that. She knew my business and my product.

Quality

And the third reason is that I wasn’t totally happy with the material they used. Granted I could ask them to change the material, but because of the high MOQ situation I’m going to look for a new manufacturer anyway.

Those are some of the reasons you might want to change manufacturers. If you’re not happy with the quality, the communication, or your minimum order requirements, those are valid reasons to go looking for a new manufacturer.

Where to Find a New Manufacturer

The first step in this process is finding a good manufacturer. So where do you look?

Your Inbox

A lot of manufacturers will reach out to me. So that’s via email, via LinkedIn, or Instagram. I get messages from salespeople for manufacturers and they’ll send me pictures of things that they have, or they’ll say we make diaper bags for Itsy Ritzy for example; they’ll throw out some brand names. Honestly, that kind of peaks my interest when they make similar products for another big company. Obviously, do your research to make sure that is actually the case.

Search These Resources

• LinkedIn
• Alibaba
• ThomasNet
• Open Apparel Registry to learn about manufacturers
• ImportGenius or similar site to see which companies are importing goods from which facilities

So if you know another brand that makes something similar and you admire the quality of their products, you can sometimes find out which manufacturers they’re using from import records on ImportGenius.

Email Your Short List

Make a spreadsheet of these potential new manufacturers and start sending them emails. In the email, you should attach your tech pack for the product you’re wanting to make. If you don’t have that, you can sometimes send a link to that product on your website. It’s useful for them to see all the angles and hardware etc. In the body of the email ask:

• What is the MOQ for this product?
• What is the estimated cost for this product? (this will be a rough estimate that may change after the first sample)
• Please send your factory’s certifications

Factory Certifications

Which certifications you ask? What matters the most to me is working with a factory that has good working conditions for its workers. But different certifications mean different things. Sedex is a good certification. I recently reached out to a manufacturer and they sent me their SMETA audit.

The sedex.com website says “SMETA is an audit, which helps you to understand standards of labor, health, and safety, environmental performance, and ethics within your own operations or at a supplier site.” So, that’s comforting to me to know when I’m working with a factory, that the conditions are good.

For more information about certifications, especially when it comes to sustainability, read my interview with Laura Bonnell here.

Narrow Down Your Selections

Based on the information they give you, narrow down the manufacturers. Consider who has lower MOQs or MOQs that you’re willing to purchase, has price estimates that match what you’ve paid previously, or is in the ballpark of what you’re ready to pay, and has those certifications.

Mail Them Your Product

Once you’ve narrowed it down to a few. Ship them the items that they are trying to duplicate. I recently went through this process and narrowed it down to two manufacturers. I then shipped them two of the very few bags that I had left. I shipped one off to each of the manufacturers.

They’re going to take that and they’re going to duplicate it. Sometimes they take it apart and use that as a pattern to make your new sample.

Order Your First Prototype

Sample Fees

After that, you have to wait two to three weeks for them to make the new sample and send it to you. Some manufacturers, if they really want your business, will send you a sample for free. Occasionally, they may even ship it to you for free. But I wouldn’t hold it against a factory if they charge you for samples and for shipping. They may not be as desperate for your business, but could still be a great partner. It’s not that much money. However, keep those costs in mind if your getting samples from more than 2 or 3 manufacturers. They will add up.

Compare New Product to Your Old Product

Then once you get your samples, really assess and compare them to one made by the old manufacturer.

• Where is it different?
• How does the quality compare?
• How do the new samples compare to each other?
• Consider the quality of the product for the price per unit

The factory will probably send you an updated and more accurate cost per unit after they make your first sample.

Decide Which Manufacturer to Use

Figure out which manufacturer is a better choice for you by asking these questions:

Is It Easy to Communicate With Them?

Currently, I have two samples from two new manufacturers and I’ve been emailing with both of them. I’ve noticed that one is a bit easier to communicate with. I asked both of them the question, “Do you feel like this material will last longer compared to the sample I provided you with? Is this a higher-quality fabric?”

One of the manufacturers replied back. “Yes.”

The other one replied back, “Yes, it is x type of material and we’ve used it with other customers and haven’t received any complaints. It should last two years before you notice any wear on it.” That was a more thorough and comforting answer. That doesn’t necessarily guarantee that the fabric will be better, but I do appreciate the ease of communication. They answered my question thoroughly and I didn’t have to ask multiple times.

What Are the Lead Times

Another metric that may help you narrow down your choices is to can ask them how long will it take to make 200 units or however many you’re ordering. If getting these quickly is important to you and everything else seems to be of equal quality, then you might want to go with the manufacturer that has a shorter lead time.

Refine Your Prototype

Once you’ve selected your manufacturer you will send them “comments” or a list of any changes you need to make to that first sample. You may want to have another sample made to make sure that everything is looking right before you place your order. Once you receive a sample that you’re happy with, it’s a good prototype, you’re ready to place your order.

Order the Lowest Quantity Possible to Start

Make sure that you order the lowest quantity possible just to start. Even if you really need a lot of units, say you need 1500 units, don’t order that all up-front. You never know for sure. Are they even going to ship it to you? Is the quality of the bulk order going to match the sample? Sometimes you don’t realize until months later, “Oh, this one little piece of hardware is not functioning well” and those things will need to be changed down the road.

Sometimes manufacturers will let you do what’s called a sample run. I’ve had manufacturers let me order as low as 60 units before I placed a larger bulk order. Although was at a higher cost per unit.

Conclusion

Those are all the best practices I have for you when switching manufacturers. Don’t beat yourself up too hard if it doesn’t turn out perfect. Sell through this batch and then you can improve with the next batch. That’s how businesses work. You just continually improve with each order that you place. Any ideas you get to improve the design or complaints you receive, you can make those changes for the next bulk order.

Thank you so much for being here for The Product Sessions and this new venture in my life. It’s been really fun so far. I love what I’m learning. I loved making my website. I love recording the podcast and coming up with new content ideas. I’m learning a little bit more about SEO on my blog. However, most of all, I just really want to give people that “aha” moment. Like, “I didn’t know how to do that and it’s not as hard as I thought!” So I really hope you’re getting that from this content. I would love to hear more from you about what you want to hear more of.

Work With Me

One of the reasons I started this podcast is because I would love to work one-on-one with people that are launching businesses or making transitions in their business, like scaling or changing manufacturers. If you would like to hire me, we can do a zoom call one-on-one for an hour, I can make a tech pack for your product, or do some graphic design work for you. I love doing all of that stuff. Check out my Work With Me Page to get more info.

Links Mentioned

My Brand Bodomint

Joni backpack in camel

For Finding New Manufacturers:

• LinkedIn
• Alibaba
• ThomasNet
• Open Apparel Registry
• ImportGenius

Certifications:

• Sedex
• SMETA audit
• Interview with Laura Bonnell

Work With Me