Free guide
How to switch suppliers without stalling your brand
You see the problems clearly and keep absorbing them anyway: a collar that waves, a size curve that drifts, a lead time that slips a week every quarter. Switching feels riskier than staying, because staying only costs what you already know. The plan below makes the switch boring — which is the point.
What is inside
- Overlap, do not cut over. The old supplier keeps shipping until the new bulk run lands.
- Re-verify the tech pack. Send the pack plus one garment that met spec, and measure against the garment.
- Switch one variable. Same specification, new factory — then adjust weight or fit once the new line is stable.
- Protect the size curve. Grade from the approved M, not from a new pattern.
- Sequence colour separately. Approve the dye lot before the bulk cut, never after.
Get the switch plan (free)
The 10-week timeline and the five documents to hand over, one email.
Used to send the guide and nothing else. No list sharing.
Questions
How long does a supplier switch take?
Eight to twelve weeks for a programme with a printed label: two to three weeks for the new sample, two to three for label and trim production, and four to six for the bulk run plus transit. Anything quoted under four weeks is usually a stock item, not a switch.
Should the old supplier know they are being replaced?
Not until the new supplier has passed the sample check. Telling them first risks your reorder queue moving behind other customers, which is how a switch turns into a stock-out.
What is the biggest risk in a switch?
The colour and the size curve drifting at the same time. If both move on the first bulk order, you cannot tell which change caused the returns. Switch one thing at a time: same specification, new factory, then adjust.
Do I need a new tech pack?
You need the old one re-verified. Send the existing tech pack and one physical garment that met the spec; the new supplier measures against the garment rather than against the drawing.