Imagine This
Thanks to the enormous developments in the internet over the past 10 years there's almost nothing in the business world that can't be done online. Apparel Sourcing is one of those areas I would argue that not only can be done online, but should be done online.Think about it. Manufacturing is the largest industry in the world and nothing gets made without somebody sourcing it first.
In the apparel world there are some basic steps to sourcing a garment that exist whether you do it online or offline. We can't forget the human element of sourcing either such as establishing a solid relationship with your suppliers, nor can we ignore the fact that in soft goods you have to touch the goods, but that has nothing to do with the actual sourcing of the goods.
Let's say you're looking to identify a new supplier or get quotes on a new or existing style in your line. This used to be a long arduous process of Supplier Discovery, hoping to identify that one supplier that would be a nice fit for the sort of production you needed to get handled.Today you can use a sourcing platform to flip the process and have the suppliers that are most likely best matched to your needs quote on your production business up front.This allows you to deal with a smaller, but better matched initial set of Suppliers that are not only interested in you as a customer, but are most likely better suited to your needs.
Wouldn't it be nice if you could submit a Techpack to a sourcing platform, set a target price, decide from what part of the world you'd like to have your supplier, and then get quotes back from suppliers in that exact part of the world, on your specific product, with your target price in mind?
Wouldn't it be useful then if you could see your quotes side by side in an apples-to-apples format (LDP/FOB) and then in one click check out the profile of each factory?
Imagine if you could put all of your sourcing activity (Supplier Discovery, Techpack Libraries, Quotes, Factory Profiles, Awarding, Messaging, and Follow up) on a single secure platform.
Would something like that help you more quickly identify just the right suppliers for you?Would something like that save you time and money? Thanks to the evolution of the bandwidth and power of the web, this is not only possible, it practically a requirement for anyone needing to manage their sourcing activities today.
Just as you no longer use film to shoot photos, no longer answer your pager, barely use a fax machine anymore, and rarely write a check, you can now put your sourcing activity online and manage it in a “one-to-many" environment on MFG.com.Turn off the pager and check it out.
Tony Forcucci is the Global Director of the Apparel and Textiles Sourcing Marketplace at MFG.com, the world's largest online platform for sourcing.
