Introduction:
It is being currently seen that many people are trying very hard and enthusiastically to get in small-scale garment manufacturing businesses. The branding and promotion of it is purely relying on product quality and customer satisfaction. But, when to start a business or when the production process are concerned, they comes up with different sets complications and challenges, which is very difficult to overcome and the cost is one of important them. It’s fact that without money, it is not possible to the production process or any business, but by adopting some of the talents in management skills, you can always try to reduce some cost factor from the production process.
Fig: Garment Manufacturing
Ways to Reduce Garment Manufacturing Costs: A very necessary and smart move to start your fashion brand is to reduce garment manufacturing costs. Here are a few ways to help you out:
1. Minimize fabric usage:
As we know that, the fabric cost is a crucial factor in calculating a garment’s cost. So, regarding this one can easily control the wastage of fabric during the cutting section. Whether the production is really good the production process, totally depends on your fabric management and utilization. Correct forecasting and prediction of raw material as well as inventory management can help to minimize the cost of production. One can also easily analyze the fabric wastage while cutting.
2. Find cost-effective fabrics:
Try to research over here, search for fabrics that are not only of high and superior quality but also cheaper as well as cost-effective. One should try for opting a blends or alternative materials that gives a same look and feel at a minimum price point.
3. Streamline the production process:
Here, you to coordinate with closely with the manufacturers to identify and finalize the areas where you can streamline the production process. This will basically involve eliminating non value added processes such as unnecessary steps, improving workflow, or using technology to automate certain tasks.
4. Always Plan production quantities wisely:
Overproduction is a disaster for garment business, so always try to avoid overproduction with the aid of carefully and correct planning your production quantities. To reduce the cost, producing in smaller batches, can help a lot. It tries to eliminate the cost associated with excess inventory as well as storage.
5. Proper Negotiation with suppliers:
Don’t be shy, afraid or hesitate to negotiate with the suppliers of fabric, accessories or material. Building strong and good network, bond, and bulk buying habit can also lead to better pricing and give you more discounts.
6. Look for offshore manufacturing:
Here, you have to expand the opportunities of offshore manufacturing in different countries having cheaper labor and production costs. Ensure that you carefully identify and visit potential manufacturers which ensure quality and ethical practices in their process.
7. Collaborate with other brands:
Here, you have to collaborate with many other fashion brands, which help in sharing manufacturing costs and resources, which keeps you always in a good situation. See for brands that easily align and merge with your values and also have complementary product offerings, which will improve and expand your business.
8. Opt for sustainable practices:
Nowadays, sustainability is at priority; it can not only benefit the environment but also help reduce costs in the long run of business and manufacturing. Always go for opting eco-friendly materials, incorporating recycling programs, and reducing waste throughout the production and manufacturing process.
9. Invest in technology:
Always go for investing in various new technologies. It will enhance the technology in business to improve efficiency and reduce costs. This could include using software for example inventory management, production planning, and supply chain optimization.
10. Grow productivity in the worker:
Productivity is very crucial factor for cost reduction. Majorly the productivity of workers matters a lot in garment manufacturing, whether you hire them in any criteria such as for per-piece cost or go for total production. When a employee manufactures more than what was expected, it is regarded as good as well as higher productivity. If you manufacture more pieces than regular, then your overhead costs will be default decrease accordingly.
11. Correct working conditions:
Make sure that you provide fair and correct working conditions and wages for your workers, not only it is ethically right and important but also increases their productivity, loyalty, love and affection for the company and ultimately helps to reducing turnover costs.
12. Interval checks:
Always make a periodical quality checks to make sure that the products are of high and good quality. This minimizes the chance of rejections from customers or failure which can cost more than getting it right the first time.
13. Feedback mechanism:
Always be up to dated regarding the customer feedback about the product to continuously improve the production process and the product. This will help in reduction of the future costs and increasing sales.
Conclusion:
So to summaries with, by following all the above mentioned simple strategies can significantly help in reducing the production cost in garment manufacturing business. But the quality of the product should be first; cost reduction should not come at the expense of the quality of the garments. A planned balance between cost efficiency and ensuring high-quality products will make sure that the business rise and grows, building a superb and great reputation In the market. By having control over a consistent check on all aspects or sections of production, from the initial stages, i.e. from planning section to the final stages of distribution, manufacturers can make sure the optimum and maximum use of resources, timely production, and high-quality result, which will ultimately leads to satisfied as well as happy customers and increased profits.
References:
16 Effective Ways to Reduce Costs in Garment Manufacturing https://dineshexports.com/16-effective-ways-to-reduce-costs-in-garment-manufacturing/
10 Proven Solutions To Reduce Garment Manufacturing Cost For Your Brand! Savings Guaranteed! https://fashinza.com/manufacturing/industry-news/10-proven-solutions-to-reduce-garment-manufacturing-cost-for-your-brand-savings-guaranteed/
Govisetech, Jul 11, 2022, Fashion Industry, How can Apparel Brands Reduce the Garment Cost? https://govisetech.com/reduce-garment-costing/
Jun 7, 2022, 10 Tips to Reduce Costs in the Garment Industry https://blog.deeprom.ai/10-tips-to-reduce-costs-in-the-garment-industry-78bbaff63b7
FAQS:
Q1. How much does it generally cost a garment manufacturing business?
Ans: It totally depends on the scale of manufacturing. However, cost of roughly 20 lakhs is minimum to start up with a small-scale apparel manufacturing operation.
Q2. What is the profit margin in garment manufacturing business?
Ans: In this business manufacturers add some percentage to its total cost as margin. So, basically on an average, the profit margin in garment manufacturing is anywhere between 10% – 20%.
Q3. What are the different aspects affecting production costs?
Ans: Production costs can basically involve a variety of costs, like labor, raw materials, consumable manufacturing supplies, and general overhead.
Q4. Is garment manufacturing a profitable business?
Ans: One plus point of the garment manufacturing start up is the potential for economies of scale. Due to large-scale production, it can lead to minimum production costs, which can ultimately increase profit margins.
Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. He is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor of Wikipedia.
