Lost in translation?
Duchamp director Rick Loder reckons choosing an overseas manufacturer is a long and arduous road.
"When we changed from manufacturing in Australia to Fiji and Hong Kong it was a total culture shock. You really need to rely on good systems and procedures to check everything every step of the way."
Launching in 1981, Duchamp solely manufactured in Australia for its first 15 years then began outsourcing its manufacturing to Fiji and Hong Kong. Eventually producing the majority of its collection in Fiji for five years during the Pacific Islands Spartica arrangement, it later moved its manufacturing to China and shipped its last order from Fiji a week before the 2000 Fijian coup.
"When we started [manufacturing offshore] we only used faxes and phones. Now the internet, email and the ability to send digital photos and movies has made things considerably easier. We also have an employee in our head office that speaks and reads Chinese. We try not to rely on her too regularly as it's not ideal to channel everything through the one person, but when needed it's certainly helpful."
Dealing with some of its factories direct and others through an agent, Duchamp sends a production person to visit all the factories in China six times a year.
With an additional Hong Kong based agent responsible for quality assurance checks, Loder feels by and large the quality is very reliable.
"Our quality assurance is a detailed process, with the factories manufacturing samples over three stages before the final product is produced. Firstly the counter sample is sent to Australia for extensive quality checks then the salesman's samples, and lastly the pre-production sample using all the bulk accessories. If the samples are ok five percent of the order is shipped to the quality assurance department for a further check before the remainder is shipped to Australia."
Adding that the worst place to find a quality problem is in your warehouse or in a customer's store, Loder says the earlier you find a problem the better.
"It's all about making sure you don't get bad quality shipped. If you have a good manufacturing source that's reliable and understands your market, quality and price, it's important you protect them."
Protecting both the customer and the supplier, sourcing agency Novel Sourcing Services (NSS) - a division of Novel Consulting - works closely with Australian fashion companies and overseas supply bases.
Launching in April this year, the Melbourne-based agency offers sourcing solutions, including organising sampling and overseeing manufacturing in both large and small volumes.
Concentrating on customers that are product-rich yet time-poor, NSS general manager Pinakin Chaubal says some of its customers are so involved in coming up with new products that they simply don't have time to source [production for] their designs.
"The entire business of sourcing and vendor management calls for a different set of skills to that of designing new products. The [offer] we put in front of our customers is that we help them source [production] while consistently offering dependable service and defined quality. TyAcknowledging there is no shortage of overseas suppliers who promise everything but deliver very little, NSS promotes accurate timelines and quality through continual dialogue with both its customers and suppliers.
"We produce realistic timing plans that are clarified to each party. Our suppliers provide us with regular updates as to how they are tracking allowing us to be absolutely clear in all our communication with our customers."
Recognising that a few quality assurance mishaps are often enough to substantially damage the viability of small businesses, Chaubal feels significant resources should be appointing to selecting the right supplier in the first place.
"We facilitate independent inspections of quality when nominated by the customer. Quite often we put more quality requirements on the order than our customers."
Well aware lower costs are predominately the driving force for Australian fashion companies to manufacture overseas, Chaubal stresses overseas manufacturing is not a universal solution to financial savings. He admits, however, that when you ty"In some exceptional cases, we have been able to offer up to 75 percent savings based on onshore costs reported by our customers. It's not just a number cruncher's game, but we do offer a service that helps our customers out-source a key activity which in turn can improve their margins."
Agreeing that it's less expensive to manufacture offshore, Aboud Apparel's director, Barry Aboud, feels it takes a couple of years to attain the benefits of cheaper prices.
"The major issue with producing offshore [for us] has been financing. It's a bigger initial cost because we have to lay out all the money up front. When we produced onshore we would pay for the garments as they were produced, but now we pay for all the garments and fabrics up front with a letter of credit."
Previously manufacturing in Bangladesh, China and Thailand, Aboud Apparel currently produces its classic men's and women's shirt line Gloster, in Indonesia.
Financially unable to place a quality control person in Indonesia fulltime, samples are sent to Aboud Apparel's Marrickville office where they're checked against the company's size specifications and design requirements.
"Our designs are basic and simple, so to date there hasn't been any problems with checking the garments [in Australia]", says Aboud.
"The fabrics we buy independently then ship to Indonesia, so the bulk of the fabric is checked in Indonesia before the garments are manufactured. The ideal way to do it is to have quality control people on the ground [in Indonesia] 100 percent of the time but there are costs involved. It's a far bigger cost if goods come [to Australia] incorrect so we have a manager [visit Indonesia] every six weeks to check the garments."
Adding it takes time to find the right mill, Aboud was conscious of his company's current mill for many years before approaching it.
"After stopping our manufacturing in Thailand due to management issues, it did take some time to find the right mill. I was aware of this large mill in Indonesia from visiting it a few times since the 1980's, but the official introduction was done through an agent."
Producing her womenswear collection in India since its launch two years ago, Firefly designer Wendy Morton found the factory she deals with by visiting trade shows and numerous factories in India.
Inspired by the types of fabrics, finishes and embellishments that are abundantly produced in India, Morton says to produce the detail she needs in Australia would take a real specialist and cost an astronomical amount, but logistically it would be easier.
"Reliability is a big issue when producing in India. They're frequently late with deliveries and quality can also be an issue. The key is to stay on top of them, communicating and not taking anything for granted. I have contacted agents regarding quality assurance in the past but it hasn't helped - perhaps because I didn't include them in the process from the beginning. For me going to India and checking the quality myself is the best way at the moment and it gives me more control."
Having already travelled to India four times this year to supervise her current range, Morton says she can't leave anything to chance.
"So far I have been over to show samples, check sizing and quality control. It's important for me to communicate in person exactly what I want and the ideas I have as Indian's tend to say yes even when they don't understand 100 percent."
One of the largest publicly-listed branded apparel companies in Australia, Gazal Corp is a leading apparel supplier of surf and casual wear, men's business shirts, intimate apparel and schoolwear. Sold under brand names including Mambo, Nautica, Trent Nathan, Van Heusen, Lovable, Crystelle, Davenport and Bracks, the Sydney-based company manufactures in Indonesia, Thailand, India and China.
With its own manufacturing operations based in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Gazal currently utilizes in excess of 50 different factories throughout China alone.
Making use of 35 factories in northern China and 15 in the south, Gazal employs two quality control staff in Hong Kong and five in Shanghai. Additionally it also employs online inspection agents dedicated to looking after orders in its factories where volume production is manufactured.
"Van Heusen is just one of the brands we produce that has a specific person on site in its factory five days a week checking every aspect of production", says Gazal's China quality assurance manager David Miao.
"To keep on top of quality assurance, the quality control staff checks stock after it has been seen by the online inspectors. When the control staff visit the factory they With its faulty stock rate in Australia at less than point seven percent, Miao attributes Gazal's continuous growing expertise within the market for its high quality level.
"The main reason we manufacture overseas is the cost of labour. The fabrics are also produced in China so it shortens the lead times on order to market. There are always issues and slip-ups along the way, that's why it's important to have so many quality control people [in the factories]."