MOQ is an acronym that is widely used in any almost all industries. MOQ stands for “Minimum order Quantity.” It means that it is the minimum order quantity that you can order from a manufacturer. Likewise, it’s the minimum order quantity required by the manufacturer to take your order of production. In the fashion industry, clothing manufacturers are known for producing clothing in bulk amounts, so when a brand or retailers approach them. Clothing manufacturers require them to place an order of their specified Minimum Order Quantity.
For example, suppose A USA clothing manufacturer is offering a Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) of 50 pieces per Design. In that case, you will need to order a minimum of 50 pieces per Design or more than that to meet the manufacturer’s requirements for producing your clothing line.
When we are talking about the fashion industry, there are tons of clothing manufacturers and suppliers, each of which has set its own Minimum order Quantity.
Find more about: What is a Clothing Manufacturer?
Every Manufacturer Has Their Own MOQ
As there are different manufacturers in the clothing industry, each manufacturer has set its own amount of Minimum order quantity based on its type of production quality, manufacturing facility industry size, garment manufacturing process, and their ability to handle orders. For some manufacturers, the minimum order quaintly could be as large as 1000 pieces per Design or as small as 50 pieces per Design. How you proceed will depend solely on the manufacturer you work with.
Every manufacturer establishes their own set of rules according to what seems suitable conditions and their capacity for fulfilling orders. Lower MOQ can be beneficial as it helps in minimizing the cost and has several more benefits.
MOQ Is Also Dependent on The Product
The Minimum Order Quantity is also dependent on the type of product that brands or retailers require from manufacturers. Some type of clothing lines is a bit complex and takes longer time to produce as compared to other, while some are easy and quick to work with. So, it also depends on which type of clothing line you want to produce.
What type of clothing product you are seeking to produce makes a big difference. For instance, a handmade clothing line takes extra care and is suitable to produce in lower quantities, but it’s become a lengthy process to manufacture tailored clothes in higher quantities.
On the other side, some type of clothing line requires automatic machines to process and produce clothes. In such a scenario, it’s better to manufacture more expensive clothes like 500 or 1000s. Comparatively, it’s easier and quicker to program and run the machine to produce clothes.
In short, the type of clothing line you are willing to produce plays a dramatic impact on MOQ.
What is the suitable amount of “Low MOQ” or “high MOQ”?
As we mentioned earlier, there are a different number of factors upon which a manufacturer sets up their MOQ. A manufacturer working with fewer machines might consider 100 or 200 to be a high quantity, but those who are professional equipped with all the machines and manufacturing facility consider 1000 as their minimum quantity. There is no standard amount defined by the industry for low amount MOQ or high MOQ should be. But here are some pointers and guidelines that can be helpful for you to understand the fashion industry matters.
- A low MOQ clothing manufacturer can offer you a low MOQ of 50 to 250 pieces per Design, with the chance of running a smaller factory.
- Manufacturers with a small factory or smaller production capability can offer you a minimum order quantity of around 250 pieces, but you can get discounts and perks when you order about 500 or more pieces from clothing manufacturers.
- A manufacturer with a standard MOQ will most likely offer 1000 to 2500 minimum order quantity.
- Moreover, you can also contact clothing sample makers, as they are another important in entity fashion industry offering around 50 to 250 pieces of Manufacturing per Design.
- While a manufacturer having high MOQ can offer up to around 2500-5000 units, or you can also exceed 5000 with such type of manufacturers.
So, you see, no standard quantity is defined in the fashion industry of MOQ. However, working with a custom clothing manufacturer that can provide you with a low MOQ of 50 is beneficial for you as you can create a more significant number of designs with them, and it becomes easier for you to manage to clothes and stock them up.
Benefits Of Having a Lower Minimum Order Quantity
There are a number of benefits of having a lower Minimum Order Quantity:
Benefits for Suppliers
Smooth cash flow
By having a MOQ, manufacturers can have a standard defined over a specific production quantity that helps manage the cash flow. As a manufacturer, it’ll be easier for you to work with your own MOQ based on your production and manufacturing facilities. As a lower MOQ manufacturer, you don’t have to worry about a massive amount of cash being tied up or a large number of raw materials. You will be working in lower quantity and less amount of raw materials.
Low Freight Cost
When you are ordering the raw materials for the clothing line production, it triggers different charges of delivery including the transportation charges, special handling charges and more which can be pretty costly if you order raw materials in different quantities.
By setting a MOQ, you can set an optimum level for ordering raw materials and other resources, which can help lower freight costs.
Benefits for Buyers
Ease of Inventory management
With a lower Minimum Order quantity, you can easily manage your multiple clothing lines and stock them up easily without worrying about shelves. With a Low MOQ manufacturer, you can order as much quantity as you want to produce your desired number of clothing designs. This is how you can maintain a balance between clothing lines and designs.
Working with a low MOQ manufacturer helps reduce your inventory costs and provides benefits to you in efficiently managing the inventory.
Better relation with suppliers
It’s essential to build a healthy and strong relationship with a supplier when you are dealing with a clothing line and raw materials. By ordering the clothing line for production or designing, create a delicate balance and better understanding with the suppliers you work with. With a better understanding, you can negotiate, compromise, or propose solutions when doing business with a clothing manufacturer.
Read the Best Practices for Determining the MOQs
Primary Purpose of using MOQs
They use order minimums for better business
When the brand or retailer orders a full unit service, including designing, fabric sourcing, trimming, and production of clothes. The manufacturer or supplier can’t have all the services in stock and trims you are looking for. After receiving an order, the fabric supplier source the clothing line for you. They purchase the raw materials after your order. This is how one of the primary reasons why suppliers set MOQs.
Setting up priorities
Working with the priorities is also one of the main reasons manufacturers set up MOQ. When a clothing manufacturer or supplier accepts the job and agrees to work with your order, then they must stop any bulk production that is currently running and do your job first.
They must complete the shorter order first, which means they will work on your product designing and Manufacturing from start to finish. The manufacturing facilities are busy with bulk orders in the pipeline, so ordering in MOQ can ensure that you can get your orders shortly.
Factors that affect the MOQ
There is a number of factors that affect the MOQs.
Choice of Trims & Fabrics
When you are manufacturing a clothing line and providing fabric to your manufacturers, it becomes easier for them to manage your order, as they won’t have to buy materials, especially for your order. This is how your choice of fabric will greatly impact MOQ. Comparatively, the printed fabric will require a higher MOQ for business.
Also read: What is Cut and Sew Manufacturing?
The complexity of your Design
The complexity of your Design depends on the MOQ. For example, with a complex design, creating a clothing line will be time-consuming as it will require heavy machines and printers to work over it, so the manufacturer might set a limit for MOQ. Moreover, your clothing manufacturer might reduce your MOQ if you have a less complex design.
Consumption of fabrics
It also depends on the consumption of fabrics. Often clothing manufacturers set up the MOQ based on the consumption of fabrics. As for some clothing lines, multiple layers of fabrics are used based on the type of clothing line being manufactured. Similarly, manufacturing more oversized adult-sized clothes would require more material and patterns. So, this is how the consumption of fabrics plays a vital role in the MOQ.
Clothing manufacturer offering Low MOQs
The demand for low MOQ clothing manufacturers is increasing daily as new clothing brand startups are entering the business, looking for a manufacturer with low MOQ. But what is the actual standard of low MOQ? For some manufacturers, the LOW MOQ is 1000- 1500 for a single customer, while some offer a LOW MOQ of 250 pieces per Design.
But here at Zega Apparel, we take pride in serving startups and established fashion brands. We help brands by offering them the LOWEST MOQ of 50 pieces per Design, which helps them manage their inventory, cost, and budgeting and meet the production demands. We offer the Low MOQ to brands to help them with their burden and provide them with a small-scale commitment to analyze which product is best for their brand quickly.
We are here to provide small-scale production to the brands of all the startups and established with low MOQ to support them and ensure their business smoothly.
Wrapping up
MOQs have become an integral part of every clothing manufacturer. The MOQ is simple to understand: the more significant number of units you will order, the cheaper cost you will get over the production of a single unit. Conversely, smaller units will cost more to both you and the manufacturer. With some clothing manufacturers, you can negotiate on MOQ to create a smaller order quantity for you.
