In brief
A sourcing agent typically connects a brand with factories, usually for a commission. A trading company buys and resells, a full-package factory makes the garment including materials, and a production partner manages the program across those steps. SBS Fashion is a sourcing and production partner for brands and designers, and separately acts as the North America agent for fabric producers Rabek Fashion Prints and Antik Dantel.
The titles tell you very little
Apparel is loose with job titles. Companies calling themselves agents run entire programs, and companies calling themselves partners forward emails. Before comparing anyone on price, find out what they do on a Tuesday, who is paying them, and what happens to them if your order goes wrong.
The usual models
A sourcing agent, in the classic sense, works for the buyer. It finds factories, negotiates, follows production and earns a commission on the value of the order. You normally buy directly from the factory and you see the factory’s price.
A trading company buys from the factory and sells to you. Its margin sits inside the price, and it may carry some of the commercial risk and the financing. You get one invoice and less visibility, which is an excellent trade as long as you know you are making it.
A full-package factory, sometimes called FPP, supplies the garment with fabric and trims included. Going to one directly removes a layer and suits brands with their own technical team and enough volume to be taken seriously. Under CMT, for cut, make and trim, the factory cuts and sews while the brand supplies the fabric and usually the trims, and the fabric risk moves to you.
A production partner is the least tightly defined of these. The term generally means someone managing the garment’s path from development through delivery, across mills and factories, as a single program with one accountable point of contact.
Six questions
- How do you get paid, and on what?
- Whose name is on the purchase order, and who invoices me?
- Will I know which factory made my goods, and can I visit it?
- Who is on the ground at that factory, and do they work for you?
- If goods fail inspection or arrive late, who bears the cost?
- Do you earn anything from the mills and factories you recommend?
That last one is no accusation. Plenty of good companies earn on both sides and disclose it. You just need to know.
Should you go direct?
For some brands, cutting out the middle is the right move. Going direct can save a margin. It also hands you everything that margin was paying for: finding and vetting the factory, following the order, inspection, payment risk, language, and the awkward phone call when something goes wrong.
Hand off the chasing if you like, but whoever signs the sample should be on your payroll.
A brand with its own technical team, people in the region and steady volume may come out ahead. A brand with three people in production who already work sixty hours a week probably won’t. A factory’s attention follows volume as well, and a small direct customer can find itself at the back of the queue.
What to keep in-house
A large brand with its own sourcing office may need nothing more than a factory list and an agent in the country. A brand with a strong design team and a thin production department needs more. A new label needs the most help and has the least volume to pay for it, and should be candid about quantities from the first conversation.
Whichever model you choose, decide what your own people keep doing. Hand off the chasing if you like, but whoever signs the sample should be on your payroll.
