Garment Manufacturing Business Plan: How to Start a Profitable Garment Manufacturing Company

Garment manufacturing is one of the top business ideas you can think of starting. The industry is massive attracting both small scale manufacturers and large scale industries.

Ready made garments are in high demand and account for billions of dollars worldwide. The need for decent cloths has created an industry to meet the insatiable demand.

The industry deals with high end technology, fabric knowledge and designers. Today’s cloths are getting more stylish as well as practical. Therefore manufacturers have to deal with the fast changing trends.

If you are passionate about cloths, fashion designing and sewing then you might have the making of a garment manufacturer.

Garment manufacturing is simply an up scaled version of a sewing and fashion designing establishment. The garment manufacturer does the purchase, styling, cutting, sewing and marketing of finished product.

The operational cost of starting a garment industry is high based on the specialized machinery, factory space and operational costs. However there is hope for the small investor because you can establish a scaled down version.

Other considerations before starting your garment industry are location, finance, branding and sourcing raw materials. The industry consumes lots of electricity, highly proficient staff and government taxation.

Some countries recognize the economic role garment industries play in the GDP. They encourage local manufacturers through tax reduction and other subventions.

You need a good business plan before setting-up your garment industry. There are two basic business formats for setting –up your business the first is manufacturing cloths to buyer’s specification.

Another is creating cloths and marketing them to wholesale and retail companies. You need to decide to create on demand or create and sell.

Some manufacturers combine the two sectors with good results. More things to consider are type of equipment, branding and designing.

Let’s see how  to succeed in this tough but interesting industry.

 Select a Good Product Category

You need to have an idea of what products you want to produce. You need to create a niche and narrow down your options.  There are basically three major categories to choose from and they have many sub categories.

The categories narrowed down are garment knitting, woven garments and woolen garments. Woven garments have casual wear while knit garments are generally T-shirts and casuals.

In your business plan make note of the sector that best appeals to you. Now that you have selected a specific product category you can move forward with your plan.

How to Establish a Garment Manufacturing Business

Garment manufacturing is highly regulated in most countries so you need to know what obtains. The first and most important step is getting government approval and licensing for your business.

 To do this you need to do thorough research on product specifications, industrial requirements and cost considerations.  You need to register your enterprise as a limited liability company then obtain operational license.

Legal formalities differ according to geographical location and country. The different licenses are trade license, local authority license, fire safety and compliance license and factory license among others.

You might have to deal with environmental control agencies and even union issues. Use a seasoned corporate registration lawyer to ease the process.

Once you have narrowed the product category source the machinery needed for the operation. You need to have a detailed project report and assessment including cost considerations before investing your hard earned cash.

The garment industry apart from being regulated has lots of competition. Study what your competition is doing right or wrong. Write a feasibility study and look for ways to get finance.

Garment manufacturing machines are very expensive so knowing the exact one’s you need is important. The machinery has different specifications and functionality and has a maximum and minimum number they can produce.

 When you decide to buy them you need to have a fair knowledge of how many garments you want to produce daily. Having a ballpark number narrows the machine specification and invariably saves money.

You also have to calculate the production capacity of your intended factory before buying any equipment. 

Machinery Needed for Garment Manufacturing

The product type and production figure will help you determine the garment manufacturing machine to purchase. There are many machines to consider and you need a specialist in this field.

The machines include sewing machines, knitting machines and double needle bar machinery. Others are braiding machines, shirt printing machine and fabric machines.

Garment manufacturing machines are rugged and if well maintained work for several years. Your business plan should focus on specific number of machines that can get the job done.

The capital invested in garment manufacturing machines is huge and cover a wide range of equipment. Try to focus on essential machinery like knitting machines, sewing machines and your boiler/steam generator.

Other important machinery you need are cutting machines, and pressing machines.

Factory Space

Factory space doesn’t come cheap so you need to factor in the capital involvement. You have three options one to buy your own land and build a factory or buy an old unused one. The last option is to rent a factory space for your enterprise.

If you have the capital you can buy an old factory building and refurbish it. Avoid buying an old garment factory because you don’t know the state of their machinery. And there is a chance that such machinery needs too much maintenance and is archaic.

Raw Materials for Garment Manufacturing

The major raw materials used by garment manufacturers are high quality textiles and fabrics. The list of raw material includes zippers, threads and buttons.

Good designs, skillful sewing and quality fabrics is a recipe for success. Source your materials from reputable vendors with a history of prompt delivery and dependability.

You can liaison directly with fabric manufacturers for drop shipment supply.

Human Resources

Garment manufacturing is a major employer of labor and hires lots of staff. They have the designers, machine operators, cutting guides, security and administrative staff.

Other staffs in a manufacturing factory are administrative officers, marketing department, procurement and legal. To succeed hire only experienced staff and top notch senior staff.

Project Cost

You investment depends on the size of your operation. Your estimated budget and project cost covers staff wages, raw materials and machinery. Other costs involve factory operations and marketing.

Garment Manufacturing Process

Garment manufacturing processes goes through similar production methods depending on the fabric and design.  A basic step involves designing the garment and creating a pattern.

The next step in the process is sample making, pattern production and grading. The process then goes to marker making, spreading, cutting and the sewing of the outfit.

After sewing the garment it goes through assembling and inspection for defects. Once the garment is certified good it goes to pressing, finishing, another inspection, packaging and dispatch to stores.

Marketing and Promotion

Garment manufacturing is very competitive so you need proper marketing to reach customers. The job is dynamic and subject to demography, earning power of residents and local fashion industry.

To reach a large customer base you need to have a powerful brand name. Branding is the number one way garment manufacturers carve a reputation and niche.

People are drawn to brand names and quality outfits. They know that whatever garment your produce is had passed rigorous inspection.

The brand name you choose will establish trust and lots of patronage. To reach customers establish a large distribution network and create an online presence.

Other methods are lots of visual presentations like advertisements in both print and electronic media. Create a powerful marketing department and use lots of sales representatives.

Conclusion

You need lots of technical assistance before venturing into the manufacturing industry. Find a new niche market in your locality and offer quality garments.

Get credible suppliers and get your outfits in top departmental stores in you