What is Full Package Production Manufacturing?

Full Package Clothing Manufacturing or Full Package Production (FPP) is a clothing manufacturing service that covers all the processes of fashion development, unlike traditional clothing manufacturing which only handles the cutting, make and trim (CMT) 

The Full Package Manufacturing service is widely used by major brands to quickly bring collections to stores or to augment their production capabilities. It's also commonly employed to create garments outside of their area of expertise or to refresh their design aesthetic.

Companies that offer Full Package Manufacturing or Full Package Production (FPP) services usually have teams similar to the fashion brands. They generally have teams dedicated to:

• Trend research
• Design
• Pattern-making
• Sample development
• Material procurement
• Production (sewing)
• Logistics

Advantages and disadvantages of Full Package Manufacturing or Full Package Production (FPP)

Here you can find an article dedicated to delving into the differences between traditional clothing manufacturers or CMT and Full Package Manufacturers, however, here we leave you with the main advantages and disadvantages of the full package production (FPP) versus traditional clothing manufacturing:

Advantages:

1. Does not consume your resources:

A full package manufacturing company is completely independent of your operation in all stages of garment creation, so you can make better use of your own human and production capacity resources.

2. Faster time to market

Independence allows for faster movement than internal production, after a design is approved, the time to market for a full package can be up to 3X faster than internal production.

3. No excess raw materials or product:

Although there are many ways to negotiate, generally a full package only charges you for the garments produced. With own production, you have to deal with excess raw materials, poorly made garments, and also all the headaches that can come from procuring and logistics of raw materials.

4. Specialization:

Full package companies are usually specialized in certain types of categories and garments, which allows you to expand the product and category offerings quickly and without investing in physical plant. For example, at GAT Fashion Lab, we helped Arturo Calle, a traditionally male-centric Colombian brand, to successfully enter the female category.

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Disadvantages:

1. Higher costs: 

Although Full Package Production (FPP) services often come with competitive pricing, they can be more expensive than traditional clothing manufacturing. This is because they require a larger team to ensure proper execution. Initially, it may appear to be more costly than internal production, however, it's important to note that by paying only for the finished product, there can be significant savings in waste.

2. Higher minimum order requirements: 

It's common practice in the fashion industry for manufacturers to prefer working with larger orders as it allows them to achieve greater efficiency and profitability. For perspective, a large retailer may order between 800-2.000 units per style or color, while a small, emerging brand may only require 12-50 units per style. At GAT Fashion Lab, our minimum order is 300 units per style and color, however, we understand that this may not be suitable for all. That's why we created Aparel.co, a platform that allows for production of as low as 24 units per style.

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Working with a Full Package Clothing Manufacturer:

To give you a better understanding, we'll describe our working process. However, if you want to learn more about our service, we recommend visiting this page.

1. Trend research and requirement definition:

At this stage, we have two options:

1. You provide us with the requirements which can be flat drawings, patterns, samples, or references of what you'd like to create, and we proceed to the design process.

2. We research trends based on your target market and brand DNA, and present you with moodboards and opportunity reports which will be the input for the design stage.

2. Design:

We convert the initial moodboards and insights into rough sketches or prototypes to define the final design of each garment. In this stage, we have used artificial intelligence to generate better proposals. If this interests you, we recommend checking out this article.

At this stage, we also define the materials and other necessary details to develop samples.

3. Pattern-making and development of digital samples:

Once the designs are approved, our pattern-making team creates the necessary patterns for the garments. These patterns are then validated in a 3D environment, where we generate highly realistic models that allow us to validate the patterns, fit, and design details. We can also test different fabrics and colors without cutting a single inch of fabric. This allows us to accelerate the approval and change processes to just a couple of hours. Usually, a physical sample can take between 2 and 6 weeks to be made, our digital samples are built in just a couple of hours based on the 2D patterns. With the digital samples, we estimate production costs and we are ready for the physical sample making process. Learn more about how the use of 3D technology accelerated our sample development process here.

4. Material procurement for samples:

Depending on the agreement, we may also procure materials for production at this stage, but typically it is only for sample development. This step is usually done from the design phase, or even from the beginning, it is also common for clients to send us some of the materials for us to work with.

5. Product engineering and physical sample development:

Once all the materials are procured and designs are approved, we proceed to create the samples in our workshop. We also measure the production and consumption times to have more accurate costs and also to create technical sheets and production guides. Physical samples are typically used to validate materials and textures, as most adjustments are made to the 3D samples.

6. Sample approval, purchase order and material procurement for production:

Once samples are approved, we confirm the number of units to be produced, agree on a price for each unit, and arrange other details according to each client's needs. Material procurement for production can be requested earlier, depending on the agreement. At GAT Fashion Lab, we are very flexible in negotiations and always aim to meet our clients' needs.

7. Production:

Once materials arrive, they are checked and entered into inventory. The first process is the tracing and cutting of the patterns, then they are labeled and sent to the sewing workshops with the rest of the materials, samples, technical sheets, and production guides for assembly.

8. Quality Verification

When the garments are finished, our quality team checks each piece to ensure they are in perfect condition and approves them for shipment to the logistics center or delivery to the client according to their needs.

9. Logistics

Depending on the needs of each client, we prepare and dispatch the garments. Within our team, we have experts in international logistics who coordinate with each client the transportation that best suits them and all the necessary documentation to avoid any inconvenience.

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Although this is our process, it may be similar to that of other companies dedicated to manufacturing under the full package production format.

If you think we can make a good fit for your needs, do not hesitate to contact us, but remember that our minimum is 300 units per reference and color.

We hope this article has helped you resolve your doubts. If you want to continue learning with us, follow us on Instagram or LinkedIn.