Like so many businesses, the business of sourcing has been rapidly changing. Whether we are discussing apparel, custom machined parts, electronics, or virtually any other manufactured product, we have sourcing technology available today that simply did not exist even a few short years ago that can make the work of sourcing much more efficient is a host of ways.

However, it is not enough to simply use computerized systems to connect buyers with suppliers. Both the buyer and supplier should and can go much deeper. There are a few key points that both the Supplier and Buyer need to understand in order to truly be effective in serving both of their interests. Let’s focus on two such points:

1. What kind of computerized system to use to solve the main sourcing issues of Apparel Buyers and Suppliers.

2. Why Buyers and Supplier need to be able to actually transact business via computerized systems, a.k.a. “Going Deep”

Example of using computerized systems and why that in and of itself does not get the job done.

When you really think about it the main goal of a Supplier is to keep the machines running. This means servicing current clients and having a way to connect with the right new customers at anytime.

Buyers on the other hand are on the hunt for the right suppliers with the right capabilities at a particular moment in time. For Buyers and Suppliers the right technology via the internet is the solution.

Typically a buyer goes through something like this in order to source any particular garment; Get designs ready, prepare a tech pack with specs, email designs to a handful of factories, and request quotes back from factories. The buyer then might receive a handful of quotes from different sources in different formats – spreadsheets, faxes, quotes at LDP, quotes at FOB, etc… Now the buyer has to compare disparate quotes from different sources and try to figure out what is the best deal in price, geographic location, landed, picked up etc…

Doing that once you might say is worthwhile and perhaps the only way. Doing it repeatedly however is a real headache for both the Buyer and the Supplier.
The internet offers various “solutions” for local suppliers to connect with international buyers. Upon further inspection however most of the options serve only as “brochure-ware” or directories of suppliers that a buyer must navigate to find a source. Then the buyer has to most likely go through a series of phone calls or emails to attempt to qualify the suppliers that maybe could do the work at hand. This is not that much different than a buyer pulling out the yellow pages and thumbing through to find a supplier.

The real value in connecting local suppliers to international buyers lies in a transactional online sourcing platform. In order for local suppliers to truly get connected to international buyers, the supplier has to have far more control of the situation and not simply be listed in a giant directory. Imagine a Chinese apparel factory joins a large sourcing site and gets listed in the directory with a profile. The buyer on the other side of the planet does an online search for “jeans factory in China” and receives a site with a directory of thousands of Chinese Denim factories. Now what? The buyer starts his processes of trying to find the right supplier. If you are the supplier and are listed on page 2 of the directory, you might never even get seen. Imagine being on page 257 of the directory!

It is far more interesting and effective for both the supplier and buyer to collaborate on a true online sourcing platform whereby a buyer can provide the designs to a marketplace and a supplier in the marketplace can hand pick the production it wishes to secure.

From a supplier’s perspective it is far more effective to be able to peruse a continuously updating marketplace of buyers with actual production needs exactly when the buyer is looking and has the capacity.

From a Buyer’s point of view it is far more effective (and clearer) to be able to tell the marketplace what it is looking for and receive several competitive quotes back from suppliers in an apples to apples format. From there it is easy to compare quotes and make decisions.

At that point the buyer and supplier can connect by other means – email, telephone etc.. knowing there is a good chance that the fit makes sense as they start to do business together.

Local suppliers are truly connected to international suppliers on an online sourcing platform that allows the parties to transact business together.

I am in Colombia for ColombiaModa (arguably the most important Fashion Trade Show in Latin America). I have been now to Colombia several times over the past 8 years and can tell you it has continued to improve on each visit and in fact is quite a happening place, especially Medellin which is moving very fast. Opportunities in real estate, retail, manufacturing are all around - you can smell the activity and a certain degree of optimism in the air. Had the chance yesterday to visit with 3 of the most important suppliers in Medellin for clothing production: CI Jeans, CI Expofaro, and the well known screenprinter Static Colors. Was discussing how MFG.com Textiles can be an excellent resource for each of them for securing new business/clients when they want to fill their open capacity. They all got it immediately and interestingly enough all three top suppliers saw how they can use MFG.com as a buyer as well. Check out these photos from our visit to CI Jeans.