What information should you send to an OEM clothing manufacturer?

This is the asset list, in the order a factory actually needs it. Later items are genuinely optional; earlier ones are not, and sending them out of order is what produces a quote that has to be revised.

If you are unsure what OEM means, start with OEM clothing manufacturing. The document that carries most of these assets is the tech pack, and the process of asking for a price is how to request a quote.

Quick answer: the five things that have to be there

Everything else can be developed with the factory. These five cannot, because each one changes what the garment is or what it costs, and changing any of them after sampling means the pattern, the sample and the price all have to be redone.

1. Design intent, in a form that cannot be misread

A photograph communicates appearance. It does not communicate measurement, construction or intent, and those are what a pattern maker works from. The minimum that works is a reference garment plus the specific changes you want, or a technical drawing with the key measurements.

• Which silhouette, precisely. “Fitted midi dress” describes a family, not a garment. A reference or a sketch with proportion marks pins it down.
• What is structural and what is decorative. A pleat that shapes the garment and a pleat that decorates it are different pieces of work.
• Where your emphasis sits. If the neckline is the design, say so. Factories allocate attention in proportion to what you signal matters.

The most efficient asset here is a physical reference garment. It carries proportion, ease and construction logic in a way no image does, and it removes a category of assumption entirely. What it does not carry is your intended changes, which is why it should always arrive with a note rather than alone.

2. Fabric

Fabric is the second thing a factory needs and the first thing that changes the price. There are three levels of specificity, and the more specific you can be, the more useful the response.

If you do not have an article, the middle level is worth the effort. Telling a factory the cloth must be fluid and recovery-rich is a specification; telling it you want “a nice satin” is a preference. The first produces a candidate list you can choose from; the second produces whatever was nearest to hand.

3. Size range and quantity

Quantity and size range belong together, because they jointly determine the marker and the material booking — and therefore the price. A quote for three sizes and a quote for eight are different pieces of work at the same total quantity.

• State the sizes, not just the total. 500 pieces across five sizes and 500 across eight produce different fabric consumption and different grading work.
• State whether this is a first order or a repeat. A repeat avoids development, and a factory that knows which it is quoting will price accordingly.
• State whether the quantity is firm. A range is a different request from a commitment.

Our own material minimum is 300 pieces per design with 100–200 pieces per colour, and the per-colour figure is the useful one here: it comes from the mill's dye batch rather than from policy. If your quantity is modest, the productive conversation is about colour count rather than about the minimum itself.

4. Finish and construction standard

This is the section buyers omit most often and the one that explains the widest price differences between quotes on the same design. The interior is where the labour is: lining, interlining, stay tape, facing, closure type, seam finish and hem method all change the operation count.

• Lined, half-lined or unlined — and with what.
• Closure — invisible zip, exposed zip, buttons, hooks, or a combination, with the position.
• The finish at the hem and neckline, because these are the two places a customer can see the difference between a considered garment and an ordinary one.
• Any structure — boning, interfacing, a built-in support panel. If the garment has to hold a line, this has to be stated rather than inferred.

If you have a reference garment, describing the finish as “the same as this” is acceptable, provided the reference is physically present. Referencing a garment the factory cannot see is not a specification; it is a memory.

5. The delivery window

A delivery window is not a preference — it decides whether the order can be taken at all. State the date goods must be in your warehouse, and say which date is immovable if there is more than one.

It also helps to say why. A brand working to a trade show, a season launch and a restock have different tolerances for slippage, and a factory that understands which one it is can sequence the work around the thing that actually matters. In our production, sampling runs around seven to ten days from tech pack approval and bulk roughly four to six weeks after sample approval, and everything before and between those windows depends on how quickly decisions are made.

Manufacturing perspective: how a thin brief is read

When a costing desk receives a brief with gaps, it has three options: ask, assume, or price defensively. The first is the best outcome and the third is the most common, which is why a vague enquiry often returns a higher number than the same order placed with a complete brief.

• Asking costs a round trip. The factory has to write, you have to answer, and the calendar loses a week before anything has started.
• Assuming is cheaper for the factory and more expensive for you. The assumption is invisible until it appears in the sample.
• Pricing defensively is the default. A quote has to cover the uncertainty a brief leaves in it, so an underspecified brief attracts a price that includes a margin for being wrong.

Practical example: the same style, two briefs

Brand B did not do more work overall. It did the same work earlier, and it did it once. Brand A will do it too — after the sample arrives and the price moves.

Common mistakes

• Sending a photograph and expecting a price. Appearance is not a specification.
• Withholding the target price. Construction choices depend on it, and the sample may arrive unaffordable.
• Naming a fabric without a weight or behaviour. The same trade name covers several cloths.
• Quoting a total without the size breakdown. The marker cannot be planned from a total.
• Leaving the finish until after sampling. It changes the cost, sometimes significantly.
• Omitting the destination market. Labelling and packing requirements differ by market.
• Sending assets in fragments over three weeks. Each fragment restarts the clock.

What to do when you do not have it all yet

Most brands arrive without a complete brief, and that is a normal starting position rather than a failing. The productive move is to separate what cannot be deferred from what can.

• Cannot be deferred: design intent, fabric identity or behaviour, size range, and the delivery window. Each affects the shape, the cost or the feasibility.
• Can be developed: the full graded measurement chart, trim specifications by name, label placement, and the packing detail.
• Ask for a development conversation instead of a quote. A factory that knows the specification is incomplete can help build it, which is faster than guessing and revising.

What to send us

Luxudress has manufactured womenswear in Guangzhou since 1995, with pattern, cutting, sewing, finishing and packing under one roof. We reply to enquiries within 24 hours.

1. Send what you have. A reference, a sketch, a swatch, a target date — partial is fine.
2. We tell you what is missing. The open decisions are named, rather than filled in silently.
3. We ask the technical question first. If the garment has a risk in it, that surfaces before pricing.
4. We quote from the specification. Not from an assumption that will be revised after sampling.
5. We separate development from production. Two windows, stated separately, so the calendar is honest.

If you have a style you are trying to price, send us the reference and what you know and we will come back with the questions. OEM manufacturing covers the model, and OEM and ODM explains the alternative.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum I need to send to get a quote?

A design that cannot be misread, a fabric decision, the size range and quantity, the finish standard, and the date you need the goods. Send those five and the price you receive is a price for your garment. Send fewer and you get a price for an assumption, which will be revised.

Is a reference photograph enough?

For an initial conversation, yes. For a quote, no — a photograph carries appearance and nothing else. It does not convey measurement, construction or the inside of the garment, and those are where the cost and the interpretation both sit. Pair it with a fabric decision and a finish standard and it becomes usable.

Should I tell the factory my target price?

Yes. A target price is not a negotiation position, it is a constraint, and knowing it lets a factory propose the construction that reaches it. Withheld, the factory quotes what you described — which may be a garment you cannot sell at your margin, and you find out after sampling.

I do not have a tech pack. Can I still send an enquiry?

Yes, and it is common. A tech pack formalises the specification; it is not the only way to convey one. What matters is that the five items above are present in some form. Manufacturing without a tech pack covers how the missing parts get built during development.

How long should a quote take?

A reply within a working day is reasonable, and we hold ourselves to 24 hours. A quote that takes a week usually means either the enquiry was incomplete or the supplier is relaying it to someone else — both are worth understanding before you proceed.

Should I ask for a sample before quoting?

Not usually. Sampling is the most expensive part of the exchange for both sides, so it belongs after the specification is settled and the commercial range is plausible. Use the brief and one technical question to establish whether the supplier is worth sampling.

Can I send the same brief to several manufacturers?

Yes, and it is the standard approach — provided the brief is identical. Different briefs produce incomparable quotes, which is the most common way a comparison defeats its own purpose. See comparing manufacturers.

Conclusion

A manufacturer needs five things to price a garment seriously: design intent, fabric, size range and quantity, finish standard, and a delivery window. Everything else can be developed with them, and asking for a development conversation is faster than guessing.

The reason this matters is not administrative tidiness. A brief with gaps does not produce no answer — it produces an answer built on someone else's assumption, and you pay for that assumption twice: once in the price and again in the revision after sampling.