Low MOQ Clothing Manufacturer

What is the MOQ? The minimum order quantity (MOQ) requirement defines the lowest quantity of a certain product (for example, 500 pieces) that a supplier is willing to sell. If the importer cannot meet the MOQ requirement, then the supplier is unwilling or unable to go into production.

In this article, I explain why there is a MOQ requirement for low moq clothing manufacturer and what you can do to reduce the number of units you need to buy.

What is the minimum order quantity (MOQ)?

The MOQ requirement is the minimum number of units you need to order from a supplier. It can be defined by order, by product, by material or by color. For example, if a supplier sets his MOQ at 500 pieces, he must purchase at least 500 pieces before he can accept your order.

How to know the MOQ of a supplier?

The MOQ is often specified on the suppliers’ Alibaba page or website. You can also contact them directly to ask for your MOQ. Please note that the MOQ is fluid as it varies based on a variety of factors. Besides, there are also different MOQ to follow, not just one.

What is the minimum order value?

A minimum order value is the lowest value of goods that a supplier is willing to sell per order or per item. If the minimum order value is set to $5,000, they will not accept orders below this amount. That said, manufacturers almost exclusively set a minimum amount rather than a minimum value.

1. Low profit margins require higher volumes

Most Chinese manufacturers tend to operate on thin profit margins. Often as low as 3-4%. Low profit margins force the supplier to produce a large number of products to break even.

2. The MOQ of your suppliers reflects the MOQ set by your material subcontractors

The manufacturer is not always responsible for the high minimum order quantity requirements. Chinese suppliers tend to keep a minimum stock of materials and components.

As such, they must purchase materials and spare parts from subcontractors, upon request. This, in turn, requires the factory to be able to meet the subcontractor’s MOQ.

This also explains why different items and different materials (or even colors of the same material) have different MOQs. With some effort, it is possible to determine how the MOQ can be reduced by identifying the materials and components that the supplier keeps in stock or can purchase at lower minimum order volumes.

However, there are some limitations to this approach. For example, materials that comply with REACH or other chemical regulations must be purchased in larger volume.

Since product compliance is not optional, circumventing the MOQ requirement by using “standard materials” may not always work.

3. Chinese suppliers generally do not keep products in stock

It would be very easy for a factory to sell low volumes if they only kept ready-to-use units in stock. However, they rarely do. At least not when it comes to “export-ready” products. In fact, you can go to Taobao.com and find tens of thousands of vendors, all with ready-made products.

But commercial products in China are produced for the domestic market. This is a problem, because these products, for obvious reasons, are not manufactured in accordance with product labeling requirements and safety regulations abroad (i.e., in the US or EU).

For example, all products in the United States must bear a country of origin (i.e., made in China) label, in English. Although some products available on the market may meet the requirements, you will have to search for them for a long time.

Beautiful connection group standard products can be purchased in small volumes, the problem is simply that you cannot buy such products and so you go back to “make to order”, which means you have to meet the MOQ of the suppliers.

4. Manufacturers often have more than one MOQ requirement

Take for example the textile industry. The MOQ of clothing manufacturers often looks like this:

• Per unit: 1000 pieces
• Per custom material: 1000 pieces
• Per standard color: 250 pieces
• Per custom color (ie RAL or Pantone): 500 pieces
• Per size: 250 pieces

As you can see above, standard materials and colors (ie those with higher turnover) are sold with a lower MOQ. The more you customize a product, the higher the minimum order quantity required.

You can make this work in your favor if you can get this information from your provider.

In the example above, you need to buy 1000 coins. If you buy a t-shirt in a standard material, in a standard color, you can get 4 different products (SKUs).

On the other hand, a custom material would only get you one SKU because the MOQ requirement is the same as the “per order” MOQ.

This explains why vendors tend to have higher MOQ requirements for products, while prints and other modifications can be offered at lower MOQs. The same is often the case with court and other proceedings that may be handled by the provider.

5. Work with your supplier to lower the MOQ

You can negotiate a lower minimum order quantity requirement with your supplier. However, as mentioned in this article, the supplier often has very limited wiggle room to reduce the MOQ.

In fact, they may not be able to offer you a lower MOQ than they already offer. At least not without incurring a loss or being forced to take greater risk by purchasing more materials and components that are actually used for your order.

Some suppliers may consider offering buyers a lower MOQ in exchange for a higher price. But building the structure of supplier quantity requirements is often much more efficient.

By doing so, you can design your product and use materials and parts that the supplier can source at lower volumes.

To make the import process easier, especially if you are importing items from China for the first time, you should engage the services of a sourcing agent.

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