One style, many versions. Keep track of the right one.
An apparel order changes shape several times before it ships. We build order, sampling and production software that keeps merchandisers, factories and buyers looking at the same specification.
Picture a merchandiser handling a buyer's spring programme. One style comes in four colourways and a full size range, with a tech pack that has already been revised twice. The lab dips went out last week, the fit sample came back with comments on sleeve length, and the factory is asking which trims to book. Every answer exists somewhere — an email thread, a WhatsApp group, a spreadsheet on someone's laptop — but nobody can see them together.
Most of the trouble in apparel comes from versions rather than volume. A buyer's comment on the second fit sample changes the measurement chart, yet the factory cuts from the PDF attached to an older mail. A colour is approved on one lab dip and a different shade reference lands on the purchase order. When an order is split across ship dates or partly cancelled, the size breakdown has to be redone, and the time-and-action calendar quietly stops matching what is happening on the floor.
Software for this work has one job before any other: settle what a style is, what a revision is, and which revision is approved for production. Once that is agreed, sampling rounds, buyer comments, trims, quantities and shipment dates can hang off the right record. We build that record and the screens around it as custom software your team owns, and link it to the ERP or accounting system you already run where that helps.
Four moments that cause rework.
The tech pack keeps moving.
Measurement charts, construction notes and trim lists change between proto, fit and size-set samples. Each change should create a new revision with its reason attached, so nobody overwrites the one the buyer signed.
Which shade did they approve?
Lab dips and strike-offs travel back and forth by courier. Logging each submission, the buyer's verdict and the shade reference stops an old swatch from reaching bulk dyeing.
A size breakdown changes late.
Buyers revise quantities by size and colour after the PO arrives. The order should show the original split, the amended one and who accepted the change, so fabric and trim bookings can be checked against it.
One PO, three ship dates.
Split shipments and partial cancellations are routine. Tracking quantities against each delivery window tells the factory and the buyer what is left to make and what has already gone.
Settle these before the first screen.
A few decisions shape the whole data model. We work through them with your merchandising and production leads during discovery.
- How you code a style, a colourway and a size, and whether buyers' own codes sit alongside yours
- What counts as a new revision of a tech pack, and what is only a minor correction
- The sample stages you actually use — proto, fit, size set, pre-production, top of production, or your own names
- Who may approve a sample or a shade, both internally and on the buyer's side
- Which records factories, mills or job workers should see, and which stay internal
- Where existing style lists and open orders live today, and how much cleaning they need before migration
Pieces that usually come next.
What apparel teams ask us.
Can buyers log in and approve samples themselves?
Yes, if you want them to. Each buyer can get a restricted view of their own styles with sample photos and comments, and record an approval there. Many teams prefer to begin internal-only and open buyer access once the records are reliable.
We have years of style data in spreadsheets. Can it come across?
Usually, after a review. Old sheets tend to carry duplicate style numbers, colour names spelled three ways and sizes stored as free text. We clean and map them with you before import, and agree what to leave behind.
Will this replace our ERP?
It doesn't have to. If your ERP handles purchasing and accounts well, we would build the sampling and order-tracking layer it lacks and pass approved orders across. Replacing it only makes sense when the two keep fighting over the same data.
Tell us how a style moves through your team.
Send a message with the sample stages you use and where versions get mixed up, and we'll reply within one or two business days.