The most common planning mistake is starting from the order date. Start from the date the container has to leave the port, then subtract.
A working backwards calendar
- Ship date minus 3 days: final inspection, packing list, export documents.
- Minus 25-55 days: bulk cutting and sewing, depending on style complexity.
- Minus 15-30 days before that: fabric production, dyeing and finishing.
- Minus 21 days: sampling and approvals, run in parallel with fabric booking.
- Add a 10-15 day buffer around Chinese New Year and the October Golden Week.
For FW26 programs shipping into Europe in late summer, that puts fabric booking in the first quarter. Nominated mills with long lead times should be reserved even earlier. We publish our holiday shutdown dates to every account in December so nobody discovers them in September.
Lead time is not a promise about speed. It is a promise about honesty.
If you are working to a fixed retail launch date, send it with the RFQ. We will tell you at the quoting stage whether it is realistic rather than after the deposit.