Do I still need to meet fabric or SKU minimums?

While you will still have to comply with Co-Pilot program fabric and SKU minimums, Hula Global has built the system to provide you with more flexibility than most other models of traditional manufacturing.

The Co-Pilot program is designed to not remove all minimums, but to make them more workable, realistic, and friendly to start-ups while still keeping the program focused on quality, efficiency, and factory feasibility.

Knowing how the limits work will help you strategize your production in a way that will minimize the likelihood of running into unexpected limits in the middle of your production workflow.

In traditional clothing manufacturing, a brand would have to contend with extremely high minimum requirements in total order volume, as well as in the number of different styles (SKUs) that are being ordered.

This is a huge barrier to entry for a lot of emerging designers, smaller labels, and boutique brands who lack the financial resources, market demand, or storage capacity to place high-volume orders.

The Co-Pilot program offered by Hula Global is designed specifically to help emerging designers by eliminating the overall MOV (Minimum Order Volume) requirements while keeping some baseline minimum requirements to maintain the quality of production and collaboration with suppliers.

A fundamental requirement that still applies is the fabric minimums. This is not a requirement set by Hula Global, but a requirement set by the fabric suppliers.

Fabric suppliers operate on a schedule for buying and selling raw fabric, and are not going to sell fabric for very small lots due to the high setup and dyeing costs that make small orders commercially unfeasible.

Even with the Co-Pilot program, brands are still bound by these fabric minimums.

With that said, Hula Global does provide an important way around this: for the sake of the fabric minimums, you are allowed to combine different SKUs that are from the same fabric family.

This means that, instead of having to take one large order of one style, you are able to spread your order over different designs, sizes, or even variations, as long as they are made of the same base fabric. If your fabric is a particular type of cotton jersey, you could use it for T-shirts, dresses, and tops, so the total fabric used for all of these styles could help you meet the supplier’s minimum.

New brands have significantly less risk here. Instead of having to make thousands of one product, you get to make a wider variety of samples, as long as you follow your supplier’s guidelines.

Plus, you get to try more different designs in the market without tying yourself to one style that could potentially bomb sales.

Aside from fabric minimums, minimums on SKUs also still apply under the Co-Pilot program. Hula Global’s SKU Minimums exist to ensure that production runs remain efficient and cost-effective.

Hula Global aims to protect both the brand and the factory, and so they maintain a basic SKU minimum.

That said, these minimums are usually more generous than what other manufacturers would offer.

Instead of hundreds or thousands of units per style, brands that are a part of the Co-Pilot program can, more often than not, produce much smaller quantities per SKU. These minimums offer a good blend of functionality and business freedom.

Another benefit to the brand of the Co-Pilot program is that brands can utilize the ability to mix and match SKUs within the same family of fabrics.

This enables brands to achieve bundling even if they may not meet individual SKUs on one particular style. This way, brands can still bundle different products together to meet the required SKUs.

For example, if the brand is launching a capsule collection for loungewear, brands can look to bundle different sweatshirts, joggers, and hoodies made from the same fleece.

Such an approach helps promote the idea of smarter design planning and the collective process of creating a collection of goods. Instead of focusing on each item individually, brands will benefit from considering fabric groups, color groups, or synergies in production.

This will not only make the production process easier, but it will also enhance the brand’s identity while promoting aesthetic coherence.

Additionally, it is worth mentioning that the minimum number of colors set by the fabric suppliers will be applicable as well. In many cases, the fabric supplier demands a minimum yardage of fabric needed per color, especially in the case of dyed fabric materials.

However, it is worth mentioning here that the brands may be able to spread it over multiple styles using the same color as part of the SKU flexibility as well.

Yet while these figures may be seen by some companies as being restrictive at the outset, they are an incredibly important learning experience in the pursuit and success of sustainable and explosive entrepreneurial growth.

By creating within these parameters, designers gain an understanding that will push them to even bigger and better manufacturing in the future.

The essence of the Co-Pilot Program by Hula Global, therefore, is not the removal of rules but is rather a structured yet conducive manufacturing platform for brands, while at the same time guiding them through the intricacies involved in the fabric sourcing process, while still maintaining the industry standards.

Fabric and SKU minimums ensure efficient, ethical, and superior manufacturing processes.

In conclusion, therefore, while yes, you do need to meet minimums on fabrics and SKUs for the Co-Pilot program, they are so much more doable compared to more traditional manufacturing methods.

The opportunities to combine SKUs within the same fabric family give brands all sorts of benefits, whether it's freedom, cost savings, or reduced risk. In short, the minimums are not so much obstacles for brands but really a methodology for growth, still allowing brands to bring their visions to life.

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