Place the order with everything in writing

The purchase order carries everything: the price and its term, quantities by style, colour and size, the dates, the payment schedule, the inspection level, the packing, the labels, and what happens if the inspection fails. The factory answers with a pro forma invoice, the document you pay the deposit against. If it is not on these two documents, it was never agreed.

What goes in writing, the full checklist:

• The full tech pack: measurements with tolerances, construction, stitch types and stitches per inch, and the bill of materials.
• The fabric specification in full, or the nominated fabric supplier.
• Nominated trims where a trim failure would be expensive, with the supplier named.
• The approved size set and the signed sealed sample, before bulk cutting.
• The wash or finish, with an approved standard for it.
• The AQL level, the inspection standard and who carries out the final inspection.
• The testing required, the laboratory, and who pays for it.
• The delivery term, so the quotation means one thing: CM, CMT, FOB, LDP or DDP.