Okuzeka
Fashion & Textiles vocabulary · Production & Sourcing

Lead time

Meaning in fashion & textiles, with examples

/ˈliːd taɪm/nounCore term

In fashion & textiles, lead time means: The time between placing an order and receiving the finished goods, including material sourcing, production and shipping.

In Turkish: termin süresi, teslim süresi, tedarik süresi

How it is used

One of the first questions buyers ask: what is your lead time? It is usually given in days or weeks and may be split into fabric lead time and production lead time. Short lead times are a major selling point for suppliers close to Europe, such as Turkey.

Example sentences

  1. Our lead time is six weeks from PP sample approval.

  2. The dyed yarn has a longer lead time, so we need to order it this week.

Common collocations

  • short lead time
  • production lead time
  • reduce lead time
  • fabric lead time
  • supplierA company that provides a brand with fabric, trims or finished garments, often a factory, mill or agent that produces to the brand's orders.
  • MOQMinimum order quantity: the smallest number of pieces or metres a supplier will accept for one order, style or colour.
  • PP sampleA pre-production sample: a garment made with the real bulk fabric, trims and colours exactly as it will be produced, approved before production starts.
  • costingThe calculation of what a garment will cost to produce, including fabric, trims, labour, processes such as printing or washing, overheads and profit.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Production & Sourcing

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: