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Fashion & Textiles vocabulary · Production & Sourcing

Supplier

Meaning in fashion & textiles, with examples

/səˈplaɪə/nounCore term

In fashion & textiles, supplier means: A company that provides a brand with fabric, trims or finished garments, often a factory, mill or agent that produces to the brand's orders.

In Turkish: tedarikçi, üretici firma

How it is used

Brands find, choose, audit and work with suppliers, and they often have a list of approved suppliers. Fabric suppliers, trim suppliers and garment suppliers are separate groups. American companies often say vendor for the same thing.

Example sentences

  1. We need a new supplier for the zips; the current one keeps missing deadlines.

  2. All suppliers must pass a social compliance audit before we place orders.

Common collocations

  • approved supplier
  • fabric supplier
  • audit a supplier
  • supplier base
  • supplier evaluation
  • lead timeThe time between placing an order and receiving the finished goods, including material sourcing, production and shipping.
  • MOQMinimum order quantity: the smallest number of pieces or metres a supplier will accept for one order, style or colour.
  • CMTCut, make and trim: a production arrangement in which the brand supplies the fabric and the factory only cuts, sews and finishes the garments.
  • quality controlChecking materials and products at different stages of production to find defects and make sure they meet the agreed standards.
  • buyerA person who chooses and orders products for a retailer or brand, deciding which styles, colours and quantities will be sold.

This word in other fields

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

More terms: Production & Sourcing

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