Navigating project management in the apparel industry involves anticipating challenges and seizing opportunities. This guide covers seven key considerations to help you deliver successful and innovative apparel projects.
1. Defining Clear Objectives
Defining a clear objective for a project and how it relates to your business goals is crucial. Does the new product aim to acquire new customers or supply existing customers with more of what they love? Is the launch meant to make a splash or test the waters in a new direction?
The objective acts as a guiding principle, informing production planning, initial inventory, marketing strategies, and everything that comes afterward. You can refer back to a well-crafted objective, ensuring that every decision made aligns with your overarching goal, and ultimately results in a coherent product strategy.
2. Using a Pyramid Approach to Data
When using data to gain insights into developing new products and making strategic decisions, it’s important to devise a strategy for how to use it. It is easy to decide to offer a product in a mid-tone blue if the data proves that the colorway is already a best seller, but how does one introduce a new product if there is not enough data to support it?
The Pyramid Approach to data organizes product ideas by their level of data support. The most data-supported ideas form the base, while the least supported but potentially innovative ideas are at the top. For example, when launching a new apparel line, place proven colors and styles at the base, moderately supported new designs in the middle, and bold, trend-setting designs at the top. This structure then acts as a roadmap to developing a product offering—produce more products from the bottom and fewer from the top to mitigate risk.
3. Building Vendor Relationships
Vendor relationships can impact product quality, pricing, and delivery times, all of which contribute to the overall success and growth of the business. When negotiating and communicating with vendors, consider what is best for developing and maintaining a strong relationship. If the relationship is not mutually beneficial, the supply chain becomes unreliable. Will a vendor accommodate last-minute changes in product specs or the timeline of the launch if they are unsatisfied? Maybe not.
Open communication and fair negotiations with vendors can establish mutual trust and improve collaboration when problem-solving. A good relationship can not only ensure a more agile and resilient supply but also enable quick pivoting in response to last-minute changes in products, timelines, and trends.
4. Open-Minded Product Testing
The product creation process should be iterative and flexible to allow for the identification and incorporation of unexpected discoveries. Allow for deviations in the prototype phase, let the best product prevail, and consider customer feedback after launch. Flexibility in the initial phase of development and launch can greatly impact the success of a product.
For example, flexibility and an effective feedback loop played a crucial role in renaming Skims after a public backlash, enabling the products to be salvaged by sewing new labels over the former name (see vendor relationships). This is one of those “happy accidents” where adjustments made based on real-world feedback led to a more user-friendly, memorable name for the brand.
5. Communicative Production Planning
Planning production schedules to meet demand without overproducing or overspending can only be achieved with proper communication. Managing a project usually has more than a few moving parts, and the project manager is often the only party holding all the information.
To prevent mishaps, create a detailed timeline with built-in milestones to distribute to the necessary parties in order to communicate the importance of target dates. If necessary, flesh out the costs associated with various delays such as expedited shipping or work stoppages, then communicate those to the relevant parties. Oftentimes, an understanding of the consequences of one part of the process falling behind can encourage on-time delivery.
6. Developing Contingency Plans
Projects are seldom executed without having to navigate unexpected obstacles. To mitigate the risk of delay, practice creating contingency plans at the first sign of a potential problem. Address different scenarios such as worst-case, best-case, and expected-case outcomes, and outline specific responses for each.
These plans enable project managers to take action to address issues quickly and can prevent problems from escalating or creating a domino effect that disrupts the entire project.
7. Post-Launch Evaluations
Post-launch evaluations can lead to a greater understanding of the successes and failures of a product after launch and help to highlight growth opportunities in the development process. Return to the objective of the project and measure the outcome through performance metrics, customer feedback, and overall market reception.
Evaluate the process—what worked, what didn’t, and how the process can be improved. Assess how resources (time, budget, personnel) were allocated and used throughout the project. Identify areas where resources were underutilized or stretched too thin to optimize future project planning. Each successive evaluation offers an opportunity to improve the operations of the company.
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