How can flexible production be used to cope with peak and off-season orders?
In the global apparel and lingerie industry, brands and wholesalers face a common challenge: peak-season orders surge, while off-season orders are sparse and dispersed. For lingerie suppliers, the key to maintaining stable factory operations in these two distinct market environments while meeting customer delivery and quality expectations lies in flexible production.
This article, drawing on the practical experience of a custom lingerie manufacturer, will share how to manage seasonal fluctuations through flexible production models and identify new growth opportunities in both the B2B and B2C markets.
A. Peak Season Challenge: Delivering Peak Orders During peak sales seasons each year, such as Christmas, Black Friday, and Valentine's Day in Europe and the United States, demand for women's lingerie products surges, particularly for bras and panty sets, sexy lingerie, and plus-size bras.
During these peak sales seasons, clients (brands or retailers) are most concerned about: 1. Is production delivery on time? 2. Is the quality of bulk orders consistent? 3. Can orders be filled quickly?
For an OEM lingerie factory that still relies on traditional production methods, the following problems are likely to arise:
1. Rigid production plans and insufficient production capacity; 2. Unpredictable overtime leading to inconsistent quality; 3. Delayed order delivery, undermining customer trust.
Thus, the peak season requires efficient scheduling and modular production.
B. Off-season Dilemma: The Cost Burden of Sparse Orders
Compared to the peak season, the main problem during the off-season is idle production capacity. For example, in spring or late summer, some lingerie brands experience reduced restocking demand, and overall market demand for women's intimates declines, presenting the following challenges for factories:
1. Idle equipment and idle labor, increasing fixed costs; 2. Tight cash flow, making it difficult to prepare for the next peak season; 3. Brands reduce purchasing volumes, resulting in lower MOQs (minimum order quantities).
To avoid being "too busy during the peak season and too busy during the off-season," lingerie factories need to adjust their production models and establish low-MOQ lingerie production and quick delivery systems to keep them running even during the off-season.
C. The Core of Flexible Production: Modularization and Flexibility Flexible manufacturing is not a single operation, but a comprehensive management approach:
1. Modularized Processes Complex lingerie production processes are broken down into modules, such as cutting, sewing, embroidery, and finished product inspection. During peak season, multiple production teams can be centralized and operated in parallel to rapidly increase production capacity. During off-season, some production lines can be reserved for small, quick orders or new product development.
2. Flexible Employment Mechanisms During peak season, temporary workers or outsourced production lines can be introduced to ensure capacity expansion. During off-season, internal cross-training allows employees to participate in new product sampling and small-batch customization.
3. Intelligent Production Scheduling Utilizing ERP/MES systems for production planning management and order transparency. For B2B customers' orders for private label lingerie or custom bra and panty sets, delivery priorities can be flexibly adjusted.
D. Low MOQ and Fast Delivery: Seizing Opportunities for Small and Medium-Sized Brands During the off-season, many small and medium-sized brands or e-commerce sellers still have demand for small batches, such as:
1. Low-MOQ lingerie for market testing; 2. Small orders for new products like plus-size bras or niche lingerie sets; 3. Small-scale production of private label underwear.
If a factory can offer low MOQ and fast delivery services, it can help small and medium-sized customers quickly ramp up production and secure stable orders even during the off-season.
This not only helps brands reduce inventory risk but also allows factories to improve equipment utilization and maintain healthy cash flow.
E. B2B and B2C Dual-Channel Strategy The value of flexible production is not only reflected in order management but also creates market expansion opportunities for companies.
B2B: Meeting the needs of wholesalers and brand owners. For example, custom lingerie manufacturers offer one-stop services from design and sampling to bulk production.
B2C: Through partner brands' e-commerce platforms, we launch quick-response products such as lingerie sets, women's panties, and sexy lingerie, quickly responding to consumer trends.
This "dual-channel" approach not only increases order sources but also diversifies risk, avoiding reliance on a single customer or market.
F. Case Study: Production Shifting Between Peak and Off-Season
Take a European customer as an example: During peak season, the customer placed a single order for 20,000 bra and panty sets. The factory successfully delivered the order through modular production and a two-shift system.
During off-season, the customer only needed 1,000 plus-size lingerie sets. The factory utilized flexible production lines to quickly deliver the order and helped the customer test the market.
This model allows customers to meet their needs regardless of season, while maintaining balanced production capacity year-round.
Summary Facing seasonal fluctuations in the industry, lingerie manufacturers must establish a flexible production system. Through modular processes, flexible labor, and intelligent scheduling, they can handle both large orders during peak season and smaller orders during off-season.
More importantly, flexible production is not only a means of managing order fluctuations but also key to seizing opportunities in niche markets such as low-MOQ lingerie, private label underwear, and plus-size bras.
Only in this way can factories maintain steady growth in a highly competitive market and create long-term value for customers.
