In the textile clothing industry, subcontracting is when a manufacturer has the products that it cannot produce within its own structure produced by another business. Contract manufacturing means that manufacturing companies procure the products they need from external sources.

A subcontractor is a business or person that provides services to another company (manufacturer). Subcontracting is the process of outsourcing certain or all stages of the production process to an outside business. Subcontracting can help manufacturers increase production capacity, reduce production costs and save time. Subcontracting generally helps businesses improve their production capacity in specific areas.

Subcontracting can be the outsourcing of any stage required for the production of the manufacturer company. For example, a clothing manufacturer may outsource any or all of the stages such as cutting, sewing and packaging to another company through subcontracting. While subcontracting provides flexibility to businesses and reduces production costs, it should also be remembered that issues such as product quality control and delivery time must be carefully managed.

A business or person engaged in subcontracting produces orders from another company. Some important factors to consider when doing subcontracting are:

• Quality control: When doing subcontracting, it is important to produce in accordance with customers’ requests and standards. Therefore, performing quality control procedures correctly is critical for products to meet customers’ expectations.
• Delivery time: When doing subcontracting, it is important to produce in accordance with the delivery dates determined by the customers. Accurate calculation of delivery time and production planning accordingly are important for customer satisfaction.
• Communication: When doing subcontracting, it is important to be in constant communication with customers. Correctly understanding customers’ requests and making the necessary changes in the production process is critical for customer satisfaction.
• Production technology: When doing subcontracting, it is important that the production technology used complies with the customers’ requests and is used correctly to improve the quality of the products.
• Occupational safety: When doing subcontracting, it is important to produce in accordance with occupational safety measures and ensure the safety of workers.
• Cost management: When subcontracting, it is important to accurately calculate and manage material, labor and other costs. Accurate calculation of costs is important for the profitability of the business.

Manufacturers and subcontractors both produce in the textile and clothing industry, but there are some key differences between them.

Manufacturers produce in their own facilities and market products under their own brands or their customers’ brands. Manufacturers are usually large-scale production companies and have their own facilities to control production quality and costs. Manufacturers generally control every stage of the production process and can directly meet customer demands.

Contractors produce for another company instead of producing in their own facilities. Therefore, subcontractors do not play a direct role in processes such as product design, quality control or branding. Contractors often operate as small-scale workshops or factories and provide specific manufacturing services to meet their customers’ production needs. Therefore, subcontracting can be used as a tool to increase manufacturers’ production capacity or provide certain manufacturing services.