Sustainable apparel, mid-market
In-house production line at 70% of contract-cost benchmark
A sustainable apparel business outgrew its contract manufacturers and wanted to bring production in-house. We designed the unit, built the team, and stood up the line at 70% of the cost-per-unit they had been paying.
Cost per unit
–30% vs contract
Time to first shipment
11 weeks
Trained operators
22
What was in the way.
Contract manufacturing margins were eroding the business. Bringing production in-house was strategically right but operationally risky for a team with no manufacturing background.
The work, in brief.
We ran factory expansion advisory end to end — capacity sizing against forecast, layout and equipment selection, hiring and training of supervisors and operators, IE interventions to lift productivity from week one.
Practices engaged
What landed, in numbers.
First shipment from the new line went out in week 11. Cost per unit settled at 70% of the contract benchmark inside three months. The team owns the floor; we visit quarterly.
“We had been told we were too small to bring this in-house. They proved we were not — and they made sure we could actually run it after they left.”
Operations Lead·Sustainable apparel brand
Want similar results?
Every engagement starts with a conversation. Tell us where the business is and we will tell you honestly whether this is work we can help with.
Talk to our team