018 - Finding a Factory for Your Fashion Brand with Heather Williams @ Sourcing Playground

I met Heather through LinkedIn and couldn’t believe what an incredible platform she’d created with Sourcing Playground. Having been a buyer herself, she knew there was a problem in the industry through connecting manufacturers to retailers and vice versa. After spending a fortune on travel going to different sourcing shows around the world, she thought ‘why is this not online’ ?! With Sourcing Playground, she has flipped the traditional model on it’s head so that the retailer uploads a project and the manufacturers effectively bid for your business - it’s like match.com but for factories and retailers! Heather is also the sponsor of the podcast so it totally made sense for her to be guest of honour and share her wonderful knowledge of the sourcing industry & how to work best with manufacturers!   In this episode we discuss : Heather’s career history to date Why she launched Sourcing Playground & how you can use it Best practises when working with a factory The huge topic of sustainability!   The podcast will be taking a short break over Christmas and New Year but will be back in January 2020! Are you ready to discover what it takes to become a 6-figure fashion brand?  Or maybe you're already there & looking for ways to improve! I have a really fun quiz for you to try out today!  It's just 21 questions that will determine a score from 0-100 and you'll automatically receive a personalised audit of how your business is doing. As a fashion brand owner, it can be challenging (to say the least!) to stand out in a crowded market and drive consistent sales. However, with the right marketing, product development, sales channels and pricing strategy, you can take your fashion brand to the next level! In under 2 minutes, ask yourself these carefully selected set of questions to determine if your fashion brand is on the path to success.   For example … *Do you regularly update your website and analyse your competitors' pricing?  *Do you frequently update your website's content and product offerings to keep customers engaged? *Does your fashion brand have a content marketing strategy?  Take the quiz to unlock the secrets of a 6 figure fashion brand and see how you compare. Once completed, you'll receive an e-mail with a fully personalised audit on how you can scale with success - it's honestly so cool, you have to try it to see for yourself…   links Order Confirmation Sheet https://www.elizabethstiles.co.uk/shop/order-confirmation-sheet-for-you-amp-your-factory-excel-template-1    Examples of what a design tech pack looks like https://www.pinterest.co.uk/elizabethstilesuk/technical-design-packs    Tradeshow Avantex - https://avantex-paris.fr.messefrankfurt.com/paris/en.html   Certification > GOTS - https://www.global-standard.org/   Social compliance certification (ethical)   > WRAP - http://www.wrapcompliance.org/   > SA8000 - http://www.sa-intl.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=1689   Certified audits   BSCI - https://www.amfori.org/content/what-we-do-0   SMETA - https://www.sedexglobal.com/smeta-audit/   Remake – https://remake.world/     You can keep in touch with Heather via the links below:   WEBSITE https://sourcingplayground.com/   TWITTER https://twitter.com/SourcingPG   FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/sourcingplayground/   INSTA @sourcingplayground   LINKEDIN https://www.linkedin.com/company/sourcing-playground   Sustainability questionnaire - https://en.sourcingplayground.com/accelerating-sustainability/   Managed service – https://en.sourcingplayground.com/sourcing-project-management-for-brands/   sponsor This episode is sponsored by Sourcing Playground Sourcing Playground is an online platform making it easier for brands to connect with compliant, ethical & sustainable manufacturers – think match.com but for retail! Post your project for free & let the suppliers come to you On the platform you can easily compare quotes & factory profiles to choose the right supplier for your brand Sourcing Playground are offering a free upgrade to The Fashion Feed listeners which means your project will only be viewed by the factories & hidden from public view Go to www.sourcingplayground.com to check it out & mention The Fashion Feed in the chatbox   contact me If you’d like to find out more about working together on your brand, click here