MOQ standards for Minimum Order Quantity.
The unit of measure for minimum order quantity depend on the article and material type. For garments and apparel items MOQ is presented in numbers or dozens. For fabrics MOQ is measured in meters or yards.
MOQ is common factor used in order placement with suppliers. When the buyer could not meet the MOQ, supplier charges for extra dollars for processing small order quantity. The reason is simple. To process any batch of garment the process time and overhead costs will remain same. As a result, the costs of manufacturing per unit will be higher for small orders. To compensate the manufacturing costs supplier, keep a cap for minimum order quantity for the given price.
Some suppliers do not accept orders if the buyer cannot place order with MOQ or more than MOQ volume.
When an apparel brand (buyer) places an order with a garment manufacturer, they need to know the minimum order quantity per article, color and size.
The MOQ is a challenge for small designers. As they don't have large number of customer (end consumer) base and secondly, they don't have enough fund to buy a large volume of garment at the start.
Many small fashion start-ups look for suppliers who can manufacturer their design for less minimum order quantity.
What is the minimum order quality for garment order?
It depends. Different suppliers have different MOQ value for qualifying the production order.
Suppliers may accept order less than minimum order quantity. In that case supplier charges in sampling rate.
Related abbreviations:
Full form of FOB in garment sourcing