Building Trust with Fabric Suppliers

Most suppliers don’t leave because of price. They leave because of how they’re treated. They show up. They deliver. They flag risks. Until they don’t. Because procurement isn’t just about contracts. It’s about connection. And connection drives performance, trust, and long-term value. Here’s how to build supplier relationships that last: 1️⃣ Name the Villain - Last-minute RFQs - One-way communication - “You’re just the supplier” mindset - Chasing savings at the cost of trust If they feel used, not valued - they’ll walk. 2️⃣ Make the Supplier the Hero - Treat them like part of the team - Ask for input early - Celebrate what they help you achieve - Build shared success, not silent support Good suppliers want to help you win - if they’re invited in. 3️⃣ Add the Human Element - Relationships don’t live in dashboards - Respect, consistency, and recognition matter - Behind every PO is a person with priorities, pressure, and pride A little trust goes a long way. 4️⃣ Use the Power of Three: The challenge: Short-term focus The breakthrough: Treating suppliers as partners The result: Better performance, loyalty, and long-term value 5️⃣ Redefine Process as Partnership - Don’t just follow steps - build habits of connection - Let your process reflect your values - Use structure to strengthen collaboration, not control 6️⃣ Leave with the Mic Drop: Price opens the door. Partnership keeps it open. If you want value to stay, Make your supplier want to stay too. 7️⃣ Show Up Consistently - Good partnerships aren’t built in tenders - They’re built in the quiet moments - In the way you communicate when nothing’s on fire Great procurement isn’t just about control. It’s about connection. Because suppliers don’t leave over price - They leave when the relationship ends before the contract does. ♻️ Share if you believe supplier partnerships are your real competitive edge. ✅ Follow Miroslav Pitlanic for practical, human procurement that builds value - and trust - that lasts.

🌍 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗜𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 Don’t get me wrong, 📊 data is essential, but it’s not the core challenge brands are facing. In my experience, traceability is a 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺. A supplier with great data but a weak relationship may withhold accurate information, while one with minimal data but strong support may start slow but eventually make meaningful progress. It’s time to shift the focus 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝟱 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿𝘀: 1️⃣ 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 Help suppliers understand the importance and benefits of traceability by providing resources (e.g., templates), training, and support to build their capacity. Stay accessible to answer questions and offer guidance, building trust along the way. 2️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 Demonstrate commitment through multi-year contracts or early payments. This alleviates financial pressures, helping suppliers prioritize sustainability efforts and strengthening partnerships over time. 🤝 3️⃣ 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 Collaborate with suppliers to establish mutual goals and be transparent about how you assess their progress. Sharing a sustainability scorecard can work wonders. 🎯 4️⃣ 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 Talk to other brands. You’ll be amazed at how many are also seeking support and ways to approach suppliers as a united front. This approach not only saves you time, but also helps suppliers meet a more consistent set of expectations. 🪢 5️⃣ 𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Facilitate connections among suppliers to foster peer-to-peer learning and shared best practices, helping them improve together. 🔗 💡 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀: 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 Take the time to visit your suppliers, understand their operations, and listen to their challenges. This firsthand perspective will help you provide better support and build stronger trust. ✈️ But let’s be honest—this isn’t easy. As a sustainability team (sometimes a team of one), it’s tough to do all this while also meeting compliance requirements, AND reporting, AND working with design teams, AND educating your organization, AND… AND… AND… But, in the long run, it will pay dividends. 🌟 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺? Let’s discuss below! 👇 #Traceability #Sustainability #SupplyChain #Transparency #Innovation

Sourcing and supply chain, pointers from years of practical experience... 🧵 At The Pant Project we come from a family background of ~50 years of experience in textile manufacturing. As a brand, we work with vendors across India to procure the highest quality materials for our product. What have we learnt in this time about how to manage supply chains? 1. Trust is everything. If your vendors trust you to lift goods, make payments, and honour your commitments, then you are golden. If they don’t trust you, then no amount of legal documentation or paperwork can make the relationship work. Trust is built over time, with consistently honouring your commitments. Trust takes a lot of time to build up, and just a few bad experiences to lose forever. 2. Processes > people. At scale, if you are person dependent, things are bound to break. You need to have set standard operating procedures (SOPs) for everything from raw material inward to pre production processes, mid-line inspection, final quality control, packing and dispatch, else you have no way to control irregularities in quality. You also need a kaizen mindset to continuously make micro-improvements. 3. Cost is just one factor in deciding which vendor to partner with. While it’s important to optimise for the right purchase price, there are a host of other things to consider when choosing a manufacturing partner. Speed of delivery, flexibility on minimum order quantities, and quality of the product matter a lot. So it’s a vendor scorecard of all of the above that determine who wins the right to produce what & how much for your brand. 4. Diversify your supply chain, but not too much. While it’s important to have multiple partners for each critical component or SKU to minimise single party dependency risk, it is also important to give meaningful volumes to select partners so you are a relevant part of their annual operating plan and get the priority service that your brand needs. We see too many brands making the mistake of splitting volumes across too many factories before hitting meaningful scale, and they have no control anywhere. Like with any investment portfolio, while diversification protects against the downside, if you know what you are doing, some level of concentration into high conviction bets (factories) leads to outsized returns. 5. Invest in product R&D, it’s worth it in the long run. Becoming a pure commodity player is a race to the bottom. There are real innovations to be made at a yarn level, fabric technology level and garment design & engineering level, and you have to invest the $$$ upfront to reap the long term benefits. So invest in R&D to stay ahead of the curve, and co-create, collaborating closely with your supply chain partners, or run the risk of becoming irrelevant over time. The strength of your supply chain is the backbone of your brand.

Early in my purchase career, I noticed a pattern. Our team would negotiate hard, close contracts, and move on. On paper—it looked perfect. 📉 Costs were reduced 📊 Reports were clean But something was missing. Suppliers didn’t feel like partners. They were just “vendors.” One day, a critical shipment got delayed. Instead of excuses, the supplier personally called and said: “Don’t worry, I’ll prioritize your delivery. You’ve always treated us fairly.” That moment changed how I saw procurement. It isn’t just about transactions. It’s about trust. Since then, my approach has been: ✅ Build long-term supplier relationships ✅ Focus on transparency, not just negotiation ✅ Treat every purchase as a partnership, not a bargain hunt And the results proved it: ✔️ Faster resolutions during crises ✔️ Better quality without micromanagement ✔️ A resilient supply chain built on mutual respect Management Lesson: In procurement, numbers matter. But people matter more. #Procurement #SupplyChain #Leadership #BusinessRelationships

Procurement - Practice Negotiation, Not Manipulation! What people often say: "Procurement manipulates suppliers." What should be said: "Procurement negotiates with suppliers." Procurement professionals, it’s time to wake up! You need to understand what you are doing. Our primary job is to secure the best prices while delivering value. But not in unethical way. Negotiating is about having an open conversation where both sides share their needs and work together to find a fair deal. Even if you push for your side, the goal is a mutually beneficial agreement where both parties are satisfied. Manipulating is when you use pressure, tricks, or unfair tactics to force the other party to agree to something they might not want. It's about controlling the situation, often leading to deception and distrust. A few years ago, I was negotiating with a supplier over a packaging material. Considering the bulk volume, I could have pressured them into lowering the price immediately. Instead, I chose to take a more collaborative approach, asking about their challenges and working with them on a fair solution. By focusing on building trust and a win-win outcome, we not only got a reasonable price but also secured better payment terms and a stronger long-term relationship. Had I manipulated the situation for a quick win, I might have saved some money upfront, but I would’ve risked damaging the supplier relationship and future opportunities. We sometimes get so focused on cost savings that we forget our principles. Remember, you can’t force people to give you money through unethical means; it won’t last. The Consequences of Manipulating Suppliers: ⛔Damaged Relationships: Manipulation may get you short-term gains, but it harms long-term supplier relationships. Suppliers will be less willing to collaborate, and you may struggle to maintain favorable terms. ⛔Loss of Trust: Suppliers will recognize when you're using manipulation tactics, leading to distrust and a damaged reputation. ⛔Inconsistent Results: While manipulation may yield savings today, it often backfires, causing higher costs or loss of quality down the road. Shifting from Manipulation to Negotiation: ✅Start by focusing on building trust and understanding with your suppliers. ✅Aim for collaboration rather than control. ✅Be transparent about your needs, and work towards win-win solutions. It’s critical that we stay grounded and make decisions aligned with our values, rather than chasing short-term wins. Let’s build a procurement culture that thrives on integrity, fairness and mutual respect. Make people influenced by you and not convinced by you. P.S. If you're manipulating, stop immediately. The long-term damage far outweighs any short-term gains. Are you and your team negotiating or manipulating? Drop your answers below! #Procurement #Supplychain