How do I plan a seasonal collection calendar with a jewelry manufacturer?

ZKZ Editorial TeamMain answer · Product & gemmology desk

Start from the date the jewelry must be in your hands and work backwards through shipping, production, sample approval, design and sourcing, adding a buffer at each step. Ask the manufacturer for its own lead times in writing, and plan for at least one round of sample changes. Fixed dates agreed at the start are better than estimates.

Steps to schedule

1. Launch date. The date you need to sell.
2. Stock arrival date. Earlier than launch, to allow for checks, photos and listing.
3. Shipping. Choose the transport and allow for customs and delays.
4. Production. Ask the factory for the lead time for your quantity, and when it starts.
5. Pre-production sample approval. The date you must approve the final sample for production to begin.
6. Samples and changes. One or more rounds of samples and revisions.
7. Design and specification. Drawings, CAD, stone choice, finish, packaging.
8. Materials. Stones, metal and packaging, with lead times.

Add buffers

Our advice Include time for a delay in materials, a failed inspection, a rework, a holiday closure and a shipping delay. A buffer at each step is more realistic than a single buffer at the end.

Things to agree in writing

• The date by which the factory needs your approvals.
• The effect of late approvals on the delivery date.
• Factory holidays and closures.
• What happens if the delivery is late.
• Dates for payments linked to milestones.

Tips

• Stagger styles. Give complex styles an earlier start in the calendar than simple ones.
• Reuse existing designs and components to save time.
• Limit the number of new styles in a first season.
• Keep a spare date for photography and listing.

Uncertain Lead times vary by factory, style, season and quantity, and we have no standard figure. Ask your manufacturer for its own schedule and for how it changed in busy seasons last year.

It depends A shorter schedule is possible with rush charges or fewer styles, but it raises risk. Which you choose depends on the importance of the launch date.

Related reading: Jewelry Manufacturing Lead Time and Approval Stages · How to Request a Jewelry Prototype

Sources

No external standard governs this question, so this answer is editorial advice from the ZKZ team and is labelled that way.

Fact = stated by the cited source. Our advice = editorial recommendation. Uncertain / it depends = limits of what can be said in general.