How to get your Sports Apparel Delivered on Time?

A question that I know a fair few have been scratching their heads over. Such an important part and by far the biggest pain point in the Sports Apparel industry is on time delivery. We have enquiries requesting urgent Custom Made Clothing because they have been let down by the YES MEN.

These are company’s that say yes to your request with no hope of hitting your deadline. Unfortunately, communication disappears, your deadline comes and goes and you are left in no mans land. Generally, what will happen is your order will arrive but weeks later than expected with no apology and no refund.

Check out the below problems we’ve come across so hopefully you can avoid these common pitfalls. Read on to find out how we can solve these for you as well.

Why you aren’t getting on Time Delivery

It can be daunting when you don’t know the industry as you are relying on the trustworthiness (is that a word) of your Sports Apparel Supplier and hoping they are as reliable as they say. We’ve been in the industry for over 10 years and have been burnt enough times to avoid these mistakes and treat our clients the right way.

At the very least I can give you some background pitfalls of the industry and some questions to ask that might help you assess how likely on time delivery might be.

Here are some Red Flags to watch out for:

• Is their normal delivery time 4 weeks but they said YES to getting to you in 2 weeks because they like you? Red Flag!!
• Are they made overseas? Are they coming via sea (8-10 weeks) or via Air (1 week).
• Are you items being made in China? Be careful around January/February as factories shut down for 3-4 weeks for Chinese New Year
• Be wary of Public Holidays in and around your deadline. If your not working then its likely neither is your sales rep, factory worker or courier driver.
• When they say 2 week delivery from the time of artwork approval. It doesn’t say that they’ll take 3 weeks to get you the artwork. Red Flag!!
• Beware of busy times of year e.g. just before the season starts, just before season ends. Prime time for over promising and under delivering. The reason being that the sales team’s job is to get as many sales as possible but the factory still has a limit on their production. If the factory has a production capacity of 10,000 units a month but your orders are 20,000 then that’s alot of disappointment.

How to get your Sports Apparel Delivery on time and reduce your risk?

• Order well ahead of when you need them – 4 weeks is normal for us but funny things can happen especially with couriers and customs.  Allow 5-6 weeks to avoid any unforeseen mishaps.
• Check where your order is being made. Avoid placing Urgent Sports Apparel orders from China from Mid Jan to Mid Feb. They are shut down and are backed up when factories reopen.
• Pay a deposit just incase they miss your deadline and you need to cancel the order. You might lose some money but not all of it.
• Order with someone like Custom Sports who are an Aussie owned and operated company that speaks your language and tells you how it is. Communication is key especially in the unlikely event something goes wrong.
• Our delivery timeframes include a buffer period which allows for an unanticipated events. If we can’t meet your timeframe then we might be able to come up with an alternative but we won’t take on a job where we can’t exceed your expectations.

Good Luck with whoever looks after your Sports Apparel needs and I hope in future you can get on time delivery for all your gear.

Above and Beyond Service to get your Sport Apparel Delivered on Time.