Building the Perfect Shoe: A Journey from Prototype to Production

Background: A premium sporting apparel company wanted to develop its shoe line to represent their brand properly.  They wanted the best cost but did not want to sacrifice quality.

With no prior experience in the shoe market, no quality control in China, and no agents or partners in mainland China, they turned to CPG to provide guidance and manage the project from inception through completion.

Challenges: 

• They did not have a working prototype. They had an idea of styles and construction they wanted to emulate, but lacked the expertise to provide a mockup to serve as a starting point with suppliers.
• They had no previous experience with shoe manufacturers. They recognized the value of sourcing in China and were searching for a reliable supplier that could understand their vision and had the experience to execute it to perfection.
• They were particularly focused on quality control in China, wanting superior fabric for the upper as well as a durable high-quality rubber for the sole.

CPG’s Beijing-based team was commissioned to identify the best possible supplier and manage the project from tooling through manufacturing.  After providing them with 2 supplier options, they confidently selected a vendor that matched criteria critical to their project success, including:

• Communication/Cooperative attitude
• Factory facility
• Production capacity
• Price (Tooling cost / Shoe price / Freight quotes)
• Quality (including factory audit and sample inspections)

Results:

• Provided fabric/material samples, photos, and videos to the client to help envision the style and construction of the shoe.
• Managed video meetings between the client and the supplier to develop their prototype and troubleshoot any issues.
• To provide guidance, CPG worked with the supplier to outline the whole process of manufacturing a shoe from inception to completion as well as a timeline for review.
• Worked with the supplier to provide actual shoe samples for our client to wear and test; the supplier sent 5 rounds of improved samples to the client for testing.
• Worked through 46 versions of their shoe design between the supplier and client to perfect their product and recognize their vision in 7 months.
• Managed logistics of shipment of Salesman Samples to the client and confirmed a bulk order to bring the product to market.
• Worked with the supplier to finalize the client’s own packaging design.

Conclusion:  

Product development is an intricate process with varying degrees of complexity depending on the product. With the support of a multi-disciplined Beijing-based team, this company was able to work fluidly with a Chinese supplier and bring their shoe to market.

Lessons Learned:

• For product development, effective communication with your supplier is especially critical. Having a supplier who understands your vision is a strong precursor to success.
• Always give your project a well-defined timeline with significant buffer time. Working through quality control in China and the finer details of your product will take time, but will build a foundation for future success as opposed to being focused on a deadline that may not be in your best interests.
• Choosing the right supplier at the outset will lead to a greater probability of success. Understand all the factors that would make a supplier perfect for you. Meeting the supplier and having access to their facility and insight into their experience and capabilities will help build a long-term partnership.