Three factories, three different bags: write a brief they can all quote

Why the quotes never match

A buyer sends a picture of a blue character diaper bag. One factory prices a tote, the next a framed backpack, the third a convertible bag. All three answered the request correctly – the request just never said which bag it was.

A photo shows a mood. A brief has to show one product.

What our own catalogue says about bag identity

Most bag designs are identified by their photos, not by a number. That means the views and the working code you send carry the whole identity of the product. If those are loose, the quote will be too.

Give it a code and four views

Start with a working product code and put four views under it: front, back, side and inside. Say which details must be reproduced and which are only inspiration. Add the carrying mode, the rough outside size, which way it opens, how many pockets it has and the exact artwork zone you are discussing.

If two shapes or two artwork placements are acceptable, call them Option A and Option B. Never blend them into one specification – that is how the selected picture quietly changes during sampling.

Say how it is used, not how good it is

Describe the situation: retail shelf or online, who uses it, which market, which channel, and whether it has to fit a carton or a fixture. Keep claims out. Water resistance, load capacity, food contact, age grading and recycled content stay as questions until the material, construction and test evidence are agreed.

Write the sizes you know with a tolerance, and list the ones you do not. Ask each factory to state its assumptions in the quote instead of hiding them in the unit price.

Break the bag into zones

Add a deviation column. If a factory proposes a different zipper gauge or lining weight, it names the part, the reason, the visual change, the cost change and the sample stage. You approve a substitution instead of discovering it in production.

Ask for a quote packet, not one number

Tie every quote to the same brief revision: quantity basis, artwork or tooling charges, sample terms, packaging assumption, production site, lead time and validity. A price based on a plain polybag cannot be compared with one that includes a printed retail box.

For character merchandise, rights scope and the brand’s factory requirements are separate workstreams. Disney’s labour-standards programme is a good example of why the factory and country questions belong next to the brief, not after the order (our Disney ILS guide).

End with a decision log

1. ConfirmedWhat everyone has agreed, with the revision number.
2. ProposedWhat a factory suggested and you have not yet accepted.
3. OpenEvery unknown, with an owner and a date.

A good brief can be understood without the meeting that produced it. Keep the dated brief, the reference images, each supplier’s answers and the approval record together. When something changes, issue a new revision and keep the old one.