A drawer of test shirts
Before adding a product, you order a sample. Before trusting a new partner, you order several. You check the print, the fabric, the fit and the packaging, and after a few washes you check again. The results are good or disappointing, and you remember them for a while.
Six months later you are deciding whether to route hoodies to your second partner. You remember their hoodie sample was fine, but was that the heavyweight one? Did the print crack after washing, or was that the other partner? The shirts are in a drawer, and the photos are somewhere on your phone.
Samples produce knowledge nobody writes down
Samples are an investment in knowledge, but the knowledge is stored in memory and objects.
- Sample orders are placed like normal orders and are not marked as tests.
- Findings are in photos and memory, not a record.
- Wash tests happen weeks later and are rarely recorded.
- Results are not linked to the product, partner or file version tested.
- Colour accuracy and print placement are judged differently each time.
So each decision about a product or partner starts from scratch, or from a vague memory.
What forgotten sample results cost
Samples are ordered again because nobody remembers the earlier result. Products go live on a blank that failed a wash test months ago. Routing decisions are made on a hunch rather than a documented comparison. When a customer complains about something you already saw in a sample, you realise the warning was there and was lost.
Sample orders are not free, and repeating them for lack of a record wastes both money and time.
It also makes conversations with partners harder. When you raise a quality concern, a dated record with photos from the sample and the wash test is far more useful than a general impression, and it helps you judge whether a problem is new or was there from the start.
The sample log we build
- Sample orders are placed from the log, which records the product, blank, colour, size, partner and the file version from your library.
- When the sample arrives, you fill in a short checklist on your phone: print sharpness, colour match, placement, fabric feel, fit against the size chart and packaging, with photos.
- Wash test reminders arrive at intervals you choose, with the same checklist for print and fabric after washing.
- Results are summarised per product and partner, and shown next to that product in the catalogue.
- Products can be marked approved, approved with notes or not approved for each partner, which routing rules can respect.
- Comparisons between partners for the same product are shown side by side, with photos.
| Check | When | Recorded as |
|---|---|---|
| Print sharpness and colour | On arrival | Score and photo |
| Placement | On arrival | Matches file or not, with photo |
| Fit | On arrival | Against the size chart |
| After washing | At your chosen intervals | Cracking, fading, shrinkage |
| Packaging | On arrival | Condition and presentation |
The checklist is yours, so it reflects what your customers care about. The log keeps the answers where decisions are made.
Decisions based on your own tests
When you consider routing hoodies to your second partner, the catalogue shows their sample results next to the first partner's, including the wash test. You can see that the print held up but the fit ran small. You route only certain sizes, or not at all, knowing why.
When a new blank arrives, its sample goes through the same checklist, so the comparison with the old one is fair.
Signs your samples are going to waste
- Sample findings live in your memory and phone photos.
- You have ordered the same sample twice.
- Wash tests are not recorded.
- Routing and product decisions are not linked to tests.
- Customers have complained about issues a sample showed.