Private-label Products

Best Practices

When it comes to supply side functions for your private-label merchandise operation — such as manufacturing, sourcing and product testing — there are three keys to success: controlling the sources, controlling the quality and eliminating as many middle people as possible, says Schmid.

Developing a reliable supply chain that can produce brand-consistent goods across multiple product lines can be a challenge, especially when dealing with more than one vendor. “It’s important to build internal resources to communicate the brand parameters to the vendors, and then to continuously monitor their performance,” Miller says.