CONSULTING SERVICES
Four ways I help your production stop bleeding.
Every engagement is scoped to what your business actually needs — not a standard package. Here's the range of work I do and what each area covers.
Apparel Production Consulting
End-to-end production execution support — from planning to delivery. I hold the process together so your team isn't constantly firefighting.
Production consulting is the core of what I do. I work alongside your team to bring discipline and accountability to the full production cycle — from the moment a style is approved for sampling, all the way through to bulk delivery and sign-off. The goal is simple: predictable timelines, fewer surprises, and a production process your team can rely on season after season.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
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Production calendar creation and milestone tracking
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Sampling timeline discipline and iteration control
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Sampling-to-bulk transition management
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Factory follow-up cadence and communication
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In-line quality checkpoints and inspection coordination
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Delivery risk identification and resolution
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Pre-shipment review and sign-off support
THIS IS RIGHT FOR YOU IF…
You're scaling production and your current process can't keep up. Deliveries are late, quality is inconsistent, and your team is reactive rather than proactive. You need someone who's done this before — not someone who'll learn on your order book.
"We were losing 12–15% on margins we couldn't explain. Smitha reviewed our cost sheets and vendor agreements in the first week and found exactly where it was going. The savings more than covered her engagement fee."
— Founder, Emerging Womenswear D2C Brand
TIMELINE CONTROL
SAMPLING → BULK
QUALITY CHECKPOINTS
RISK MANAGEMENT
DELIVERY PLANNING
Sourcing & Cost Optimisation
Informed sourcing decisions with full cost visibility. Know exactly where your margins are — and how to protect them.
Most apparel businesses know they're leaving money on the table — they just don't know where. I bring a trained eye to your sourcing setup: reviewing how vendors are selected, how costs are structured, and where the negotiation leverage you're not using is hiding. The result is better margins without burning vendor relationships.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
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Vendor identification, shortlisting, and evaluation
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Fabric and trim sourcing support and comparison
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Cost sheet review and margin analysis
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Fabric consumption benchmarking
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Vendor price negotiation guidance and support
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Alternate sourcing options and risk diversification
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CMT vs FOB structure recommendations
THIS IS RIGHT FOR YOU IF…
Your cost sheets are accepted at face value. You're not sure if you're paying fair market rates for fabric, trim, or CMT. You've lost vendors and scrambled to replace them. Or you're entering a new fabrication category and need sourcing guidance from someone who already knows the landscape.
"A cost sheet is a negotiation document, not a final number. Most brands treat it as the latter — and that's where the margin goes."
— Smitha Panyam, on reviewing cost sheets
VENDOR EVALUATION
COST SHEET REVIEW
FABRIC SOURCING
TRIM SOURCING
PRICE NEGOTIATION
MARGIN IMPROVEMENT
Vendor & Factory Management
Build vendor reliability that holds under pressure — not just during the first order, but across seasons.
Vendor reliability isn't accidental — it's built through consistent expectations, clear communication, and process discipline. I work with your vendor base to assess who's actually capable, align everyone on quality and delivery expectations, and introduce the accountability structures that make performance sustainable.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
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Vendor capability assessment and scorecard
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Quality standard documentation and alignment
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SOP creation for key production milestones
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Factory communication protocol setup
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Performance tracking and review cadence
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Vendor consolidation or diversification advice
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Issue escalation frameworks
THIS IS RIGHT FOR YOU IF…
You're chasing vendors instead of holding them accountable. Quality issues repeat with the same suppliers. You don't have visibility into a factory's actual capacity or constraints until it's too late. You want to build a vendor base that performs consistently — not one that only delivers when you're watching.
"Factories respond to people who understand their world. When you speak their language, you get a very different level of cooperation."
— Smitha Panyam, on vendor relationships
CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT
QUALITY ALIGNMENT
SOP DESIGN
ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMS
VENDOR SCORECARD
Export & Overseas Buyer Support
Your trusted local advisor in India — so problems don't quietly snowball before shipment.
For overseas buyers, the distance between their office and their Indian factories is where most problems live. Things get lost in translation, factories make commitments they can't keep, and by the time the buyer finds out, the shipment window is gone. I bridge that gap — acting as a local execution partner who knows the factories, speaks the language, and has the credibility to hold people accountable.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
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Factory coordination and regular follow-ups
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In-process quality monitoring visits
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Communication bridge between the buyer and vendors
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Progress reporting and timeline updates
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Issue identification and escalation management
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Pre-shipment quality checks and sign-off
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New vendor identification and vetting in India
THIS IS RIGHT FOR YOU IF…
You're sourcing from India but don't have local representation. You've had factories disappear mid-order or deliver quality you couldn't sell. You rely on the factory's own updates — and those updates are always positive until the day they're not. You need someone in India who works for you, not the factory.
"When I'm in the room, factories know someone who understands production is watching. That changes the dynamic completely."
— Smitha Panyam, on overseas buyer support
FACTORY COORDINATION
QUALITY MONITORING
BUYER-VENDOR BRIDGE
ISSUE ESCALATION
PRE-SHIPMENT
HOW WE WORK TOGETHER
No two production problems look the same.
Most clients engage me when they need experience, clarity, and steady execution — without the commitment of a full-time hire.
You're Everywhere, I'm Everywhere Too
REMOTE-FIRST, ALWAYS ON
Sharp, responsive support without the overhead of a full-time hire. Timezone? Not a problem. Whatever keeps your production moving, I'm there.
When the Factory Needs Real Eyes
ON-GROUND VISITS & AUDITS
Some problems need more than a phone call. When it matters, I show up — factory audits, quality checks, vendor meetings. The kind of visits that make factories take timelines seriously.
Built Around You, Not a Boilerplate
FLEXIBLE SCOPE, NO FLUFF
Retainer, project-based, or somewhere in between. You pay for expertise and outcomes — not hours spent in pointless check-ins.