Contract Embroidery: What It Is and Why It Matters

In the dynamic world of apparel and promotional products, contract embroidery plays a pivotal role. If you’re new to the concept or curious about how it can benefit your business, you’ve come to the right place. Let's delve into what contract embroidery is and why it's a game-changer for many companies.

What is Contract Embroidery?

Contract embroidery, also known as wholesale embroidery, refers to the process where businesses outsource their embroidery needs to specialized providers. These providers, like Embleo, handle the intricate task of embroidering designs onto various apparel and accessories on behalf of other companies. The primary customers for contract embroidery services include screen printing companies, sign shops, and promotional product salespeople.

How Does It Work?

The process is straightforward yet highly efficient. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:

1. Order Submission: The client submits their design, logo, or artwork to the contract embroidery provider along with information about the order such as where to ship, the types of garments being sent, design placement, etc. For some companies this may mean submitting a purchase order via email or fax, at Embleo orders are submitted through a form on the get started page.

2. Ship Blank Garments: After submitting a purchase order to your embroidery provider you must ship them the garments. Contract decorators are simply in the business of decorating garments and therefor generally do not provide the garments in order to be as cost effective and efficient as possible. The best way to go is to order through your preferred vendor such as Sanmar or S&S Activewear and dropship the garments directly to the decorator.

3. Digitizing: After you submit your purchase order with your artwork the contract shop the process of digitizing begins. Embroidery machines are very complex, specialized devices that require their own file type in order to stitch a design. The process of creating this design is known as digitizing.

4. Approval: Once your artwork is all prepped and ready to go most shops will require you to approve your order, this is a great opportunity to make sure that you are happy with the design, all the colors are correct, everything is spelled correctly, etc. so that there are no surprises when you receive your order.

5. Production: Once the garments arrive and the design has been digitized production begins, utilizing advanced machinery and highly skilled technicians to bring the design to life. After production all garments are finished and inspected to ensure there are no defects and they are ready to ship to the customer.

6. Blind Shipping: The completed products are blind shipped directly to your customer, with no branding or pricing information included, ensuring a seamless experience for your business. The goal is to make it appear as if the order has shipped directly from you and give no indication that you have outsourced this order.

Why Choose Contract Embroidery?

Contract embroidery offers several key benefits that make it an attractive option for businesses:

1. Cost Efficiency: Embroidery is a highly complex decoration method that requires a significant time invent to learn as well as specialized machinery. Outsourcing embroidery can be more cost-effective than investing in expensive machinery and hiring specialized staff.

2. Expertise and Quality: Contract embroidery providers are experts in their field. They possess the skills and equipment necessary to produce high-quality embroidery consistently and in high volume.

3. Scalability: Whether you need a small batch or a large order, contract embroidery services can scale to meet your demands without compromising on quality.

4. Focus on Core Activities: By outsourcing embroidery, businesses can focus on their core activities. Whether you’re a screen printer, sign shop, or promo sales company, outsourcing embroidery can help you expand your service offering without taking time away from your primary role.

5. Quick Turnaround: Providers like Embleo strive to deliver orders within a short timeframe, typically around five business days, ensuring you receive your products promptly.

I Do Embroidery in House, Why Outsource?

Even if you own your own embroidery machine outsourcing can be an excellent way to expand your capacity without purchasing additional equipment or hiring and training more operators. Because embroidery is a significantly slower decoration process when compared to screen printing, a few large orders can quickly tie up all your machine time and delay orders. That’s where a contract embroiderer can help.

Let’s do an example:

Say your a small shop just getting started. You have one single head and most of your orders are in the 12-24 piece range. But then one day you catch a lucky break and land your first big customer who sends you a 250 piece order that is 8,000 stitches a piece. Let’s assume you’re running at 800 SPM (Stitches Per Minute), you can plan on 10 minutes per piece not counting thread breaks or swapping hoops between runs, so let’s round up to 12 minutes. That’s 50 hours of run time! Now your machine is tied up for a whole week and you aren’t able to do your other orders, market your services, or land more clients. The alternative is that you outsource to a shop with several multi-head machines which can do the same order in a fraction of the time and have it to your customer in just 5-7 days.

Conclusion

Contract embroidery is a valuable solution for businesses looking to offer embroidered products without the hassle of managing production in-house. It provides cost savings, expert quality, and the flexibility to scale your operations as needed. If you're considering contract embroidery, partnering with a trusted provider like Embleo can help you streamline your processes and deliver top-notch products to your customers.

Ready to simplify your embroidery needs? Contact Embleo today to learn more about our services and how we can help your business thrive.

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