Nine stages · one base block · from 50 pieces per style

OEM/ODM Development Process: From Your Tech Pack to Approved Sample and Bulk

Nine stages a product manager can follow on one sheet. The OEM/ODM development process at Run Moto Apparel, an OEM motorcycle apparel manufacturer since 2011, takes a riding-gear brand from a tech pack or a reference garment to an approved sample and a first run: one shared base block, a sample in your core size in 15–20 days, your label set at the sample stage, bulk from 50 pieces per style.

Send the tech pack or the reference The nine stages

Development sheet · stages

Read24 h
Development sheetapproved
Blockcore size
Materials and trimsswatches
First sample15–20 d
Label and packagingon sample
Grading and size-runXS–4XL
Bulk25–35 d
Archivebrand name

OEM/ODM development process: tech pack pages, swatches and the first sample on the development desk

Who uses this process

Who uses the OEM/ODM process: emerging brands, established lines, dealers and distributors

Four buyers of the OEM/ODM development process, each with a label to put on the garment and a different amount of paperwork behind it.

Emerging riding-gear brands

A first line of 2–5 SKUs from a reference garment and a mood board, sampled in size M, produced at 50 pieces per style, with the patterns archived for the second run.

Start from a reference garment

Established brands adding a category

A jacket, glove or jersey line developed from a full tech pack to sit next to an existing range, on a base block that matches the fit the brand already sells.

Start from the tech pack

Dealer's own-label line in store colors on the showroom rail

Dealers and distributors with an own label

A store line in store colors, developed from a reference garment the dealer already stocks, sized for the dealer's market.

Start from what you stock

Sports and outdoor brands entering riding

A brand with apparel experience but no armor pockets, membranes or leather; the tech pack is read for what it does not yet say.

Start with the questions

Not this page

Team and club runs from a roster: team race kit
A single custom garment

Two starting points

Two starting points: a full tech pack or a reference garment

Both arrive at the same base block; the first stage of the OEM/ODM development process is different, and so is what we ask for

Tech pack read line by line with questions written in its own numbering — Read · questions in your numbering

AFrom a tech pack

We ask for: measurements · materials · trims · label positions

The tech pack is read line by line: measurements, materials, trims, construction notes, label positions. Questions come back within 24 hours on business days, in the tech pack's own numbering, before anything is drafted.

Wrong start A tech pack drawn for a fashion jacket with no armor pockets, sent as final.

Reference garment measured panel by panel on the form — Measured · keep and change listed

BFrom a reference garment

We ask for: the piece · what to keep · what to change

The reference is measured on the form and in the hand: panel by panel, seam by seam, with the fit the brand wants kept and the parts it wants changed listed. A measurement sheet and a construction note come back as the tech pack the brand did not have.

Wrong start A reference garment from another brand sent with the instruction to copy it exactly.

Either wayThe brand receives a development sheet: the base block proposed, the materials and trims proposed with the standard options, the label and hangtag positions, and the sample date.

The shared base block

The shared base block: one block, every SKU in the line

A brand that builds each SKU on its own block sells three fits under one label; the base block is why our lines fit like one brand

Drafted once, shared by every SKU. The base block is the fit foundation: the body length, the sleeve pitch, the shoulder slope and the ease that the brand's customer will feel in every piece. It is drafted once, from the tech pack or the reference garment, in the brand's core size, and every SKU in the line is built on it. A textile jacket, a jersey and a pair of gloves on shared blocks fit the same customer the same way, and a second-run SKU added next year starts from a block the brand has already approved.

Drafted for the riding position. Arms forward on the bars for a touring shell, the attack position for a jersey, the tuck for a leather suit. The armor pockets, where the garment has them, are positioned on the block for the riding position, to standard armor sizes, so the brand can fit the armor it already stocks.

How to check itAsk for the block name and the position it was drafted for on the development sheet.

On the sample, put it on the bike, not on a hanger.

Base block pattern pieces with three SKU patterns cut from it on the table — One block · three pattern sets

Block fact

A second-run SKU starts from a block the brand has already approved, not from a new tech pack.

Nine stages

The OEM/ODM development process in nine stages, file to archive

Tech pack to sample to archive on one sheet; each stage has one output and one check before the next starts. Scroll: the cards stack as you pass them.

Read

Output · questions in your numbering

Tech pack read or reference garment measured; questions back within 24 hours.

Tech pack read with questions noted in the margin

Development sheet

Output · the sheet, approved by the brand

Base block, materials, trims, label positions and the sample date proposed.

Block

Output · base block in the core size

Drafted for the riding position; pattern pieces cut for the first SKU.

Materials and trims

Output · swatches sent

Shell, lining, membrane, leather, zips, armor pockets and labels from the standard options or your suppliers.

Swatches and trims laid out for approval

First sample

Output · the SKU in your core size, 15–20 days

Fit comments taken on the bike, armor in.

First sample fitted on a rider on the bike

Label and packaging

Output · a finished retail piece

Woven label, care label, hangtag and polybag set on the sample.

Woven label, care label and hangtag set on the sample

Grading and size-run set

Output · one garment per size, before bulk

The block graded across the range; the set tried on real people.

Size-run set on the rail, one garment per size

Bulk

Output · 25–35 days after approval, from 50 per style

Start-of-line, mid-line at 20 percent and final inspection.

Bulk run on the line with the start-of-line check

Materials and trims: the standard options behind a private label line

The reference table for private label motorcycle apparel; a brand can specify its own, and these are what the sheet proposes when it does not

Component	Standard option
Textile shell	600D polyester or Cordura-type nylon
Membrane	Waterproof membrane laminate, touring shells
Leather	1.1–1.3 mm cowhide, gauged per hide
Mesh	100% polyester moisture-wicking mesh, 140–160 gsm
Pants shell	600D polyester, leather or synthetic inner knee
Fleece · glove palm	280–320 gsm fleece · goat leather or synthetic palm
Armor · liner	CE-armor pockets, standard armor sizes · removable thermal liner
Branding	Sublimation, embroidery, heat transfer, leather perforation

Swatch wall of the standard shells, leathers, meshes and trims — Standard options · specify your own

The sample stage

The sample stage: fit on the bike, label on the garment

A sample approved on a hanger comes back with a sleeve that rides short; a sample without the label comes back as a second sample

Comments on the bike. The first sample is sewn in the brand's core size and sent with the development sheet, the swatches and the size chart. Fit comments are taken with the garment on a rider on the bike, arms forward or in the attack position, with armor in the pockets. Comments go back in the tech pack's numbering; a second sample is cut only if the comments move a seam, not for a color or a trim change.

Label on the same sample. The woven label, the care label, the hangtag and the polybag are set on the same sample. The label position and the care wording are approved once, and the first production piece is a finished retail piece, not a blank with a label to come.

How to check itThe sample arrives with the label sewn in and the hangtag on. Try it on the bike with the armor in before writing a comment.

Second sample only if a comment moves a seam.
Color or trim changes are approved on a swatch.

First sample on a rider on the bike, arms forward, armor in — Fit · on the bike, armor in

Woven label, care label and hangtag sewn and hung on the sample — Label · care label · hangtag

50PCSper style, private label

2–5SKUSto start a line on one block

15–20DAYSfirst sample in your core size

25–35DAYSbulk after sample approval

The three-SKU test run

A three-SKU test run: how an emerging brand starts

The OEM/ODM development process we run most often for a new brand, and what it teaches the brand about its own fit.

Test-run SKU one: textile jacket on the shared block

Test-run SKU two: motocross jersey on the shared block

SKU 3Gloves

3SKUSThree constructions on shared base blocks.

MSAMPLESampled in the core size, comments on the bike.

50PER STYLEProduced, patterns archived for the second run.

Three SKUs, three constructions, one season. The order we build most often for a new riding-gear brand is a textile jacket, a motocross jersey and a pair of gloves, on shared base blocks, sampled in size M, produced at 50 pieces per style, with the patterns archived for the second run. Three SKUs across three constructions tell the brand in one season which category sells, which size mix its customer buys and what its fit should be, without committing to a full range.

The second run starts from the archive. It adds SKUs on the same blocks, or corrects the size mix from the first run's sell-through, and starts from the archive rather than from a tech pack.

How to check itAsk what the second run would start from.

If the answer is a new tech pack, the first run was not archived.

Size-run set checked on real people, one garment per size — On people · not on a chart

Men's and women's blocks on the rail under one label — Two blocks · one label

Grading and the size-run set

Grading and the size-run set: from the core size to the range

One approved sample does not approve a size range; the size-run set does

Graded, then tried on. After the sample is approved in the core size, the block is graded across the brand's size range, with youth sizes where the line needs them. A size-run set, one garment per size, is sent before bulk so the brand can check the grade on real people, not on a size chart. The signed size sheet then travels with the order through cutting, sewing and packing, and the carton list is checked against it before the box is sealed.

XSSMLXL2XL3XL4XL

Two blocks for two fits. Women's blocks are drafted separately, not scaled from the men's block; a line that carries both has two base blocks and one label.

Size-run set before bulk, one garment per size.
Signed size sheet travels with the order through cutting, sewing and packing.

Minimums and lead times

Minimums, lead times and what moves them

Where the OEM/ODM development process starts and how long each stage takes

Launch calendar with development stages counted back — Counted back from the launch

Private label run

50PCSPer style, 2–5 SKUs to start.