Item Sampling

Introduction & Best practice

In this article you will learn about how you can request, approve and comment on sampling related to your items. We have different options in the platform depended on the work process that you have internally. 

Read through the different options, to learn which would benefit your work the best. 

Table of contents

• Option 1
  • Request an item size
  • Request the item quality 
  • Request an item color
• When the supplier receives the request
• Option 1 - Continue 
  • Comment on item sizes
  • Comment on item quality or colors
    • Dot color system for approval

• Option 2

  • Create Item Custom Fields

  • Fill out the custom field 

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Option 1

In option 1, we will look at the standardized system solution which show approval status as a red/green dot color. This option very is useful for seasonal items as the approval of each item will be visible directly on the style page. 

Request an item size 

If your item comes in different sizes and you need to see the sizes for approval, you can simple create a request towards the item supplier. 

• Go to the Sizes sub-tab
• On the size you need to request, click on the speech bubble icon
  
• A pop-up will show.
• Add a comment to clarify towards your supplier what is required for the request. 
  And add the deadline for when you expect to receive the sample
  

• Once you have added the required information, send the request by clicking on OK
• In the notify pop-up, select who to notify and click on OK
• The deadline will now show in the size overview and the speech bubble will show in green to highlight that a comment has been added
  

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Request the item quality

You can also request an approval for the quality of your items. The logic is similar to the request of sizes. 

• Go to the sub-tab Details
• On the quality card, click on the speech bubble
  
• A pop-up will show.
• Add a comment to clarify towards your supplier what is required for the request. 
  And add the deadline for when you expect to receive the sample
  

• Once you have added the required information, send the request by clicking on OK
• In the notify pop-up, select who to notify and click on OK
• The deadline will now show in the quality card and the speech bubble will show in green to highlight that a comment has been added

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Request an item color

You can also request an approval for the colors of your items. The logic is similar to the request of sizes and quality. 

• Go to the sub-tab Details
• On the color card of the color you wish to request, click on the speech bubble
  
• A pop-up will show
• In the pop-up you will clearly see which color you are about to comment on
  
• Add a comment to clarify towards your supplier what is required for the request. 
  And add the deadline for when you expect to receive the sample
  

• Once you have added the required information, send the request by clicking on OK
• In the notify pop-up, select who to notify and click on OK
• The deadline will now show in the quality card and the speech bubble will show in green to highlight that a comment has been added

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When the supplier receives the request

When you have send the supplier a request of either an Item size, Item quality or Item color, you have asked them to start developing this sample. 

The supplier gets an email notification in their inbox (if notified) and can click on the link to access the request that you have sent. 

The supplier can then confirm the request by adding an ETD. 

This is simply done by: 

• Clicking on the speech bubble to open any request
• Add the date to the ETD field e.g. using the calendar icon
• Click on OK and select who to notify

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Comment on item sizes

Once you have received the sample for approval, you need to mark the size as 'Approved' or 'Not Approved'. In this step you can also have the option to make a written and visual comment. 

• Click on the speech bubble of the size you want to comment
• The pop-up showing is the same as when you requested the sample, but you will find the comment text field to be empty once again. 

• Add your written comment or visual comment in the comment box
• If the item size is approved - add a tick of the checkbox at approved
• If the item size is not approved - leave the checkbox empty

Example:

• Click OK and select who to notify
• The approval dot will now have turned green to highlight that the size is approved
  

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Comment on Item Quality or colors

Once you have received the sample for approval, you need to mark the quality and/or color as 'Approved' or 'Not Approved'. In this step you can also have the option to make a written and visual comment. 

The functionality of commenting both quality and colors are the same, and both will be mentioned in the guideline below. 

• Click on the speech bubble on the quality/color card
• The pop-up showing is the same as when you requested the sample, but you will find the comment text field to be empty once again. 
• Add your written comment or visual comment in the comment box
• If the item size is approved - add a tick of the checkbox at approved
• If the item size is not approved - leave the checkbox empty

Example: 

• Click OK and select who to notify
• The approval dot will now have turned green to highlight that the quality/color is approved

 

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Option 2

This option is useful if you work a lot with items that are used on multiple overlapping seasons. It is important to be able to easily separate the approvals among many overlapping seasons. 

In this option you will be introduced to the use of Item Custom Fields. 

When using the Custom fields to comment on your items, you have the option to decide how many comment field is needed to match your internal structure. 

The main communication towards your supplier will be handled inside the Communication tab.

 

Create Item Custom Fields

To create the needed custom field, you need to have the Admin role. 

• Go to Admin > Custom Fields > Items
• Click on 'Add Custom Field' and select 'Divider' 
• Name the divider the name of the first season you want to use for item approval
• Continue to create the needed custom field for this season. 
  • We recommend to include the season in the naming of your custom fields
  • We recommend that you use date fields to handle any deadlines or approval dates
  • We recommend that you use text fields to handle any written comments. 

Example of Admin setup:

• Sort the order of your newly created custom fields and make sure that your divider is on top. 
• On Item page, you will now find the divider and all your custom fields under the Custom Field sub-tab.

Example: 

 

Fill out the custom field 

• Season used - Fill out the season this item is being used. This is realevant if you want to start the approval before you add the item to specific styles - as the item is not seasonal connected until it has been added to a style. 

• Deadline - If you have created the deadline as a text field, you can manually type all desired deadlines throughout the process. 

• Send request - To notify your supplier about your request, write a communication message requesting your lapdip/ strike-off/ fabric cut etc. 
• Comment upon received sample - Start by replying you supplier by communication messaging, to notify about approval status. 
• Navigate to custom field - in the custom field you should fill out the comment about approval.
  • If the quality is approved, enter the date in the field for quality approval of the specific process. 
  • If all colors for the season is approved, enter the date in the field for color approval of the specific process. 

Example:

• Overview your approval for a season - by using the Item Custom Report you will be able to get an overview of the item approvals within a specific season. 

 

Next step

• How to work with items (Webinar)
• Create a style item list