How should I plan reorders for core colours?

Short answer: Core colours sell steadily, so they can be planned more precisely than fashion colours. Start with sales by colour and size, not by style total, and set a reorder point for each colour that covers the full reorder lead time plus a safety margin. The lead time for basics is often driven by fabric: yarn, knitting, dyeing and finishing must happen before cutting, and each new dye lot needs shade approval. Ask the factory to break the lead time into fabric and garment stages, so you know which stage to plan around. To shorten reorders, some brands agree with the factory to hold a quantity of greige fabric or finished fabric in core colours, with clear rules on who owns it and for how long. Shade continuity matters for core colours, because customers often buy the same item again and notice differences. Keep an approved shade standard and compare each new lot against it under agreed lighting; ASTM D1729 describes visual colour appraisal under defined illuminants, and ISO 105-J03 covers instrumental colour difference calculation if you use a spectrophotometer. Grey scale ratings under ISO 105-A02 are another common way to express change. Agree a tolerance for shade differences and keep reference swatches from each approved lot. Finally, review the size ratio for each colour: black may sell more middle sizes than grey, so reorders should follow actual colour and size sales rather than one ratio for all colours.

Reorder planning basics

• Sales by colour and size.
• Reorder point per colour.
• Lead time split into fabric and garment stages.

Shade continuity

• Approved shade standard.
• Agreed lighting and method.
• Tolerance and reference swatches per lot.

A worked example

As an illustration, a brand could review black, navy and grey sales monthly, place a reorder for black when stock covers less than the full lead time plus a safety period, and approve the new dye lot against the saved standard before cutting.

Fabric stock arrangements

If the factory holds fabric for your core colours, agree quantity, ownership, storage time and what happens to unused fabric.

Planning by size

Core colours often have different size curves. Check sell-through by size for each colour every month, and adjust the reorder ratio so slow sizes do not tie up cash while fast sizes run out.

Limits

Sales forecasts can be wrong, and dye lots can still vary within the agreed tolerance. Review plans regularly and keep tolerances realistic.

Facts, recommendations and uncertainty

Established: ASTM D1729 covers visual colour appraisal and ISO 105-J03 covers instrumental colour difference calculation. Recommendation: plan reorders by colour and size and approve each new dye lot against a saved standard. Uncertain: future sales and dye lot variation within tolerance.

Sources and further reading

• ASTM D1729-22 — Visual appraisal of colors and color differences of diffusely-illuminated opaque materials
• ISO 105-J03:2009 — Calculation of colour differences
• ISO 105-A02:1993 — Grey scale for assessing change in colour

Standards and regulations are referenced by their published scope. Test parameters, cycles and pass levels should be agreed with your laboratory for the specific product; legal requirements should be confirmed for each destination market.