As mentioned in my last post, I met up with Bob Berger, the Director of International Business for SOURCING at MAGIC while at the MAGIC apparel trade show last month. Bob explained the services offered at SOURCING at MAGIC and then gave me his recommendations for how a visitor should prepare for the show in order to fully utilize its benefits. First, let’s look at the services provided.
SOURCING at MAGIC provides a Resource Center staffed by resource consultants who maintain a data base of exhibitors in product categories. These consultants can supply leads to exhibitors who meet a manufacturer’s specific production and sourcing needs and provide a “matchmaking” service” where they make appointments with those exhibitors for you.
Additionally, SOURCING at MAGIC provides complimentary educational seminars throughout the show covering a variety of topics such as free trade, color and style forecasting, quality control, sourcing strategies, current global issues, sales and marketing strategies and the use of social media to market your brand.
Besides regular exhibitors, SOURCING at MAGIC also features other information booths including
The Fashion Business Inc. a Los Angeles based company that provides education, training and support for small apparel businesses, www.fashionbiz.org .
Fashion Snoops, a trend forecast service, www.fashionsnoops.com
Pantone, a color forecasting service, www.pantone.com
ISI Intertek, an independent organization providing testing, inspecting and certifying of products. “Intertek’s iSupplier Intelligence (ISI) is an online supplier community platform that provides global buyers of consumer goods, industrial products and commodities with access to comprehensive information about participating suppliers, including company profile, capabilities, quality compliance and reputational risk issues associated with social, environmental and security programs, regardless of which organization has conducted the relevant verification.” www.intertek.com/consumer/auditing/isi/
Panjiva, a source for information for global trade professionals who want to find, evaluate, and connect with companies in other countries. They maintain a database of 1.5 million companies worldwide. www.panjiva.com
WRAP, an independent, non-profit organization that certifies factories for social compliance. www.wrapcompliance.org
About Sources, provides industry source information about fabric, trim and cut and sew contractors and more. www.aboutsources.com
SGS provides industry inspection, verification, testing and certification services anywhere in the world. www.sgs.com
Manufacturers.com, a leading business to business global online marketplace, with headquarters in the USA and China, that connects millions of general merchandise buyers and suppliers. www.manufacturers.com.
Sourcing Journal, a global resource for news and information tailored for textile and soft goods supply chain executives. www.sourcingjournalonline.com
Of note is the number of resources devoted to social compliance and certification underscores the current importance of this area for apparel manufacturers. I will explore this topic in more detail later.
What SOURCING at MAGIC has to offer.
