The Challenge
In 2022, a client approached Blanks for Brands for 5,000 T-shirts in a specific Pantone colour for a major campaign.
The original brief called for organic cotton and recycled polyester, alongside SEDEX, BSCI, product-safety and legal-compliance certifications.
We searched our international supplier network and found an exact Pantone match that met the requirements. However, the shirt was four times the cost of our usual stock.
Rather than stop there, we sourced two close Pantone alternatives available in Gildan that brought the project within budget. The client approved one.
When the Plan Changed
Before the order was placed, the US dollar had risen significantly against the naira. Maintaining the original ₦13.25 million quotation meant changing the shipping method from air freight to sea freight and extending the delivery timeline.
The client agreed.
Then the procurement became considerably more complicated. The required colour was experiencing a global shortage. Our regular supplier could not provide the full quantity, while several alternative suppliers either cancelled orders or could not accept Nigerian-issued payment cards or wire transfers.
We had to find new suppliers, establish new relationships and work through multiple international payment challenges—all while the delivery deadline remained fixed.
Solving the Procurement Puzzle
We eventually secured the required inventory through multiple US suppliers.
One supplier required a physical bank deposit in North Carolina. Through a chain of relationships involving one of our customers, his mother in Lagos and a Nigerian based in North Carolina, the payment was made and the remaining shirts were released for shipment.
The shipment arrived in Lagos on 28 March. The delivery deadline was 4 April.
Quality Control in Lagos
With more than 70 boxes of T-shirts now in Lagos, sending them to Kaduna for inspection and back to Lagos for delivery would have cost approximately ₦750,000 and consumed precious time.
Instead, we moved our quality-control operation to Lagos.
For two days, our team inspected all 5,000 T-shirts, removed defective pieces, reconciled quantities, and repackaged and labelled every box by size.
We had also procured more than 100 additional shirts as contingency stock.
The Result
The full order of 5,000 T-shirts was inspected, reconciled and delivered to the client in Lagos before the agreed deadline.
From international sourcing and supplier discovery to foreign-currency procurement, freight coordination, quality control and last-mile delivery, Blanks for Brands managed the entire process.
The lesson: complex apparel procurement requires more than finding a supplier. It requires the ability to keep finding solutions when the original plan stops working.
Blanks for Brands. From sourcing to delivery.