01 · Product Development & Merchandising
Move faster from buyer inquiry to confirmed order
TDS covers the work before production starts: inquiry, capacity, product development, sampling, costing, the bill of materials and the order timeline. Every team works from the same information.
Buyer inquiry & capacity
Record each inquiry as it arrives and check capacity before you commit, so the factory doesn't accept orders it can't deliver.
- Buyer inquiry
- Initial order information
- Capacity availability
- Prevent overbooking
- Immediate input requirements from relevant teams
Product development
Keep tech packs, styles, patterns and buyer files together in one place. CAD and grading information stays connected to the order.
- Tech pack
- Style management
- CAD pattern and marker
- Digital grading
- Pattern library
- Buyer pattern / DXF handling
Fabric optimization
Plan markers digitally and calculate fabric consumption accurately before cutting, so you use less fabric and waste less.
- Digital marker planning
- AI-powered auto-marker
- Fabric consumption calculation
- Saved pattern and marker versions
Sampling & approvals
Track every sample stage and approval, so merchandising, CAD, industrial engineering (IE) and quality teams always know the current status.
- Proto, fit, PP and shipment samples
- Approval tracking
- Sampling feedback
- Coordination with CAD, IE and quality teams
- Digital fabric and accessory approvals
Costing & quotation
Build costings from real material and SMV (standard minute value) inputs. Quotations go to management for approval, and every version is kept.
- Fabric / accessory inputs
- SMV input
- Costing
- Target price calculation
- Management approval
- Quotation generation
- Quotation version history
Bill of materials & order information
Create the bill of materials (BOM) and order records once. Procurement, planning and production then work from the same requirements.
- Bill of Materials
- Material requirements
- Size, ratio and assortment information
- Order records
Time & Action management
A digital timeline that manages key activities and deadlines from inquiry through shipment. This Time & Action plan (TNA) sends reminders automatically, so deadlines are visible before they are missed.
- Automated reminders
- Notifications
- Timeline tracking
- Sample deadlines
- Shipment deadlines
Supporting merchandising tools
Practical tools for everyday merchandising work, from parcel tracking to shipping marks and artwork prepared for suppliers.
- Courier / parcel tracking
- Shipping Mark Designer
- Central shipping-mark library
- PO-linked artwork
- 2D design / 3D preview
- Supplier-ready PDF generation
Connected scope
One record from inquiry to material planning
Inquiry, sampling, costing, BOM, material planning and buyer communication all build on the same order information.
Related solutions
Where the order goes next
How long does your factory take from inquiry to confirmed order?
Talk to TDS about speeding up development, sampling and costing.