Start with the series, not the unit price
In the Baby Bursa catalog, a product card may show a per-piece price and a series total. The order is placed by series. If a five-piece series is priced at 20 USD per piece, one series costs 100 USD and adds five garments to the order.
This sounds elementary, but it prevents a common mistake: comparing the series total of one product with the unit price of another. Record both figures when preparing a buy sheet. The useful columns are product code, sizes in the series, number of pieces, unit price and series total.
Check the actual sizes
Piece count does not tell you which sizes are included. A five-piece run might cover ages 1 through 5, while another might cover sizes 6 through 10. Product pages list the configured sizes; use that list rather than inferring an age range from the photograph or product name.
The same check matters when two series overlap. A dress offered in sizes 3-7 and again in 8-12 is two different stock decisions. A boutique serving primary-school children may need the second run more than the first even when the design is identical.
Build the order around customers you already serve
Begin with sales records or a simple tally from the shop floor. Note the ages requested, the categories sold and the sizes that ran out first. Use those observations to choose series. Buying every available run because a model photographs well can leave a shop with attractive stock in the wrong sizes.
New shops have less evidence. In that case, keep the first order narrow enough to learn from. Choose a small number of categories, retain the product codes and review sell-through by size before the next order.
The catalog shows the series configured for each product. Availability and the final order are confirmed with a sales advisor before payment.
A five-line order check
Before sending a selection, confirm the product code and colour, copy the listed sizes, multiply series quantity by the number of series required, verify the currency, and save the product URL. That URL gives the advisor an exact reference if a brand uses similar model numbers.
Do not treat a zero or missing online stock figure as a promise that a product is unavailable. Wholesale stock changes during the day. The advisor confirms the current position when the order is reviewed.
Separate a size label from a sales age
A label such as 4, 104 or 3-4 can point toward a similar customer, but the three codes are not interchangeable. The first may be a supplier's numbered size, the second usually refers to body height in centimetres, and the third is an age band. Each manufacturer applies its own grading and ease. Preserve the original code on the order sheet even when the shop uses a simpler age description for customers.
This distinction matters most when a buyer combines brands. If one brand's size 6 is placed beside another brand's 6-7 without checking measurements, the rail may contain noticeably different fits under what looks like one age. Keep a brand-specific size note and use it when receiving, labelling and answering customer questions. A conversion is a guide beside the source label, not a replacement for it.
Count every piece in an asymmetric series
Not every series contains one garment in each size. A supplier may place two pieces of a faster-selling middle size in the run, omit an endpoint, or divide the same design into a younger and an older series. Write the assortment as quantities, for example 3×1, 4×2, 5×1 and 6×1. That notation exposes five pieces immediately and prevents a repeated size from disappearing in a hyphenated list.
Asymmetric runs can be useful when they match observed demand. They become a problem when the duplicate is discovered only after delivery. Ask the advisor to confirm both the labels and the quantity of each label. If the catalog shows five pieces but the written assortment appears to show four sizes, pause the calculation and resolve the difference before comparing the series total with another product.
Calculate the open-to-buy impact, not only the garment price
A unit price helps compare garments, while the series total shows the cash committed to one model and colour. Multiply that total by the number of colours and series requested. A 100 USD five-piece series ordered in three colours uses 300 USD and creates fifteen pieces of stock. The multiplication is simple, but performing it line by line reveals how quickly colour options consume the order budget.
Freight, duties and local clearance are separate from the product series unless the commercial terms say otherwise. Keep an estimated landed-cost column outside the supplier price rather than silently adding a generic percentage. Carton volume and destination can change the freight result, especially when padded outerwear is mixed with compact jersey sets. Final shipping should be calculated from the shaped order and confirmed service.
Choose colour depth with the size run
Ordering every colour once can create breadth without depth. A customer may see many options, but the shop can run out of the useful size in each colour quickly. The opposite choice, several runs in one colour, concentrates risk. Review colour and size together: which colours have sold before, which are easy to combine with current stock, and whether a formal model needs the same colour breadth as an everyday set.
Confirm whether a mixed-colour series exists or whether every colour is a separate full run. Product photography may show several colours in one gallery even when the commercial unit is one colour per series. Record the chosen colour beside the exact size assortment and product code. This also reduces errors when two similar model numbers use different palettes.
Compare series on a common worksheet
A useful comparison sheet has one row per product and colour. Include brand, model code, use, original size labels, quantity per label, total pieces, unit price, series total, currency and requested number of series. Add the product URL and a short fit or fabric note. With the same columns for every supplier, differences remain visible after the showroom conversation has ended.
Do not collapse several currencies into one total using an exchange rate that is no longer dated. Record the supplier currency and, if needed, add a separate planning conversion with its date and rate. The commercial invoice and payment instructions remain the authoritative figures. A planning worksheet is meant to support a decision, not to create new payment terms.
Check the series again when stock is confirmed
A catalog selection is a request until the advisor confirms current availability. A missing endpoint size can turn a complete run into a broken series, and a substituted colour can change the role of the item in the assortment. Ask for the final model, colour, size quantities, number of series, currency and product total in one written confirmation before payment.
If the supplier offers a partial series, decide deliberately whether it still works for the shop. A lower total is not automatically a saving when the absent size is one of the shop's strongest sellers. Mark the change on the order sheet rather than relying on a message thread that may be difficult to match with cartons later.
Receive cartons against the confirmed assortment
At receiving, count pieces by product code, colour and size before the garments are distributed across the shop. Compare the labels with the confirmed series, not with the initial screenshot. Photograph or record any discrepancy while carton identifiers and packing documents are still available. This creates a clear question for the supplier and prevents an unexplained shortage from becoming a stock-system error.
Inspect whether the physical size progression is plausible. Labels can be correct while garments are accidentally mixed, especially when designs are nearly identical. Lay adjacent sizes together and check obvious length or width progression. This is not a substitute for measuring every item, but it can reveal a misplaced garment before tickets are printed or online quantities are released.
Use sell-through by size to shape the next order
After sales begin, track which sizes sell first and which remain. Separate genuine size demand from other causes: the colour may be weaker, the fit may run differently, or the product may have arrived late in the season. A single slow size does not prove that the age group is wrong, but repeated results across comparable products can justify a different series mix.
Keep the original series composition in the sales record. If the shop received one piece of size 8 and two pieces of size 10, raw unit sales cannot be compared without considering that starting quantity. Sell-through uses units sold divided by units received. That simple denominator turns a vague impression about popular sizes into evidence that can improve the next wholesale selection.
Give the team one final series summary
Before the order is released, create a short summary that another staff member can understand without reading every message. Show the supplier, product code, colour, exact size quantities, pieces per series, number of series, unit price, series total, currency and confirmed availability. Attach the latest product image only as a visual reference; the code and written assortment identify what was purchased.
Ask a second person to recalculate a sample of the lines and compare the total number of pieces with the order total. This simple review can find a duplicated colour, an incorrect multiplier or a series entered as units. Sign or date the checked version and use that same document when receiving the cartons. A consistent handover is part of size-series control, not extra administration after the buying decision.
Worked example: compare two five-piece offers
Suppose Model A contains sizes 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 at 18 USD each. One series is five pieces and costs 90 USD. Model B is described as five pieces at 17 USD each, but its assortment is 3×1, 4×2, 5×1 and 6×1. Its series costs 85 USD. Model B is cheaper and provides more depth in size 4, while Model A covers size 2. Neither is the better offer until the shop decides which coverage matches its customers.
Now add colour. If Model A is ordered in two colours, the commitment becomes ten pieces and 180 USD. If Model B is ordered once in one colour, it remains five pieces and 85 USD. Comparing 18 USD with 17 USD hid the larger decision: colour count, size coverage and total cash. Add an estimated freight field only after the likely carton mix is known, and keep it separate from the supplier's garment price.
At confirmation, the advisor reports that size 6 in Model A is unavailable and offers a second size 4. Update the written assortment before deciding. The run still contains five pieces, but it no longer serves the same endpoint. If the shop accepts, the receiving sheet should show 2×1, 3×1, 4×2 and 5×1. The worked line demonstrates why piece count, size composition and commercial total must remain together from selection to delivery.