How do I evaluate a zipper supplier's production capacity?

Q: How do I evaluate a zipper supplier's production capacity?

Capacity should be checked against your own demand pattern, not against a brochure figure. Ask for the monthly output by product family, the number of lines, the shifts and the current booking rate. Then ask what share of that capacity your order would take, and what happens when a larger customer arrives. A supplier that is already running near full load in your season is a delivery risk, even if the price is good. Check the bottleneck rather than the headline number: dyeing, plating, casting and assembly may each have a different limit, and the slowest one sets the lead time. Ask for the capacity plan for the coming quarter and for a recent example of a peak month. Visit if the order is significant, and look at the flow of work in progress. YCC measures capacity by process step, which makes a booking slot easier to verify.