09 · The Tech Pack
Week 9 · 25 hours
Objective
Assemble a complete, unambiguous technical package that a factory can quote from, pattern from, and manufacture from — and that becomes the contractual definition of what you bought.
Why it matters commercially
The tech pack is the most important document in your business. It is simultaneously the manufacturing instruction, the quotation basis, and — when something goes wrong — the evidence of what was agreed. Brands that lose disputes with factories almost always lost them at tech pack stage by leaving something unspecified.
Core concepts
What goes in
A tech pack is a single PDF, version-numbered, dated, with the brand, style name and style code on every page.
| # | Section | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cover | Brand, style name, style code, season, sample size, version, date, your contact details |
| 2 | Revision history | Every version, date, and what changed. Non-negotiable |
| 3 | Line drawings | All six views, dimensioned, from Module 8 |
| 4 | Exploded / construction view | Layer order made explicit |
| 5 | Construction spec | Construction method, lasting method, bonding, any special processes |
| 6 | Last spec | Last name/number, supplier, sample size, matched sole confirmation |
| 7 | Sole spec | Mold number, supplier, material, hardness/density, colour, stack, weight |
| 8 | Bill of Materials | Every component. See below |
| 9 | Material callouts | Drawing with every panel numbered and keyed to the BOM |
| 10 | Colourways | One page per colourway, all views, with each panel’s colour keyed |
| 11 | Stitching spec | Seam type, rows, SPI, thread Tex and colour, per seam |
| 12 | Branding & artwork | Logo files, sizes, positions from datums, application method (screen print / emboss / heat transfer / embroidery / woven label) |
| 13 | Size & grading | Size run, sample size, grade rules if you have them, size-specific specs (lace length!) |
| 14 | Labelling | Country of origin, size label, care label, EU pictograms, barcode/UPC placement |
| 15 | Packaging | Box dimensions, print, tissue, inserts, polybag, master carton spec and pack ratio |
| 16 | Quality standards | Your required tests and acceptance criteria (from Module 15) |
| 17 | Open questions | An explicit list of what you’re asking the factory to advise on |
Section 17 is a professional signal. It tells the factory you know what you don’t know, and it invites their expertise into a defined space rather than letting them silently substitute.
The BOM
One row per component. Minimum columns:
| Column | Example |
|---|---|
| Line # | 04 |
| Component | Quarter panel, lateral |
| Placement | Upper, exterior |
| Material | Pig suede |
| Spec | 1.4–1.6mm, chrome tanned, LWG audited |
| Colour | Off-white / ref TCX 11-0602 |
| Supplier | [Tannery name], ref #### |
| Consumption | 0.8 sq ft/pair |
| Unit price | $2.10/sq ft |
| MOQ | 200 sq ft |
| Lead time | 21 days |
| Notes | Nap direction toward toe |
Every line. Including thread, adhesive, eyelets, laces, aglets, backers, toe puff, counter, boards, foams, sockliner, labels, packaging. A first-shoe BOM runs 35–60 lines. If yours has 15, it’s incomplete.
Writing specs that can’t be misread
Compare:
❌ “Suede quarter panel in cream.”
✅ “Line 04 · Quarter panel, lateral & medial · pig suede, 1.4–1.6mm, chrome tanned, LWG-audited tannery · colour to match approved lab dip LD-03 dated 12 Mar, off-white · nap direction toward toe · backed with non-woven scrim, 60 g/m² · edges raw cut, no folding.”
The second cannot produce a surprise. Aim for that register throughout.
Version control
- Every tech pack is
BRAND_STYLE_V##_YYYYMMDD.pdf. - Never send an updated section separately. Reissue the whole pack with a bumped version and a revision-history entry.
- The factory quotes against a version number. When the version changes, the quote may change — expect and accept this.
Sending it
Your first send should include a short cover email that states: the construction, the sole mold number, the target FOB, the intended first order quantity and size run, your target delivery date, and a request for a quotation plus their technical feedback on anything they’d change to reduce cost or risk. That last request routinely saves 5–15% and surfaces problems early.
Do this
1 · Assemble the pack (14h). Build all 17 sections for your chosen design. Use the skeleton in Templates. This is the biggest single documentation effort of the curriculum. Budget the time honestly.
2 · Complete the BOM (5h). Expand BOM v1 from Module 6 into a full 35–60 line document with real suppliers, prices and MOQs where you have them, and clearly marked TBC where you don’t.
3 · Adversarial read (3h). Read your own pack as if you were a factory technician trying to build it as cheaply as possible while technically complying. Every place you could cut a corner without violating the spec is a hole. Close them.
4 · External read (2h). Send it to someone who knows footwear — a factory contact, someone from a footwear forum or Discord, a designer you’ve cold-emailed. Ask specifically: “What’s missing that you’d have to ask me about?” Log every question as a defect.
5 · Outreach block (1h).
Deliverable. BRAND_STYLE_V01_[date].pdf — a complete 17-section tech pack, plus the BOM as a live spreadsheet, plus a defect log from the adversarial and external reads.
Self-check
- What are the 17 sections and why does the revision history matter?
- How many lines should a first-shoe BOM have?
- Rewrite “black mesh vamp” as a proper spec line.
- What is section 17 for, strategically?
- Why do you reissue the whole pack rather than sending a revised page?
Traps
Specifying by brand name you can’t buy. “Boost midsole,” “Vibram gum” — if you haven’t confirmed availability and price at your volume, don’t spec it.
Leaving colour to words. “Cream,” “off-white,” “bone” mean nothing. Use a physical standard: a Pantone TCX reference plus an approved physical lab dip.
Under-specifying packaging. It’s a real cost, a real lead time, and the first thing the customer touches. Module 21 covers it, but reserve the section now.