CM to Full Package: The Manufacturing Upgrade Ladder

Clothing manufacturing breaks a garment into many sub-operations, cutting, sewing, finishing, that vary with equipment, methods, and skill. But the real value in apparel sits in design, branding, and marketing, which brand owners keep while outsourcing the making. As a factory takes on more of the chain, it "upgrades" up a ladder from pure cut-and-make to owning its own brand. Knowing where a supplier sits tells you what it supplies and who carries the risk.

The package ladder

Each rung adds responsibility (and ownership) to the factory:

Rung	Factory supplies	Buyer supplies	Owns product?
CM (Cut and Make)	Cutting, operators, machines	Fabric, findings, patterns, product dev	No
CMT (Cut, Make, Trim)	Cutting, operators, machines, trims	Fabric, findings, patterns, product dev	No
HPP (Half Package)	Pattern dev → production (everything except fabric)	Fabric only	-
FPP (Full Package)	Material sourcing, pattern dev, samples, operators, machines, trims	(Approvals)	Yes

CM cuts from buyer patterns and sews; the buyer owns the goods.
CMT is CM plus supplying the trims; still buyer-owned.
HPP does everything FPP does except source the fabric, which the buyer supplies.
FPP sources materials, develops patterns, makes and ships approval samples, and assembles, carrying the greatest financial responsibility and owning the product.

These package factories are collectively OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers): they make to the customer's specification and design, often on customer-nominated materials, handling sourcing, financing, production, finishing, and packing.