Count by length, not by ski model
At the desk, staff do not care which ski a strap came off. They care that the short strap fits the kids’ fleet and the long one fits the 170s. Order by length band and put the band on the carton, and the counting problem disappears.
Two length bands cover most European rental fleets. Add a third only if the shop also rents race stock with a wide waist.
Colour is inventory control
One colour per length band turns a pile of straps into a countable stack. Printed fleet codes on the band do the same job for the shop that mixes lengths in one bin. Neither costs much at production, and both save a full stock count in January.
| Field | What to specify |
|---|---|
| Length bands | Two or three, with the ski length range each one covers |
| Colour | One colour per band, plus a neutral colour for spares |
| Marking | Fleet code printed on the band, not on a tag that tears off |
| Packing | Carton marked with band and quantity, counted at the desk |
| Repeat order | Same construction, so no second sample round mid-season |
Cartons that can be counted without opening
A rental order usually arrives in the week before the season opens, when nobody has time to open thirty boxes. Ask for the band and the quantity printed on two sides of the carton, and a poly bag count that matches the carton count. It is a packing instruction, not a product change.
Re-ordering in January
Fleets always lose more than they planned. A repeat order on an unchanged construction goes to the line without sampling again, because the spec, print file and packing artwork are already on file. A change of colour or width is a revision and is quoted as one, so keep the seasonal order on one construction.
One paragraph for the purchase order
Write the length bands, the colour per band, the fleet marking, the carton count and the delivery window. That paragraph is enough to quote and to produce; everything else is a preference that can wait for the next season.