Product development can be broadly divided into 5 Steps:
1. Designing - this involves creating design from initial mood boards and style references and transforming those designs into a technical specification document (tech pack) that could be understood by a broader range of stakeholders including your suppliers.
2. Sampling - this involves creating initial samples, size sets and final samples.
3. Material options - Depending upon your product category, your supplier can create multiple combination of products and provide different fabric swatches as reference for you to figure out
4. Packaging and labelling - most brands ignore this step but if you are looking to create a great brand recall, you must work on packaging and label and ensure that your brand stands out
5. Understanding true costs - this is the stage where you actually get the real cost and it is very important that you have a transparent and honest conversation with your supplier.
6. Timelines : Set production milestones and get everything agreed upon in writing.
7. Quality : Agree upon quality standards and chargebacks and refunds during the sampling stage before you place a production order.