How to Take Sizes for 200 Pairs Without Wasting 30

The mistake that repeats every year

"We need 200 pairs: 40 in size 25, 60 in 26, 60 in 27, 40 in 28." That email reaches Tijuana suppliers every January and always produces the same result: some numbers are left over, others fall short, and between 20 and 30 pairs end up in the warehouse waiting for someone who never comes.

The problem is not the estimate. It is that a person's foot is not estimated.

When you measure matters as much as how

The foot swells during the day. A size taken at seven in the morning and one taken at the end of the shift can differ by half a size, and that half size is exactly the blister.

Measurement is done at the end of the shift, or at least after several hours on the feet. And with the sock the person actually wears in the plant, not the thin sock they happened to wear on measuring day.

If the worker uses an orthopedic insole, measure with it in place. It changes the internal volume and it changes the size.

A named list, not ranges

The correct format is one row per person: name, payroll number, position, area, size and model. That enables three things a range does not.

First, delivery with individual acknowledgement, which is what the EHS file needs. Second, replenishment without re-measuring the whole plant. Third, spotting patterns: if a whole area shifted sizes, the sock or the model probably changed, and that is worth knowing.

Extreme sizes fail the most

Every headcount has people outside the middle of the curve: very small, very large, very wide feet, or a difference between feet. Those are the people who have spent years wearing footwear that does not fit, because the general order never accounted for them.

In the fitting visit they get identified first. If a different model or a special size is needed, it is detected before the order is issued, not three weeks later.

Keep stock for new hires

Every plant hires during the year. If the order closes exactly on January's headcount, every March start comes in without footwear or waits for the next cycle.

The solution is simple: set aside a percentage of replacement sizes from the first order, calculated on last year's actual turnover. It is the difference between a program and an annual purchase.

What we bring to a fitting visit

A foot measuring device, the sample range of recommended models and try-on sizes across the full range, so people can fit before the order is placed. The list comes out signed the same day.

It is one morning of work and it eliminates the 10 to 15 % waste the range method produces.