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If you're under 15 tech packs per season, you might want to wait until you scale.
But don't guess. Calculate.
I spent $20,000 annually on manual tech pack creation for a fashion client. We implemented automation for $1,200/year.
Savings: $18,800 annually. ROI: 1,503%. Payback: 23 days.
But here's the thing; those numbers only made sense after we calculated them. Before that, my client kept saying "$1,200 sounds expensive for software."
This calculator shows you what automation actually saves you vs what you're spending now on manual processes.
When I ask fashion founders "How much do tech packs cost you?", they usually say something like:
"I don't know, maybe $100-200 each? My designer handles it."
Then we actually calculate it:
Designer time: 5 hours per tech pack at $25/hour = $125
Revision cycles: 2-3 rounds averaging 2 hours total = $50
Manufacturer back-and-forth: 1 hour = $25
Actual cost per tech pack: $200
For a 30-piece collection: $6,000 in direct labor
But that's just what shows up on payroll.
Your designer spent 150 hours (5 hours × 30 tech packs) on administrative work instead of actual design.
At $25/hour, that's $3,750 in designer time that could've been spent on:
Creating new designs
Trend research
Customer feedback analysis
Improving product quality
Opportunity cost: $3,750-7,500 (depending on what else they could've accomplished)
One unclear measurement in a tech pack. The manufacturer interprets it wrong. They produce 500 units with incorrect sleeve length.
Real example from my client:
Reproduction cost: $8,500
Delayed launch: 3 weeks of peak selling season
Lost revenue estimate: $25,000
Error cost for one mistake: $33,500
If manual tech packs have a 5% error rate (1-2 mistakes per 30-piece collection), you're looking at potential losses of $15,000-30,000 per season.
Automation typically reduces errors to under 0.5%.
Savings from error reduction: $14,000-29,000 per season
Going from 30 pieces to 60 pieces per collection?
Manual approach:
Hire another designer ($50,000/year)
Or overwork current team (burnout risk)
Or bottleneck production (miss market windows)
Automated approach:
Software scales without linear cost increase
Same $1,200/year handles 60 tech packs just as easily as 30
Scalability savings: $50,000/year when you need to double output
Manual tech pack creation for a 30-piece collection: 150 hours over 4-6 weeks
Automated tech pack creation: 20-30 hours over 1 week
You launch 3-5 weeks earlier.
In fashion, timing is everything. Getting to market 1 month earlier during peak season can mean 20-40% higher sales.
For a collection targeting $100,000 in revenue, that's $20,000-40,000 in additional sales.
Time-to-market value: $20,000-40,000 per collection
The calculator I built factors in all four hidden costs, not just direct labor.
1. Current Process Metrics:
Number of tech packs per season
Hours per tech pack (manual)
Hourly rate for whoever creates them
Revision cycles per tech pack
Current error rate (estimate 3-5% for manual)
2. Production Costs:
Average production cost per style
Number of units per style
This helps calculate error cost impact
3. Revenue Metrics:
Target revenue per collection
Peak season timing importance
This calculates time-to-market value
4. Automation Costs:
Software subscription or tool cost
Setup/training time investment
This shows your break-even point
Annual Labor Cost (Current State): Shows what you're actually spending on tech pack creation including revisions and back-and-forth.
Annual Error Cost: Estimates cost of manufacturing errors based on your error rate and production volume.
Opportunity Cost: Values the designer time freed up for higher-value work.
Time-to-Market Improvement: Quantifies revenue impact of launching faster.
Total Annual Cost (Manual): Sum of all four factors; your real current cost.
Automation Investment: Shows annual cost of automation tools.
Annual Savings: Manual cost minus automation cost.
ROI Percentage: How much return you get on automation investment.
Payback Period: How many days/months until automation pays for itself.
5-Year Projection: Shows compounding savings over time.
Let me walk you through my actual client's calculation:
Current Process:
47 tech packs per year (two collections)
5 hours per tech pack
$25/hour designer rate
2 revision cycles averaging 1.5 hours
5% error rate
Manual Labor Cost:
Initial creation: 47 × 5 hours × $25 = $5,875
Revisions: 47 × 1.5 hours × $25 = $1,763
Total labor: $7,638/year
Error Cost:
Production value: $175,000/year
Error rate: 5%
Error cost: $8,750/year
Opportunity Cost: Designer freed up: 305 hours/year Value of that time in actual design work: $7,625-15,000/year Conservative estimate: $7,625/year
Time-to-Market: Launch 4 weeks earlier with automation Peak season revenue impact: ~15% increase Target revenue: $200,000/season Time-to-market value: $30,000/year
Total Manual Cost: $53,013/year
Automation Cost:
Software: $1,200/year
Setup time: 20 hours at $25/hour = $500 one-time
First year: $1,700
Ongoing: $1,200/year
Results:
Annual savings: $51,313
ROI: 3,018%
Payback: 12 days
5-year savings: $255,065
My client almost didn't do it because "$1,200 sounds expensive."
After seeing these numbers, they realized they were spending $53K annually to avoid a $1.2K subscription.
Sometimes the numbers don't work out. The calculator will show you this too.
Example: Small Brand
8 tech packs per season
3 hours per tech pack
$20/hour rate
Low production volume ($15,000/season)
Manual cost:
Labor: 8 × 3 × $20 = $480
Errors: ~$750 (5% of $15,000)
Opportunity cost: Minimal (only 24 hours)
Time-to-market: Limited impact at this scale Total: ~$1,800/year
Automation cost: $1,200/year
Savings: $600/year ROI: 50% Payback: 2+ years
Not worth it yet. Better to wait until you're doing 15-20+ tech packs per season.
The calculator tells you this. That's why it's honest.
Based on dozens of brand calculations, here's when automation makes sense:
30+ tech packs per season
4+ hours per tech pack
$25+/hour labor rate
Production value > $100K/season
Typical payback: 1-3 months
15-30 tech packs per season
3-5 hours per tech pack
$20+/hour labor rate
Production value > $50K/season
Typical payback: 3-6 months
Under 15 tech packs per season
Under 3 hours per tech pack
Low production volume
Limited error impact
Typical payback: 12+ months
Wait until you scale to 20+ tech packs per season, then recalculate.
Track one collection:
Count total tech packs created
Time yourself creating 3-5 tech packs (get average)
Count revision rounds per tech pack
Note manufacturing errors (unclear specs causing issues)
Calculate costs:
Hourly rate (include benefits, not just base pay)
Production costs per style
Revenue per collection
This takes 30-60 minutes of data gathering. Worth it to get accurate numbers.
Open the Tech Pack ROI Calculator
Fill in:
Volume section (tech packs per season)
Time section (hours per tech pack, revision time)
Cost section (hourly rates, production costs)
Revenue section (collection revenue, season importance)
The calculator auto-fills the rest.
Look at these numbers specifically:
Total Annual Cost (Manual): This is what tech packs actually cost you. Most brands are shocked by this number.
Annual Savings: This is what automation saves you annually.
ROI Percentage: Over 300%? Automate immediately. 100-300%? Automate within next season. Under 100%? Wait and grow, then recalculate.
Payback Period: Under 3 months? No-brainer. 3-6 months? Strong case. 6-12 months? Consider your cash flow. Over 12 months? Wait until you scale.
If ROI is over 300% (typical for 25+ tech packs/season):
Stop reading. Go implement automation. You're bleeding money every day you delay.
If ROI is 100-300%:
Calculate how much runway you have. If you can afford the upfront cost and wait 3-6 months for payback, do it. The savings compound.
If ROI is under 100%:
Wait. Focus on growing to 20+ tech packs per season. Check back in 6-12 months.
Most brands only calculate: Tech packs × Hours × Rate
They miss errors, opportunity cost, and time-to-market value.
Result: They think tech packs cost $5,000 when they actually cost $20,000+.
$20/hour base pay ≠ $20/hour cost to company.
Add:
Payroll taxes (7.65%)
Benefits (~20-30%)
Overhead (~15%)
$20/hour base = ~$27-30/hour true cost
Use the true cost in your calculation.
"We're only doing 15 tech packs now, so automation isn't worth it."
But you're planning to do 30 next season. And 50 the season after.
Manual scaling cost:
15 tech packs: 1 designer ($50K/year)
30 tech packs: 2 designers ($100K/year)
50 tech packs: 3 designers ($150K/year)
Automation scaling cost:
15, 30, or 50 tech packs: $1,200/year
The ROI gets better as you scale.
"We rarely have manufacturing errors."
Then one $8,500 reproduction wipes out 7 years of potential automation savings.
Even if errors are rare, the cost when they happen is massive. Factor in at least 2-3% error rate conservatively.
My client's experience 6 months after implementing automation:
Time savings: Tech pack creation: 5 hours → 45 minutes (90% reduction) Revision cycles: Nearly eliminated (specs are clearer) Total time saved: 220 hours per collection
Error reduction: Manufacturing errors: 5% → 0.5% (90% reduction) Zero reproductions needed in 6 months Manufacturer relationship improved (they appreciate clear specs)
Capacity increase: Designer freed up for 220 hours per collection Used that time to:
Design 8 additional styles
Improve fabric sourcing
Research trend forecasting
Revenue impact: Launched 3 weeks earlier than previous season Hit peak selling window perfectly Revenue increased 22% (not all due to automation, but timing helped)
Unexpected benefits:
Faster manufacturer onboarding (standard format)
Easier to work with multiple manufacturers
Better quality control (consistent documentation)
Easier to train new team members
They wish they'd done it two years earlier.
Most ROI calculators show:
Simple payback period
Basic cost vs savings
This calculator shows:
Labor displacement value
Error reduction savings
Opportunity cost quantified
Time-to-market revenue impact
Scalability cost avoided
5-year projection
Break-even analysis
Why the difference matters:
Simple calculator says: "Save $5,000/year, pay $1,200 = 4x ROI"
This calculator says: "Save $51,000/year (including hidden costs), pay $1,200 = 42x ROI"
That's the difference between "maybe worth it" and "implement immediately."
Don't guess at whether tech pack automation is worth it. Calculate it based on your actual numbers.
Tech Pack Automation ROI Calculator
Takes 3 minutes. Shows you:
What tech packs actually cost you now
What automation saves you annually
Your ROI percentage and payback period
Whether you should automate now or wait
Most brands discover they're spending 10-20x more than they think on manual tech pack creation.
My client thought tech packs cost them $6,000/year. Calculator showed $53,000/year.
That's a $47,000 difference. Hard to make good decisions without accurate numbers.
If your ROI is over 300%:
Download your calculator results
Research tech pack automation tools
Compare features vs your needs
Implement within next 30 days
Track actual vs projected savings
If your ROI is 100-300%:
Evaluate cash flow and runway
Consider phased implementation
Start with highest-volume collection
Measure results before expanding
If your ROI is under 100%:
Save your calculator results
Set reminder for 6 months
Focus on scaling to 20+ tech packs/season
Recalculate once you hit that volume
Q: What if I don't know my exact error rate?
Use 3-5% as conservative estimate for manual processes. Most fashion brands experience 2-8% error rate depending on complexity and communication quality.
Q: Should I include freelance designer costs or just full-time staff?
Include both. If you're paying freelancers $35-75/hour for tech pack creation, that's your input number. The calculator works for any labor structure.
Q: What counts as "opportunity cost"?
Any higher-value work your designer could do instead of tech pack creation. Designing new styles, improving existing products, trend research, customer feedback analysis. Use their hourly rate as minimum value.
Q: Do I need to automate all tech packs at once?
No. Start with one collection, measure results, then expand. The calculator shows annual savings, but you can implement gradually.
Q: What if my production is overseas?
Automation often helps more with international manufacturing because clearer specs reduce communication errors across time zones and language barriers.
Q: Can I use this calculator for other types of automation?
The principles work for any labor-intensive, repetitive process. Adjust the input categories to match your specific automation opportunity.
Most fashion brands wait too long to automate tech packs because they're guessing at costs instead of calculating them.
They see the $1,200/year subscription and think "that sounds expensive" without realizing they're spending $20,000-50,000 annually on manual processes.
Use the calculator. See your real numbers. Make a data-driven decision.
If you're doing 25+ tech packs per season, you're almost certainly spending enough to justify automation immediately.
If you're under 15 tech packs per season, you might want to wait until you scale.
But don't guess. Calculate.
Get Your Real Numbers: Tech Pack ROI Calculator