The repeat order arrives and the colour is not the same

Dyeing produces variation. Every manufacturer knows this and every customer is told it. The dispute is never about whether variation exists; it is about whether this delivery is within tolerance of the last one.

The unanswerable question

A customer says the repeat does not match. Without a record of which lot they originally received, the manufacturer cannot compare anything, and the conversation becomes about who is being reasonable.

Lot against dispatch

Recording which lot went to which customer costs a field at dispatch and settles almost every subsequent argument. It also makes it possible to fill a repeat from the same lot where stock allows, which avoids the problem entirely.

Retaining the reference

A physical shade reference per lot, indexed to the lot number, turns a subjective disagreement into a comparison. Manufacturers who keep these tend to have shorter disputes and better relationships with demanding customers.