A salesman sample is a finished garment sample that a brand shows to buyers and retailers so they can place orders before bulk production starts. It is the sample used for selling, not for checking fit or construction.
Once a style is developed and approved, the brand asks the supplier for a small run of salesman samples, made in the colourways planned for the collection. These samples go to showrooms, trade fairs and sales appointments, where buyers see and handle the product and decide what to order. The order quantities that come back then feed the bulk production plan.
Salesman samples have to be ready on time and look like the product that will ship, because the selling calendar does not move. A late or wrong sample can cost a brand orders before production has begun. Brands therefore need to know which styles and colourways have been requested, who is making them, and when they are due, without chasing suppliers across email threads.
In Delogue, each style has a Sample Request sub-tab where brands ask suppliers for samples, using sample types set up in Admin, so a salesman sample can be requested as its own type. Requests, due dates and feedback stay linked to the style, and reporting shows sample status and approaching deadlines in one place. See the core features of Delogue PLM.