Garment technology is a broad based subject because it combines a number of individual

technologies, with each making a specialized contribution to the production of garment. The
apparel industry is very diverse in nature and along with textile industries, it forms a complex
combination of performing heterogeneous functions of transforming fiber into yarn and then
to fabric. It is one of the oldest and largest industry providing ample employment
opportunities and it exemplifies the growth in global manufacturing. This industry is very
versatile in nature and offers the world with a choice of garments ranging from mass market
to high end fashion. This industry follows a combination of functional and line type of
organization. Garment manufacturing process includes number of processes from order
receiving to dispatching shipment of the finished garments. Apparel manufacturing flow chart
helps understand a garment manufacturing method that how the raw materials are converted
into the wearable garments. The main task for a garment manufacturer is to produce shell
structures out of flat fabrics to match the shape of human body. 
Production Processes in Garment Manufacturing
When we talk about garment manufacturing, we mostly cover bulk production processes.
This whole process are divided into three parts – PRE-PRODUCTION, PRODUCTION,
POST-PRODUCTION.

Pre-production process-

The processes that are done prior to the start of bulk garment production are known as pre-
production process. It involves - Meeting with buyers, sample development, approvals,
research and development work for orders, costing of garment, fit sample and size set sample
making and approval from buyer, testing of raw material to pre-production meeting are pre-
production process. Pre-production processes are very important for the efficient production. 
Production process –
Garment production is an organized activity consisting of sequential processes such as laying,
marking, cutting, stitching, checking, finishing, pressing and packaging. This is a process of
converting raw materials into finished products. It will be difficult to maintain the industry if
production is not, up to the mark if the preproduction phase of preparation of material is not
properly carried out.

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Apparel manufacturing process involves - Product Design, Fabric Selection and Inspection,
Patternmaking, Grading, Marking, Spreading, Cutting, Bundling, Sewing, Pressing or
Folding, Finishing and Detailing, Dyeing and Washing etc.

Post – production process -

This is the last stage in garment manufacturing process which is done after pre –production
and production process.

It involves – Garment finishing, inspection, testing, and packaging.

All these process performed by different departments in a factory.

Different departments or sections in an apparel industry are given below:

1. Merchandising
2. Sampling department
3. Fabric sourcing
4. Purchasing department
5. Fabric inspection department
6. Accessory stores department
7. Planning department
8. Laboratory department
9. Machine maintenance
10. CAD section
11. Cutting section
12. Production department
13. Industrial engineering section (IE)
14. Embroidery department
15. Fabric washing section
16. Quality assurance department
17. Finishing department

Function of the Different Departments in Apparel Industry:

Functions of the all sections of garment manufacturing industry are described briefly:

Merchandising:
It is a vital process that involves planning, developing, executing and dispatching the order
(product) to the buyer. The merchandising process comprises guiding and supervising for the
successful processing of an order. The types of merchandising done in a garment unit are
marketing merchandising and product merchandising.

The main objective of marketing merchandising is development of product, costing and

ordering, and it has direct contact with the buyer. Product merchandising is carried out in the
respective apparel unit and involves all the responsibilities starting from sourcing to

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finishing.

Sampling department:
The sampling department coordinates with the merchandising and production department. It
is carried out to foresee finished product appearance and fit when produced in bulk and to
confirm whether there are any inconsistencies in the pattern according to the buyer’s
specification. It also aids to determine the fabric consumption along with that of thread and
other accessories used.

Fabric sourcing:
Fabric sourcing is mainly engaged in deciding where and how the fabrics have to be
procured. It works in conjunction with the merchandising department and looks after the
delivery of the required garments within the scheduled time and cost.

Purchasing department:
The main difference between the sourcing and purchasing department is that the sourcing
section works for sourcing the fabrics alone whereas the nature of the work of the purchasing
department comprises sourcing of accessories and trims as well.

Fabric inspection department:

The main aims of fabric inspection team are

1. Identification and analysis of fabric defects using various standard methods.

2. Selection of fabric according to AQL (accepted quality level)

Accessory stores department:

The receipt of the raw materials or the accessories is normally completed in terms of
documents that are received from the merchants.

Production planning department:

Upon receipt of the orders from the merchants, preproduction meetings with the departments
have to be done. After that, the production department will assign the style to the specific line
that has the capacity to complete it on time. The planning section then carries out the
estimation and planning of order quantity, plan cut date (PCD), breakup of order, operation
breakdown, etc. based on the particular unit.

Laboratory department:
The laboratory or testing center in the industry should be equipped with all the essential
instruments that are mandatory for the testing of fabric and accessories. If the facility for
specific tests mentioned by the buyer is not available in the industry, it should be sent to
external laboratories that are authorized by the buyers.

Machine maintenance:

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Undesirable quality of garments mostly results from ill-maintained machines. Breakdown and
preventive maintenance is mainly aimed toward reducing the downtime and increasing
lifetime, respectively.

CAD section:
Normally, large-scale garment industries have their own designing department for various
garment styles. The CAD department is accountable for the following functions:
 Determining cutting average for costing
 Making the most efficient cutting marker
 Development and alteration of patterns
 Development of size set pattern by grading
 Digitizing the pattern
Cutting section:
The cutting department normally receives the order from the production manager who has
approved the cutting order to cut a given quantity of garment styles. The cutting order sheet
contains the following information:
 Sampling average, garment weight and averages of other trims
 Measurement sheet
 Design of the garment
 Purchase order
 Fabric request sheet
 Marker planning – length of lay, etc., size ratio and colors in which the patterns are
to be cut
Production department:
The production department will obtain the details like
 The garment style
 Number of operators required
 The batch for which the style has to be installed
 Target for each day
 Breakup of the production quantity
After receipt of all of the above details, the production department sends a request from the
cutting section for the cut parts. After assembling of the components, a line check has to be
done where the shade matching and the measurements are checked.

Industrial engineering section:

This department is comparatively new addition in apparel industry. It coordinates with
several departments since this department provides the entire plan of the garment
manufacturing and the thread and trims consumption criteria, operator’s skill level
categorization and other related aspects.

Embroidery department:
It comes into play only when the particular garment style demands. It receives the garment

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panel, style and the embroidery details from the merchandisers and they will also get a
sample of the garment on which the embroidery has been already done and it will be used as
a reference sample.

Fabric washing section:

After the completion of assembling and inspection process, the garments are sent to the
washing department for the washing or finishing that is required for the particular style
according to the specification sheet.

Quality assurance department:

To maintain and control the quality, the quality assurance department divides the work into
different stages of manufacturing, which are categorized into three major groups such as
preproduction unit, cutting audit and sewing unit.

Finishing department:
The finishing department is the last section in the garment production prior to packing and
dispatch and it plays a significant role in the final garment appearance. It involves the
following processes.
1. Trimming: It removes the extra threads from the garment at the stitched areas.
2. Inspection: The inspection is done as per the AQL 2.5 system and mainly depends
on the buyer requirements.
3. Pressing: This is carried out after the garment has been inspected completely and
the garments are pressed or finished based on the method of their folding during
packing.
4. Tagging section: After the completion of fabric inspection and pressing, they are
sent for labelling, which includes the size labels, price tags and miscellaneous labels if
any are mentioned in the specification sheet.
5. Packing: The packing is done in the carton boxes. Individual packing of garments
in the poly bag and folding the garments and organizing them in the carton boxes
without placing them in the poly bag are the two types of packing followed in the
garment industry.
References:
1. Apparel Machinery and Equipments by R.Rathinamoorthy and R. Surjit
2. Carr and Latham's Technology of Clothing Manufacture, 4th Edition revised by
David J. Tyler
3. Apparel Manufacturing Technology by T. Karthik, P. Ganesan, D. Gopalakrishnan
4. Garment Manufacturing Technology Edited by Rajkishore Nayak and Rajiv Padhye
5. The Apparel Industry by Richard M. Jones
6. Cooklin's Garment Technology for Fashion Designers 2nd Edition by Steve Hayes,
John McLoughlin and Dorothy Fairclough .

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Time and Action Calendar or TNA, a popular tool used in apparel manufacturing industry is a
technique for tracking and following up of important milestones in pre-production processes
to ensure timely delivery within stipulated delivery date. Garment pre-production and
merchandising functions are characterized by people in an organization doing multiple
activities. While some of the activities are dependent and follow each other, a few others are
independent. Every garment company takes enormous care during the planning of an order.
Every little detail is interwoven into the planning system. Making a TNA Calendar is not just
entering activity names and duration in tabular forms; it is also about scientifically working-
out the activity duration, logically determining the preceding and succeeding activities. Time
and action calendar consist of the short term and long term plans so carefully laid out.

A time and action calendar is a most effective communication tool that proves it to be useful
to this task. The chart consists of time frames listed for every action planned (major ones) and
these actions need to be earned out on time. The purpose of TNA is to cross check at frequent
intervals, say, once a week, whether the planning is being executed satisfactorily. The more
frequent the checks, the easier it is to correct deviations. TNA is especially useful when a
buyer wants to know the status of execution of an order.

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 TIME AND ACTION CALENDER
Buyer XYZ Order Qty. 10000 Ex factory date (on PO)
Style 123 Merchant DKP Ex factory date (as per 21July,2020
plan)
Style Men’s formal Received Delivery date
description shirt date
NO. ACTIVITY PLANNED ACTUAL REMARKS
DATE DATE

1 Buyers enquiry and specification (Proto 1-01-2020

kit) receives
2 Pattern is made according to 4-01-2020
specification
3 Proto sample submission 9-01-2020
4 Proto sample approval 29-01-2020
5 Order confirmation 29-01-2020
6 Trims and Art work sent for approval 13-02-2020
7 Lab dip sent for approval 13-02-2020
8 Request for sample of trims and fabric 30-01-2020
sent
9 Sample lot of trims entered into store 19-02-2020
10 Sample lot of finished fabric (yardage) 21-02-2020
entered into store
11 Meeting with sampling and all other 19-02-2020
departments
12 Fit samples sent to buyer 26-02-2020
13 Approval of fit sample 23-03-2020
14 Sales man samples sent to buyer 26-02-2020
15 Approval of sales man sample 23-03-2020
16 P.O. raised by buyer 24-03-2020
17 Trims and Art work approved 16-03-2020
18 Approval of Lab-dip 21-03-2020
19 P.O. raised for fabric and trims by 27-03-2020
merchandiser/sourcing team

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 20 FPT sent to buyer 01-04-2020
21 Approval of FPT 15-04-2020
22 Ad/photo shoot samples sent to buyer 28-02-2020
23 Approval of Ad/photoshoot 23-03-2020
24 All fabric inhouse 4-05-2020
25 All trims inhouse 2-05-2020
26 Fabric and trim quality and quantity 6-05-2010
measured
27 Size set samples sent to buyer 9-05-2020

28 Approval of size set sample 26-05-2020

29 GPT submitted to buyer 9-05-2020
30 GPT approved by buyer 31-05-2020
31 Planned cut date 1-06-2020
32 Cut panels sent to embroidery 2-06-2020
33 Embroidery completed 8-06-2020
34 Pilot run 4-06-2020
35 Pre-production meeting 7-06-2020
36 PP samples sent to buyer 4-06-2020
37 Approval of PP sample 13-06-2020
38 Production start date 16-06-2020
39 TOP samples sent to buyer 18-06-2020
40 TOP samples approval 22-06-2020
41 Production end date 16-07-2020
42 Finishing and packaging start 18-06-2020
43 Finishing and packaging completed 19-07-2020
44 Buyer Quality Audit 20-07-2020
45 Shipment sample sent to buyer 20-07-2020
46 Ex factory 21-07-2020
*All dates given are assuming Sunday as weekly holiday.

1. Sampling:
Sampling is the most crucial task and hence need to plan in TNA very carefully, some
sampling stages are very important so any deviation or delay in that will affect the whole
TNA.

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 No Key activities Planned date
3 Proto sample submission 9-01-2020
4 Proto sample approval 29-01-2020
5 Order confirmation 29-01-2020
12 Fit samples sent to buyer 26-02-2020
13 Approval of fit sample 23-03-2020
14 Sales man samples sent to buyer 26-02-2020
15 Approval of sales man sample 23-03-2020
16 P.O. raised by buyer 24-03-2020

TABLE -1

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 Proto sample: The submission of proto sample totally depends upon buyer’s enquiry date. Any
delay in proto submission or approval will affect order conformation date, which will subsequently
affect the submission of fabric development and fit sample, as without proto approval it’s impossible
to proceed further. In sample TNA it is shown that the planned proto submission date is 09-01-2020
and planned approval date is 29-01-2020, i.e. 19 working days are kept for proto sample approval.

Fit sample: After approval of proto sample manufacturer starts working on fit sample, that
needs to submit exactly at planned date. Any delay in fit sample submission will cause the
delay in P.O., size set sample submission. Fit sample must submit within 45 days of proto
approval as to get the sample of bulk fabric it takes 20-25 working days to get in-house;
hence after approval of proto sample i.e. on 29-01-2020, the planned fit sample submission
date is 26-02-2020. Sometimes fabric suppliers are nominated by buyer or buyer will supply
the fabric in either case it may not take more time. Hence, in time and action calendar
approximate 1 month gap is shown between proto sample approval and fit sample
submission. Buyer must give the comments on fit sample within 7 days. Any delay from
buyer side will directly affect the further process.  To make fit sample process to complete
within time period, the planned approval date for fit is 23-03-2020 i.e. 31 days is kept
deliberately between first fit submission and approval, in order to accommodate failures and
re submissions of fit sample.
AD/Photo shoot/Salesman sample: These samples are generally submitted parallel with fit
sample. The same period is allotted to salesman sample i.e. 21 working days in TNA. These
samples mainly used for advertising or for visual merchandising or by sales man to collect
the order from retailers; hence from buyer’s perspective, timely submission of these samples
is very important. Order size mainly depends on this sample and any delay or quality issue in
sample can reduce the order size. Sometimes buyer may ask more number of samples e.g.
100 pieces, in that case merchandiser must keep in mind the capacity of sampling room, time
required to complete the demand of buyer, style complexity and  buyers submission date
while making the TNA.

TABLE - 2

No Activity Planned date

27 Size set samples sent to buyer 9-05-2020
28 Approval of size set sample 26-05-2020
29 GPT submitted to buyer 9-05-2020
30 GPT approved by buyer 31-05-2020
31 Planned cut date 1-06-2020

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 32 Cut panels sent to embroidery 2-06-2020
33 Embroidery completed 8-06-2020
34 Pilot run 4-06-2020
35 Pre-production meeting 7-06-2020
36 PP samples sent to buyer 4-06-2020
37 Approval of PP sample 13-06-2020
38 Production start date 16-06-2020
39 TOP samples sent to buyer 18-06-2020

Size-set sample: This stage of sampling is most important, without size set approval bulk
fabric for production should not be cut in order to accommodate any changes by the buyer in
the bulk production. So, any delay in size set sample will directly affect PCD and
subsequently affect the shipment date. Size set sample need to submit with actual bulk fabric,
hence for timely submission of size set sample merchandiser should make sure that all bulk
fabric should be in-house well in advance of size set submission date. To avoid the delay, as
soon as bulk trims and fabrics are get in-house within 3 days size-set sample can be produced
and submitted to buyer for approval. As per TNA, in table no. 2, planned submission date of
the size-set sample is on 09-05-2020 and expected approval is on 26-05-2020 i.e.16 working
days  are kept for completion of size set sample approval process.
GPT sample: Before submission of PP sample it is very necessary that Garment
Performance Test should be cleared from buyer. This sample sent to either third party
inspection or in-house testing lab. While preparing the TNA merchandiser must keep in mind
that test results should get approved from buyer well in advance of PP meeting. For approval
of GPT 20 days are kept in TNA to deal with any delay in the process. Further, to avoid the
delay in submission of PP sample and PCD, GPT is happening along with Size-set sample i.e.
from 09-05-2020 to 31-05-2020.
Pilot-run: Before going for actual production pilot run is carried out, in order to see the
complications in actual production and to give the sufficient time for learning curve of
operator on sewing floor. In TNA preparation one day is kept for pilot run for smoother and
uninterrupted production. As soon as first few lots are cut, make sure that they will
immediately send for embroidery. Hence cut panels are available on time for pilot run. In
sample TNA PCD is on 01-06-2020 while pilot run is planned on 04-06-2020, i.e. one day
gap is kept for embroidery of cut panels for pilot run.  Pilot run can be conducted before or
after PP Meeting.
Pre-production (PP) meeting and sample: Preproduction meeting is very necessary part of
any export order processing; hence merchandiser keeps one day only conducting PP meeting,
in order to discuss the expected difficulties during production. Any delay in this meeting or if
more obstacles are there to solve in production will directly affect the PCD and ultimately
results in shipment delay.
PP sample need to submit within 10 days after approval of size-set and GPT samples. As
without approval of PP sample production should not start.To maintain the PCD
merchandiser should be very careful while preparation of TNA for PP sample. PP sample is

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normally pooled out from pilot-run, hence submission date for PP sample is 04-06-2020 and
approval date is 13-06-2020 i.e. 8 working days gap is kept for PP sample.
Top of production sample:  As soon as production starts and first few pieces are come out
of line TOP sample need to submit to buyer. It’s very crucial stage where merchandiser must
keep in mind that by any reason TOP sample get rejected then production end date is going to
be delayed. This can straight way affects the shipment date. In sample TNA, it is shown that
sample is submitted on 18-06-2020 and planned approval date is 22-06-2020.
2. Fabric and trim sourcing:
Fabric and trim sourcing is very time consuming process which includes desk loom and lab-
dip approvals, trim and art work approval, FPT approval. The fabric sourcing itself will take
lead time of 30-60 days depending upon type of fabric. For yarn dyed fabric it takes approx.
45 day, for piece dyed fabric it take approx. 30 days and for fibre dyed fabric it takes approx.
55-60 days. In sample TNA, it is assumed that fabric used is solid dyed hence 30 days lead
time is considered while preparing the TNA, trims also takes the approximate 30-45 days
depending upon from where trims are getting sourced. Hence while designing the TNA for
sourcing the following activities need to keep in mind.

TABLE - 3

No Activity Planned date

4 Proto sample approval 29-01-2020
6 Trims and Art work sent for 13-02-2020
approval
7 Lab dip sent for approval 13-02-2020
17 Trims and Art work approved 16-03-2020
18 Approval of Lab-dip 21-03-2020
19 P.O. raised for fabric and trims by 27-03-2020
merchandiser/sourcing team
20 FPT sent to buyer 01-04-2020
21 Approval of FPT 15-04-2020
24 All fabric inhouse 4-05-2020
25 All trims inhouse 2-05-2020
26 Fabric and trim quality and quantity 6-05-2010
measured

Fabric approvals: With approval of proto sample, merchandiser needs to submit lab-dip for
colour conformation. Lab-dip approval itself is a long process, as development of shade and
submission itself will take 10-15 working days for one attempt, hence for after 15 days of
proto approval Lab dip is submitted. Hence while preparing the TNA merchandiser must
keep in mind that, complexity of shade, buyer’s specification etc. any delay in lab-dip
submission will end up with fabric production delay, which will results in delay in; Size-set
sample submission. Hence to avoid the delay in TNA 30 working days buffer is kept from
submission date i.e. 13-02-2020 to planned approval date i.e.21-03-2020.

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Trims and art work: Trims and their art work are other important factors of sourcing
department after fabric. Timely approval of trims is very necessary. Trim production and
shipment is also time consuming process, especially if it is imported, hence while preparing
the TNA 32 working days buffer is kept between submission date i.e.13-02-2020 and
approval date16-03-2020.
Fabric Performance Test (FPT): Before fit sample submission date FPT report must be
approved by buyer, as fit sample submitted in similar fabric. As without approval of FPT
fabric supplier can’t ship the fabric to garment manufacturer. Any delay in FPT submission in
will cause in fit sample submission and may show impact on fabric in-house date which will
subsequently affect the size-set submission date.
3. Production
The most crucial part of any TNA is actual production. While preparing the TNA for
production following activities need to consider.
No Activity Planned date
31 Planed cut date 1-06-2020
32 Cut panels send to embroidery 2-06-2020
33 Embroidery completed 8-06-2020
38 Production start date 16-06-2020
41 Production end date 16-07-2020
42 Finishing and packaging start 18-06-2020
43 Finishing and packing completed 19-07-2020

TABLE – 4

Planned Cut Date: The most important date for both sourcing and merchandising
department. Most of the time, TNA is prepared by keeping PCD in mind. To achieve the
PCD on time sourcing department plays important role, as lead time of trims and fabric
production and availability for garment production is controlled by this department. While
preparing the TNA expected lead time and sufficient buffer should keep for sourcing.

As there is embroidery included on cut panels, hence after cutting the cut panels need to send
for embroidery. Considering that embroidery is in-house then 6 working days after PCD to
complete the embroidery need to be consider in TNA. If embroidery is outsourced then
accordingly more number of days can be included in TNA.
In some merchandise, washing, printing is required hence merchandiser need to take care of
the lead time requirement for the same including necessary buffer.

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Productions start and end date: These two dates are purely depends upon shipment date and
production capacity. As soon as PCD is achieved the production should start immediately
after pilot run and approval of PP Sample. Any deviation in this date will subsequently affect
the TOP sample submission date and shipment date. Number of days required for production
is decided by capacity allocated to that particular merchandise or number of days of available
for actual shipment. For mentioned sample TNA, following assumptions were made while
calculating the number of days required completing the production.

Assumptions:
No. of pieces= 10000
SAM of garment= 28.5 min
No. of M/c= 50
Efficiency = 45%
The calculation for production days can be shown as:

So, if 25 working days needs for production, then production will start on 16-06-2020 and it
will end on 16-07-2020, if only one sewing line of 50 machines is allocated for 10,000
pieces.

Finishing and packing: As finishing and packing is equally important, hence as soon as first
lot comes out of production, finishing and packing get started. This can be started parallel
along with production. In sample TNA, 18-06-2020 is a starting date of finishing and
packing, while 19-07-2020 is end date. 2 days buffer is kept deliberately between production
date and finishing packing completion date to avoid any consequences.

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