USHA NANDHINI J Asst.

Proff – TFD/CDF

MBEC II - FASHION VISUAL MERCHANDISING

UNIT – IV

ORDER SHEET

Purchase order is a written document that includes specification of product, Product

Price (FOB), Total order quantity, size break-up, packing instruction and shipping
address etc. Purchase Order is known as PO.

Garment buyers and garment sourcing agents follow a standard formats for purchase
order. Each of those PO includes above documents and also includes additional
information as per buyers requirement to explain things in a better way. For export
orders, buyers sent specification sheet, construction details during sample
development.

When you are first time planning to source garments and manufacturing done by
garment manufacturers, you might required to know few basic information that need
to be included in your PO. If all necessary details are not found in your PO, supplier
will ask you questions for many things. You might not understand most of their
technical terms. You can do one thing, surrender to supplier for details what they
asked you and ask supplier to provide best option for particular things. Suppliers
asked for such information as because, they are habituated of seeing a set of specified
information in the PO sent by buyers.

Again, if you are first time placing an order with a garment factory, suppose for
school or college uniforms, you don't need to go through that long process of sample
development, approvals, size set, salesman sampling, PP sampling etc. You need to
provide as much information as required to make your product. If you are a small
retailers or individual who need uniforms for a group, you can follow the following
instruction to make your purchase order. Most easy thing that you can do is pick a
garment from market and send it to supplier asking to copy for design, construction
and whatever you like to keep similar as the sample.

In the following table list of information are included those are found in a PO.

S.No Parametes Description

Mention the name of your garment. Is it a T-Shirt
01 Product/Style name
order or Shirts or Polo or Sweat shirt or else?
Add text that describes your style. Like Half
sleeve T-shirt, full Sleeve Shirt etc. If you have
02 Product description
image of the product you can add that image
also.
Total number of pieces you like to source from
03 Order quantity the supplier. For uniform order you can calculate
order quantity just by count heads of group

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members. If you are a retailer, you can decide

order quantity based on your sales forecast.
You might need to source garment multiple sizes,
based on wearer. If you are going to order for
college uniforms or uniform for your employees,
04 Size break-up in order
you can check with wearer who wear what size of
garment and make a list. Send the summarized
size break-up.
 Fabric type: For knits fabric GSM, Single jersey
etc. If your design have different types of fabric
mention details of all fabrics.
05 Fabric Details
 Fabric color: Specify color or colors for multiple
color orders.

 You want a design in your garment? Send the

design and logo that to be printed on the garment.
06 Print and Logo design
Also clearly mention the placement of logo or
print designs on the garment.
07 Washing Details  Add washing instruction if applies to your order.
 In case you developed one spec sheet, send it to
the supplier. Otherwise you can ask supplier to
08 Measurement sheet
use standard measurement for your design based
demographic.
 Add what all labels you like to attach to your
09 Labeling garment like care labels, main label and size label
or else.
10 Price  Agreed price that is finalized with suppliers.
11 Packing details  Provide folding and packing instruction.
If applies to your order you have to mention
where to attach hang tags and means of attaching
hang tags. This applies for retailing orders.
12 Tags details
Supplier normally don't design or develop tags
(price tags, hand tags). You have to develop tags
and provide supplier.
Complete address where you want supplier to
13 Shipping Address
send finished goods.
Add what other information supplier asked from
14 Others
you prior to order confirmation.

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An Example How I Ordered for T-Shirt Uniform.

I made one purchase order with following information. And it explains
everything that I needed in our T-Shirts. For measurements I followed standard
measurement chart. I didn't have design of the T-shirt. So, I asked supplier to submit
one sample and I approved that for my order.

Product Name: Crew neck T-shirt (Half Sleeve).

Order Quantity: 200 pieces, Size: Medium only
Fabric Details: 100% cotton Single jersey 160 gsm. Neck rib – 1X2 ribs matching
gsm, Back neck tape – Self fabric
Color: Solid Blue Pantone#19-4052 TPX
Printing Details: Logo print on chest (Logo design attached in a separate sheet and
also send separate image file)
Measurement (Size chart): Send a standard size chart.
Packing Instruction: Single piece packing.
Price: As confirmed in mail.

What is Packing List in Import Export Business?

Packing list is one of the most important documents for both apparel
merchandising and commercial department of an apparel manufacturing industry.
Packing section is the part of finishing section of readymade apparel industry.
Normally, packing section packs the goods as per ratio or assortment. In the
later, apparel inspector inspects the apparel product according to apparel packing
list.
To prepare final packing lists, commercial department of an apparel industry has
needed the final packing list for forwarding agents and customs department. From
here, they calculate the total shipping volume and weight to confirm the required
shipping cargo. As its importance, both apparel merchandiser and commercial
personnel should aware about it to reduce cost in shipping.

Types of Packing in Finishing Section:

There are so many packing types followed in apparel industry. The following
are the most used among those:
1. Flat pack (Shirt, sportswear, trouser),
2. Stand up pack (90° angle),
3. Semi-stand up pack (for shirt),
4. Hanger pack (for coats, blazer, pants),
5. Half fold pack (for pant).
Types of Carton Packing in Apparel Industry:
After packing the apparel, cartooning is done according to the apparel size and
color in apparel manufacturing sector. Mostly used carton packing types have given
in the below though there are various types of cartoon packing in clothing sector:

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1. Solid color solid size carton packing,

2. Solid color assorted size carton packing,
3. Assorted color solid size carton packing,
4. Assorted color assorted carton packing.

It should be noted here that, carton packing may be as 12pcs, 24pcs or 36pcs per
carton which is totally dependent on the buyer requirements.

Packing List Documents in Apparel Sector:

Packing list (P/L) is known as an inventory of the incoming cargo which is
required for customs clearance in apparel shipment and accompanying the commercial
invoice and the transport documents.
During apparel shipment, packing list generally includes the below
information’s or documents:
1. Name of the exporter,
2. Name of the importer,
3. Name of the transport company,
4. Date of issue,
5. Number of the freight invoice,
6. Type of packaging (carton, box, barrel, bag, etc.),
7. Total number of packages,
8. Content of each package (Details description of the goods and number of items
per package),
9. Marks and numbers,
10. Gross weight, net weight, and measurement of the packages.

Document Formats:-

Order Sheet:-

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Packing List:-

Invoice:-

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How to Make Garment Inspection Report - Simple Method and Advanced

Method

If you are already working in garment production, you might know that
garments are inspected at various stages in the manufacturing process. Common
Inspection stages practised by garment factories have been explained in this article.

In this post, I will show you how to make quality inspection reports for the
manufacturing process. Here the term 'Garment Inspection' means all kind of garment
checking other than final shipment inspection.

The simple steps involved in making quality inspection reports

1. Design quality inspection format(s)
2. Record quality inspection data while inspecting goods - online or off the line
3. Analyse data and make a summary of the reports

Do you use minimum formats to record inspection findings? I hope you do.
Otherwise, you were not reading this post.

Let come to the main topic. How to make garment checking report (inspection
report)? In this post, I have explained simple to the complex form of data collection
and report making. Use one that matches your requirement and follow the procedure.

Making an Inspection Report:

First, define what is the purpose of making a quality inspection report in your
factory. Then according to the information required you have to design inspection
format. For your information, common quality measures are Percentage Defective of
garments in a production lot, DHU etc.
Your objective of garment inspection might be one of the followings. Method
of making inspection report explained accordingly.
Simple Method - 1:

To measure percentage defectives of a garment lot you need to follow the

below procedure. A sample format is shown in the following for data collection.

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 Employ one quality checker at the end of the line (at the end of the process). Checker
needs to check 100% garments coming out from the line.
 Record total number of pieces checked by the checker during the day
 Record total defective (including rejected garments) garments kept aside while
checking garments
 Calculate percentage defective garment in the production lot.
Defective Percentage = (Number of defective garments X 100/Number of total
garments checked)

Figure-1: Quality Inspection data collection format

Simple Method -2.

To measure total number of defects or Defect per Hundred Units (DHU) of a

garment lot you need to follow below procedure. A sample format is shown in the
following for data collection.

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 Make the format as Figure-2 for data capturing

 Record numbers of defects found in checked garments. You can extend this format for
recording number of defects for defect wise.
 Sum up total pieces checked and total defects found in those checked pieces
 Calculate Defects per Hundred Units (DHU)
DHU = (Totals defects found X 100)/Total pieces checked

Figure-2: Quality Inspection data collection format

Simple Method -3: Measurement Checking

Garment measurement checking is required to ensure the fit of the garment. For
measurement checking use following procedure.

 Design format with a list of measurement points, size-wise measurement specified by

buyer/designer, allowance (+/-)
 Record actual measurements while you are checking garment measurements
 Verify actual measurement with buyer specified measurements and tolerance level.
 Comment on the report

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Advanced Method
Read the following procedure and implement it.
 Design detailed data collection format - it should include defects categories, total
defects, total defective pieces, accepted pieces etc.
 While checking garments (stitching division) record defects found under defect
categories, record total defective pieces found.
 Sum up number of defects in each defect categories and calculate total defects.
 Calculate DHU and Percentage Defective of the inspected garment lot
 List down defects in descending order of number of defect found. You can also make
bar graph (Pareto chart) with total defects in each categories. See following figure-3
for example of Pareto chart.

Fig-3: Pareto of Sewing defects

What is the Textile Fabric Testing, Test Method, Test Item Classification

Introduction: The human use the textiles (materials made of fibers) with
different forms has been used for thousands of years, and the earliest records of
textiles are traced back to fabrics, baskets, and nets on small ceramic tablets 27,000
years ago. Now, textiles have been applied to various industries, and our life is already
inseparable from textiles, so the testing industry for textiles has emerged.

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What is Textile Testing? Why do you need Textile Testing? The Purpose and
Significance of Textile Testing.

Textile testing is a scientific test technique and method to evaluate whether the
quality of textiles meets the requirements of the specified standards. Based on the use
and conditions of textiles, we analyze and study the influence on the product by the
composition, structure, and properties of textiles, and determine the use value of
textiles.

When using textile products, you must hope that they have a good touch, good
appreciation, durability, and should not contain harmful substances. But how should
we ensure that textiles meet the demand? Through the analysis, test, evaluation and
comparison of the physical and chemical properties of textiles, we comprehensively
study the factors related to textile quality and the relationship between these factors,
from which the most important quality information can be obtained, so as to improve
the quality of textiles and fully meet the needs of consumers under the most
economical conditions.

The main purpose and significance of textile testing are:

 To check the quality and suitability of raw material

 To monitor the production (process control)
 To assess the quality of the final product
 To investigate the faulty materials
 To set standards or benchmarks
 For research and development purpose
 For new product development

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Basic Conditions and Method of Textile Testing

1 First of all, we should understand the test purpose and determine the test
standards.

For textile testing, we should understand the standard requirements of

customers and test at the beginning of proofing, so as not to find unqualified after
mass production, resulting in a large number of rework and even waste of resources.
For textile research and development, standard setting, we need to formulate the test
variables, test one by one, find out the factors that affect the quality of textiles, so as to
guide the production.

2 Sample preparation stage

Sampling, humidification, pre-treatment (washing, drying), cutting samples;

adjusting test environment. This step is to reduce the impact of external factors on the
test, to ensure the repeatability of textile testing.

3 Test stage

Select the machine (must be calibrated before the test)

Start the test

Record test data

Restore machine (machine parameters, switching power supply, test hygiene)

Tidy up the test samples (be classified and put away)

In this step, it is necessary to reduce the operation error and avoid the test error caused
by human factors. So the experience of the operator is very important.

4 Test report

According to the standard, see if the tested sample is evaluated.

Analyze and sort out the data and get the test results.

Prepare test report and file it.

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Classification of Textile Testing Items

1 Classification according to the textile application

From fiber to yarn, from yarn to fabric, from fabric to textile finished product,
every step of the textile product production process cannot be separated from testing.

For example, fiber testing mainly includes fiber content & fineness analysis,
Micronaire value test, fiber length, fiber strength test and so on. Yarn testing mainly
includes yarn twist, yarn density, yarn strength, yarn winder and so on.

Fabrics and textile products are the most widely used, and there are many test
items. Common textile products are wearing textiles, household textiles, medical
textiles, industrial textiles, military textiles, and arts & crafts textiles and so on. These
products have different testing items because of different application, such as apparel
testing pays attention to comfort and color fastness test; bandages, gauze and another
medical textile testing will pay attention to safety and permeability testing; safety
clothing will pay attention to fire resistance test and so on.

2 Classification according to textile test standards

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 International Standards: ISO, IEC, GATT

 Regional standards: CEN, CENEL, ASAC, PASC, ARSO

 Chinese National Standard: GB/FZ

 American National Standard: ASTM

 American Association of Dyeing and Chemical Authors: AATCC

 EU Standards: EN

 Japanese Industrial Standards: JIS

 Australian National Standards: AS

 British National Standards: BS

 French Standards: NF

 German Standard: DIN

 Korean Industrial Standard: KS

3 Classification according to textile property

The common properties of textiles include the appearance and preservation of

textiles, the durability of textiles (also known as mechanical properties), the safety
properties of textiles, and the comfort properties of textiles.

The appearance test of textiles mainly includes the appearance defects and
surface smoothness of textiles, the color difference and color fastness of textiles, the
pilling property of textiles, the snagging property, stiffness, drape and wrinkle
recovery of textiles, and so on.

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The durability test of textiles mainly includes the tensile fracture characteristics
of the fabric, the tear characteristics of the fabric, the abrasion properties of the fabric,
the dimensional stability and so on.

The safety performance test of textiles mainly includes PH value test, flame
resistance, antistatic property, formaldehyde content, mildew resistance, antibacterial
resistance, contamination resistance and so on.

The comfort test of textiles mainly includes thermal conductivity, moisture

permeability, air permeability, waterproof and so on.

In addition, in the whole textile testing industry, the selection of accessories,

consumables should also meet the standards, common consumables are lined, color
cards, detergents, accompanied cloth, blue standard, sample photos and so on, if you
want to build your own testing laboratory, obtain testing qualifications, then these
consumables are essential.

TESTEX has developed a variety of textile testing instruments and

consumables, which can be changed according to the application requirements.
TESTEX textile testing instruments are guaranteed to meet corresponding
standards and completely tested to ensure the highest performance and longer life.

Assortment Planning for the Garment Industry

The selection of merchandise is a critical part of retail management.
Assortment planning aims to ensure that an appropriate mix and quantity of retail
inventory is stocked to meet customer demand. It involves gathering and evaluating
historical data related to customer demand for various categories of goods to reduce
inventory out-of-stock and overstock problems. The collaborative efforts of retailers
and vendors assists in synchronizing the market orientation process in assortment
planning for the garment or apparel industry.

Strategic Business Objectives

Strategic business objectives (SBO) play a key role in assortment planning.

SBOs are the specific, measurable goals and objectives set by a business. This is
developed at various levels within an organization and is generally tied to a clearly
discernible target market. Market research related to an apparel retailer's target market
will impact the inventory selection process. Keep in mind that SBOs and product
assortment planning also will be shaped by budgets.

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Product Category
Merchandising categories for the garment industry include basics, fashion
basics and fashion. The procedures generally used for assortment planning differ
between each category. For example, the "basics" category in ladies apparel might
represent products with extended life cycle, such as a traditional black skirt. "Fashion
basics" represents standard seasonal variations in color and fabric. The "fashion"
category includes the newest designs and trends. The fashion basics and fashion
categories typically have shorter demand windows.
Style Placeholders
The early process for assortment planning generally involves creating style
placeholders, which are established within each product category to allow forecasting
prior to the completion of final product specification. This defines the further
assortment attributes that might be included, such as style, price points, sizes, colors,
units and SKU counts.
Forecasting
Financial and sales reports provide a garment retailer with historical
performance data segmented by product category that can be analyzed to identify
historical, current and future trends. Analyze data variances, for example, based on
historical sell-through data by category, to uncover order patterns and the fill rates for
product categories. Retailers may also track gross margin, inventory turns and end-of-
season excess inventory to assist in planning for effective inventory assortment.
Merchandising Filing:

Some people think a filing is only record of document in their file cabinets. But
the filing is a structure of document record in files for future quotation. This process
of filing, which helps in smooth handling of file is called filing system. In an export
order buyer must be maintained document by official formality and the good
merchandisers are always followed this document with failing systems in their
workplace. During an export order execution a merchandiser should maintain a proper
and clean file up. In this article I would like to discuss about merchandising files,
filing system, file document type and at the end try to give some tips about easy file
up.

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Type of Merchandising File Document:

In a garment industry merchandising document is filed in a computer or in a

steel cabinet. In an apparel industry, merchandising department handling most of the
official document. In textile industry, there two types of document. There are

1. Visual document
2. Physical document

Visual Document:

The visual document is most important document for a merchandiser. The main
document comes from directly from buyer which is called Purchase Order (PO). The
visual document is such as PO, Pro forma Invoice (PI), Letter of Credit (L/C), Back to
back (BTB), Fabric booking list, Critical path, costing, consumption, etc. This is
sending from the buyer as soft copy which are filing up in a merchandiser PC. The
merchandisers should proper file up soft document in their office computers or laptop.
Now I will show up a merchandiser file up in the computer. Here, red circles are
showing an order file up process.

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Physical Document:

In the merchandising department, some files are recorded in their file cabinets
which are known as Physical Document. This physical document is such as trim card,
sward card, lap dip approval, Fabric approval, Inventory reports, Minutes of
negotiations meeting etc. which are punched with punching machine for filing. Finally
physical document file are tagged with style, buyer name, Season, PO, date etc.

Importance Of Merchandising Filing:

1. For future record.

2. For smooth order execution.
3. For production efficiency.
4. For recognize records consistently.
5. For recover records fast.
6. For connect to the records lists.

Calculation:

The main purpose of merchandising filing is smooth handling an export order.

So, always try to file up plan simple. There are some methods of filing such as
Alphabetic, Numeric, Alpha-numeric, Chronologic, etc. The order records are
arranged by dates, number, Alphabetic or Alpha-numeric. Using different folder or
color top of the file which also makes filing system easier.

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Factory Audits

As an importer, you have to be sure that you identify the right suppliers and
that, once you’ve established your relationships with them, they continue to do good
work. This is why factory audits are important.
You may be familiar with how product inspections work, but not audits. So, the
question becomes, “What’s the difference between an audit and an inspection?”
In a previous article, we talked about factory audits are and why they are
important. Today, we want to share the definition of an audit and then discuss the
differences between audits and inspections.

Factory Audit: - The on-site verification activity of a process or quality system,

to ensure compliance with requirements. An audit can apply to an entire
organization or might be specific to a function, process or production step.

3 Important Ways Factory Audits Differ From Inspections

There are a number of different types of audits, including capability
assessments, quality assessments, security assessments, and social compliance audits.
These different kinds of audits have some characteristics in common. They are
also different from inspections in certain key ways.
#1 – Audits are About the Long Term, Inspections are About the Short
Term
For example, let’s talk about Capability Assessments. The goal of a capability
assessment is to determine whether a supplier has the resources in place to ensure the
long-term success of your business relationship.
Doing this type of audit can be useful when you are considering different
factories to produce your product. It helps you to choose a supplier that is worth
sticking with for the long term.
Inspections, on the other hand, are generally about how things are going at a
particular moment in time.
For example, in a Pre-Shipment Inspection, your inspector is verifying whether
the products and packaging in a particular shipment meet your standards for quality. If
they don’t, you can deal with the situation in that moment and take any necessary
corrective action.

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#2 – Audits are About the Big Picture, Inspections are About the Little
Picture
Let’s consider another type of audit, the Quality Assessment. The goal of these
audits is to assess a factory’s overall quality management system and manufacturing
practices.
This way, you have a high-level view of how they operate and how they ensure
quality in general. You will get an idea of how confident you can be in their ability to
do good work over the course of many shipments.
An inspection, in contrast, is generally only about one particular shipment.
For example, in a During Process (DUPRO) inspection, the inspector does a visual
inspection of your products, checks packaging and labeling, and makes sure all
physical product requirements are met. You get a pass or fail result for your order, and
you can take corrective action if you need to.
#3 – Audits Help You Establish the Right Relationships, Inspections Help
You Make Sure You’re on Track
Another type of audit, a Social Compliance Audit, is about ensuring that a
factory meets relevant standards for health and safety, child labor, working hours, and
management, among other things.
You don’t want to work with a supplier that engages in upsetting or illegal
practices. So, having a professional visit the factory for these audits helps you make
better sourcing decisions and establish the right relationships.
On the other hand, inspections are generally conducted with factories that
you’re already working with.
For example, in a Loading Inspection, the inspector will help you determine
whether the right products are being loaded into your container. They’ll also check
that the packaging materials have all the right barcodes and labels. This helps to
ensure that everything is in order before your products go to the port.
Audits and Inspections are Different and They’re Important in Different
Ways

Remember that audits are focused on the big picture and are generally
conducted before establishing a relationship with a new factory. Inspections are about
the little picture and are generally used to help manage existing relationships.
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Audits help you to make good long-term decisions. They also help you to
decide which suppliers to work with so you can get the best results over time.
Having a good mix of audits and inspections in your quality control program is
important. So, be sure to consider both to help ensure the success of your projects.
Buyer’s code of conducts: -
Garment exporters those work with international brands and Big Names need
to meet 'Code of vendor Conduct' provided by the buyer to do business with them.

What 'code of conduct' most apparel buyers look for from their supplier
factories? You may hear those many times but not sure what those 'Code of Conduct'
are.

You may be seen the Display board where apparel suppliers display the list of
"Code of Conduct" in the factory premises. But what those codes actually mean?

In this post, you will get the 'Code of Conduct' those are required to do business with
international apparel buyers and a link to get GAP's 'Code of Vendor Conduct'
document.

1. Compliance with Laws: Factories must be compliant with the laws of the
respective country.
2. Environment.
3. Labour: This Section of conducts includes the following code.

 Child Labor, Forced labour,

 Discrimination in male and female labour,
 Freedom of association and right to collective bargaining
 Wages and Benefits
 Minimum wages etc.
 Working hours
4. Working Conditions (Occupational health and Safety)

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