Different Sections and Departments in

Apparel Industry
Introduction:
Before going in to the details of the garment industry we should know what is garment, isn’t it? Any
object which can be used to wear is termed as garment / apparel / clothing. Such as shirt, pant,
sweater etc. Garment can also be used to achieve a specific function, for example fire resistance or
cut resistance, etc. Garments are a part of apparel, whereas apparel is a broad terminology. For
instance, shoes and hats are also included in apparel.

Apparel engineering 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 garment
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. Besides,
garment industry 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. The overall flowchart of the garment manufacturing process is illustrated in
figure-1.

Figure 1:
Garment manufacturing process flow chart

Garment industry is the final stage of textile manufacturing where cloth is cut into different parts and
sews to make various types of apparel. All the process of garment manufacturing are done in
different sections in garment industry. In this article I will discuss different departments in garment
manufacturing industry.
Different Departments in Garment Industry:
Clothing or apparel industry consists of different departments. Every department is responsible for
better production. The various departments working flowchart are given in figure-2:

Figure 2:
Different Departments in Garment Industry

We will discuss of the 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 Garment Industry:

Functions and activities of the all sections and departments of garment manufacturing industry are
described briefly:
 Figur
e 3: Garment industry

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 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) 1.5.
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, pre-production 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:
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 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. Textile Engineering – An Introduction Edited by Yasir Nawab
3. Carr and Latham’s Technology of Clothing Manufacture, 4th Edition revised by David J. Tyler
4. Apparel Manufacturing Technology by T. Karthik, P. Ganesan, D. Gopalakrishnan
5. Garment Manufacturing Technology Edited by Rajkishore Nayak and Rajiv Padhye
6. The Apparel Industry by Richard M. Jones
7. Cooklin’s Garment Technology for Fashion Designers 2nd Edition by Steve Hayes, John
McLoughlin and Dorothy Fairclough