Apparel Merchandising

Merchandising Planning & Order

Execution
Assignment-2
Submitted To:- Submitted By:-
Mr. Yuvraj Garg Jyoti Sinha
(Asst. Prof.) Rahul V. Bhole
NIFT Jodhpur Yuvraj Pahuja
(BFT-6)
S. NO. TOPICS COVERED

1. Introduction ( Planning and order execution )

2. Time and Action plan

3. Development of Time And action plan

• Gantt Chart
• Network chart

4. Raw material consumption estimation

• Fabric and yarn weight calculation
• Size wise – colour wise order quantity breakup identification
• Yarn or fabric consumption calculation
• Sewing thread consumption calculation
• Other raw material consumptions
• Difference between trims and accessories

5. Factory capacity planning

• Sewing department capacity calculation (line efficiency & capacity)
• Capacity calculation for other departments
MERCHANDISING PLANNING
AND ORDER EXECUTION
INTRODUCTION- PLANNING & ORDER EXECUTION

 There are various execution activities carried out by the merchandiser to

produce the order quantity at the stipulated time.
 The information regarding order scheduling process, various consumption
calculation need to be performed by the merchandisers.
 Order execution process is one of the crucial parts of the merchandiser’s day-
to-day activity.  A merchandiser has to face a lot of problems from receiving
order to shipment.
 If the merchandiser will follow an accurate order execution process then
he/she can easily solve those problems, also can shipping the goods in timely.
 It is necessary for the merchandiser to get to know the basics of all the
processes to complete the order execution independently.
 The successful shipment as per the buyer instruction without any delay in the
delivery date is the first and foremost responsibility of the merchandiser.
 In general, during an order execution process, the merchandiser need to
perform the following operations (not mandatorily but) based on the
organisation structure and policies.
I. Preparation of time and action plan for each order
II. Development of order scheduling plan
III. Analysis of factory capacity and line efficiency
IV. Estimate the approximate consumptions for various raw materials used in
the production of that particular order for order quantity
V. Estimation of details regarding approximate output in each department
VI. Estimation of number of operator required for each department
VII. Proper follow-up and coordination with each department to complete the
order in predetermined date to successfully complete the shipment
process.
WORK FLOW
CHART OF
MERCHANDISING
DEPARTMENT
Roles of a fashion merchandiser
Fashion merchandising process involves in the design creation and product
development process. This fashion merchandising process starts from differ-ent
origins.
i)  The buyer might have visited different countries and various fashion shows
across the globe and brought his inspirations in terms of pic-tures and
garments.

ii)  The buyer might have given a broad trend or theme to the merchandiser and
designer to develop a garment.

In both the cases, at a given situation the designer can work on de- veloping
different aspects of forecasting process, developing mood board, silhouettes,
colour board and requirement.
But it is merchandiser’s role to coordinate with the designer about the needs and
requirements of the buyer based on his previous experience. Hence, the
influence of the merchandiser in the apparel designing plays a vital role in the
acceptance of the developed design.
Roles of a fashion merchandiser

 iii)  In the third category, the manufacturing company itself may own some
brand. So, for their market, while designer develops products, the
merchandiser’s role is essential in exploiting the firms target sector and
marketing region. This will help them in developing prototypes at the design
development stage. The typical process flow of a fashion merchandiser is
given in
Role of a production merchandiser

 Production merchandiser is a person who communicates with the buyer and

the primary occupation is to accomplish the work according to the necessity
of the customer and dispatch the completed products to the buyer’s destina-
tion on time. He/she interacts and coordinates different jobs which are dis-
cussed
Role of a production merchandiser

 Proto sample order enquiry

 This is the first stage in which the buyer will enquire with the merchant about
the new order
 Forwarding tech pack
 When the order enquiry has been done, then the buyer will send a “Tech Pack” or
technical specification sheet to the merchant. Tech pack includes all the details of
a style and which includes the items as follows:
 • Product style design • Measurements
• Fabric
• Style code
 • Surface ornamentation details, etc.
Role of a production merchandiser

 Product development
 It is one of the important jobs of the merchandiser. Once the ‘Tech Pack’ is
received, the merchandiser will arrange the tech pack details in a format by
dividing various styles and its de- tails of the garment
 • He advises the junior merchandisers regarding the specifica- tion details
and requirements of the buyer
 • This will help the junior merchandisers to assist the sampling department
manager / coordinator
 • The sample is developed based on the requirements of the customer. The
effective communication between the different levels of people plays a vital
role in sample development
Approval of development samples

 After the sample development, 2–3 samples are sent to the buyer for approval of
the style
 • The main objective of the development sample is, the buyer will understand
how the garment style looks with the specific details / they will estimate the
manufacturer’s capacity and ability to pro- duce the sample for their line
 • The samples are prepared with the available fabric in store which closely
resembles the exact requirement. This will help the buyer to understand the
manufacturer’s ability. Sometimes, to receive the order, the merchandiser also
develops the sample with original fabric
 • In sample development, surface ornamentations and fit are fol- lowed as per the
tech pack. If some correction is to be done then the buyer will send the correction
details and again the samples are reworked / developed again and sent to the
buyer. This process will be continued till the sample gets approved
Costing

 Once the sample approval is received from the buyer, then the merchandiser
will perform the garment costing
 • It is done by calculating various costs incurred to make a gar- ment style. It
consists of various factors like:
 • Fabric cost
• Trims and accessories cost
• CMT
• Washing or finishing cost
• Bank charges
• Buffer value
• Miscellaneous costs like rejection cost, wastage, etc.
Order Placement

 Based on the finalised pricing value, the costing “quote” will be sent to
buyer. The price quote provided by the company is not necessary to be
accepted by the buyers and there will be a negotiation between both the
parties

 Once final costing or re-costing is done and the same is accept- ed by the
buyer, the buyer will place the order with the required order quantity and
other main details to the merchant
Fabric and trim ordering

 Once the order is accepted by the buyer, the order will be

 placed officially to the particular manufacturing firm
 Immediately merchandiser will place the order for required raw materials like
fabric, trims, accessories, etc. as per the co- lour, GSM, weave, quantity,
quality, etc. which is required for
 the style
 The merchandiser will also forward the requirement sheet to
 the purchase department by advising them to place orders with the suppliers
Lab dip

 The first process after the order acceptance is lab dip where the
merchandiser will send the samples of dyed fabric to the buyer for colour
analysis
 The submission of fabric/ lab dip includes many shades of the colour which
the buyer has asked for the garment
 The lab dip approval is the critical process, this process will be continued till
the shades get approved from the buyer. This approved shade will be used for
the bulk dyeing of fabric for final garment production
Fit sample

 After the approval of lab dip from the buyer, the first sample for the provided
specification is developed by the company which is known as FIT sample
 This sample generally developed with the actual fabric or available fabric
close to the buyer requirement will be used. The sample generally will be
developed for a medium size. The main objective of this sample is to check
the fitOnce the sample is submitted, the buyer evaluates the sample
measure- ments, fit aspects and they will give feedback to the merchan- diser
for revision
Fit sample

 The buyer returns fit approvals sheet which contains all the ac- tual
measurements and required measurements and how much deviation has
occurred for the purpose of correction
 Totally three pieces are made, all of which are sent to the buyer and sent
back to merchandiser after approval. Once this is ap- proved, the order is
confirmed
Pre-production sample

 Once the fit samples are approved, then the pre-production (PP) samples or
the red seal samples are made. PP sample will have all the specific details of
the style with the exact fabric, colour, trims, surface, ornamentations, etc.
 The sample developed plays a vital role in the order confirma- tion process
because this is the main step where the sample has to look exactly as per the
buyer’s requirement. Around 2–3 samples (in four sizes each) are sent to
buyer for the approval and buyer can advise any corrections if required
Size Set Sample

 Till the pre-production sample, the sample may be prepared in the sample
department of the company. But after this stage for the size set sample,
mostly the buyer recommends the mer- chandiser to produce in the actual
manufacturing unit
 • Size set samples are made for the purpose of checking the dif- ferent sizes
of the same style in terms of fit, measurements, styling, etc.
 • It is also made to check whether the assigned unit is able to produce that
style as per the specs. Three sets are made for all sizes. It is done in original
fabric
Pre-Production Meeting

 Once all the samples are approved and all raw materials are ready in the
store to start the bulk production, the pre-produc- tion meeting will be
arranged by the merchandiser
 • Pre-production meeting will be conducted with all the depart- ment heads
and important personnel of the company to plan the process, so that delay
can be avoided
 • Here the merchants will discuss with the production heads on how the
production can be scheduled and done within the required time. So this
meeting is important and inevi- table
Forwarding of production file to
production planning and control
 Production file is a document which includes all the details of a particular style. This document is
prepared by the merchandiser. Production file is forwarded to PPC (production planning and
control) once the PP sample is approved, along with the file, merchandiser will forward the
approved PP sample also. Some of the details in the production file include the following items:
• Measurements
• Export order sheet
• Colour details
• Style description
• Packing type
• Print/embroidery instructions, material requirement sheet
category, item, position, colour, size, consumption, unit in
kilograms, quantity, total quantity
• Job details for computer aided patter making (lectra) and
fabric order • Marker plan
• TNA order sheet
• 2D style diagram and trims • Packing information
Checking the availability of fabrics and trims

 Once the file is received by the PPC, they will check and study each and
every detail in the file and they will also check the availability status of the
fabric and trims in the store. They will follow-up on the same if it’s not yet
reached in the house
Checking the surface ornamentation of the
particular style

 Surface ornamentation may include embroidery, printing or appli- qué and

these are done as per the buyer’s requirement, so PPC will check the
ornamentation details and plans according to that and in parallel arrange all
the required things for the same
Checking the status of stitching materials in-house

 Stitching materials are those which are used for sewing like threads and
accessories which assist production so in parallel they will do the
arrangement for the stitching materials in-house
Checking patterns with master ji

 Production file includes all the details about the patterns and merchants will
forward the original patterns along with the production file to the PPC
 Once they receive the patterns, they will forward the patterns to the pattern
master and master will cross check the pattern with the actual and confirm
Grading and final • cross check

 Once everything is checked and confirmed by the master then, the pattern is
forwarded to the CAD (computer aid design) de- partment for grading.
Grading is a process of making different sizes from a basic size
 When the file is forwarded to PPC, only one size pattern will be provided and
grading is done for other sizes. Finally, the graded pattern will be cross
checked and confirmed with the master
Laying and cutting

 Laying is a process in which a huge lot of fabric lots are laid flat in several
plies as per the marker plan’s length
• In this process, based on the order quantity, the length of the lay, the
number of lays and the type of the lay to be spread will be instructed by the
production planning department. After laying the pattern, the developed
pattern lay-out obtained from the marker plan is used to cut the materials
TIME AND ACTION PLAN
TNA PLAN
 T&A or TNA is a Time and action calendar plan, a project management tools
for Garments merchandiser and production team, process involve from
receiving order to delivery to customer.
 It’s setting a time calendar to execute whole export order starting to closing. 
 Once TNA calendar is made, then it can be easy for merchandiser list down
their daily ‘to do list’ and taking it one by one.
 As per TNA schedule processes can be executed on timely basis to track
whether an order is on track or it will get delayed.
 In order to make TNA below mentioned information must be available
 Process flow of an order with the list of task which need to be performed.
 Production capacity of cutting, sewing, washing and finishing.
 For sewing – batch wise and product wise capacity (production per day per
batch).
 Lead time of activities, e.g. raw material lead time, sampling lead time, etc.
 Shipment date or planned ex-factory date.
 The main advantage of the time and action plan is its graphical
representation (Gantt chart). Hence, anyone can understand the information
out of it without any technical background.
 Normally TNA does not depend on fabric used in merchandise like woven or
knits.
 TNA is largely depends on the particular process flow of an order, machine
requirement and available production capacity. In TNA planned cutting date
(PCD) and ex-factory date these are the two most critical dates.
EXAMPLE:

Sample TNA for formal shirt

manufacturing order:

The TNA derived by assuming

the order of 10000 pieces of
formal shirts, made out of
100% cotton, plain woven solid
dyed fabric, with embroidery
logo on it. The order is for SS
2013, delivery date 1stMarch
2013, shipment at New York-
USA.
EXAMPLE:

Sample TNA for formal shirt

manufacturing order:

The TNA derived by assuming

the order of 10000 pieces of
formal shirts, made out of
100% cotton, plain woven solid
dyed fabric, with embroidery
logo on it. The order is for SS
2013, delivery date 1stMarch
2013, shipment at New York-
USA.
TNA
 TNA is most important activity for timely shipment. If any merchandiser is
able to follow the TNA properly then it will be not a big challenge to ship the
garments on schedule.
 TNA for any production unit is summery of sampling, sourcing and production
activities and their sub activities.
 Merchandiser generally makes the TNA on the basis of lead time mentioned by
buyer, shipment date negotiation, order quantity, production capacity. 
 If used effectively, a good TNA can help factory to meet production and
shipment deadlines, increase inventory turns, improve customer service, and
enhance profits.
Importance Of TNA
 It helps to streamline the pre-production activities.
 Easy understanding of order processing.
 Clear understanding of timelines given by buyer.
 It gives the clear idea about the minor or sub activities that need
to perform during order processing at different level.
 TNA gives the idea about the status of running order andtalks
about delay or deviation, if any
 TNA gives the dates at which raw material need to be sourced, in
a way it helps to optimise the inventory.
 TNA also reduces the risk of delivery delay.
Factors need to be considered while preparing TNA:
 Production capacity of plant
 Style type of merchandise
 Festivals of manufacturing country
 Holidays
 Shipment details
 Festivals of country from where raw material is imported
 Logistics facilities
 Lead time estimated by buyer
 Style complications
 Fabric and  trims manufacturing complications
 Buffer required from each department
 Political stability of the country
 Flexibility of freight forwarder
 Response time from buyer at different stages
 Lead times of various activities like L/C payment, custom clearance, etc.
 Cut off dates for shipments
PROCESSES IN SAMPLING DEPARTMENT
DEVELOPNEMENT OF TNA
PLAN
DEVELOPMENT OF TIME & ACTION PLAN
 The time and action plan can be developed
using different methods based on the
requirements. The commonly used methods
are:
I. Gantt charts
II. Network charts
GANTT CHART
 Gantt charts are a project planning tool that can be used to represent the
timing of tasks required to complete a project. Gantt chart was developed by
Henry Gantt.
 Gantt charts allow us to visualise a project’s start and end date along with
each element or task that needs to be completed. 
 Because many project tasks are dependent on previous tasks, these charts
also allow us to see these dependencies and schedule around them.
 Because Gantt charts are simple to understand and easy to construct, they
are used by most project managers for all, but the most complex projects.
GANTT CHART
 In a Gantt chart, each task takes up one row.
 Dates run along the top in increments of days, weeks or months, depending
on the total length of the project.
 The expected time for each task is represented by a horizontal bar whose left
end marks the expected beginning of the task and whose right end marks the
expected completion date.
 Tasks may run sequentially, in parallel or overlapping.
 As the project progresses, the chart is updated by filling in the bars to a
length proportional to the fraction of work that has been accomplished on the
task.
GANTT CHART
Activities Start
Date
End Working Days
Date
GANTT CHART
 This way, you can get a quick reading of project progress by drawing a
vertical line through the chart at the current date
 Completed tasks lie to the left of the line and are completely filled in
 Current tasks cross the line and are behind schedule if their filled-in section is
to the left of the line and ahead of schedule if the filled-in section stops to
the right of the line
 Future tasks lie completely to the right of the line.

With respect to apparel industry, for merchandiser, every order is merely a

project. Every order has a set of activities that ends with specific
accomplishment and that has,
 Non-routine tasks,
 Distinct start/finish dates, and
 Resource constraints (time/money/people/equipment).
Advantages of Gantt chart:
 It creates a picture of complexity
 It organises the data in a picture format
 It demonstrates that whoever doing that particular task, know what they are
doing
 It (should) helps the merchandiser to set realistic time frames
 It can be highly visible. Gantt charts are visual and give you an excellent way
to instantly see and comprehend all of the different elements in once place,
thus bringing thoughts and ideas together.
 Beyond that the visuals provide users with an easy to see chart of what needs
to be done next.
Disadvantages of Gantt chart:
• They can become extraordinarily complex
• The length of the bar does not indicate the amount of work
• They need to be constantly updated
• Difficult to see on one sheet of paper
• Estimates must be completed before the chart can be drawn
• It does’nt effectively address the dependencies between jobs (constraints can
be added as vertical lines)
• It is difficult to show two sets of dates when using techniques such as earliest
start date and latest start
• It is difficult to show slack and critical path without additional notation
• Changes to the schedule require a redrawing of the chart
• Several scheduling possibilities cannot be shown in the same chart
• Resource assignments are not easy to illustrate.
NETWORK CHARTS
NETWORK CHARTS
 The network charts are generally used for the project scheduling purpose,
this scientific methods also can be adapted for the apparel order planning
process.

In general there are two methods used in the network charts,

I. Critical Path Method (CPM) – Can be used for the projects in which activity
times can be estimated with sufficient certainty – Building house, Erecting a
machine, etc.
II. PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) – Can be used for projects
in which there is high degree of uncertainty about the activity times – Launching
a space vehicle, developing a new product.
Steps in constructing a network diagram
I. Determine activities that need to be accomplished
II. Determine precedence relationships and completion times
III. Construct network diagram
IV. Determine the critical path
V. Determine early start and late start schedules.
A simple workflow from apparel industry was provided in Figure from raw
material sourcing to packing of an order.
Critical path method (CPM):
 One of the major requirements of the project management is a feasible time
scheduling of the various activities, with the objective that project is
completed at the earliest possible time
 For preparation of such a schedule, information will be needed about the
duration in which the various activities can be completed
 First step in network representation is to understand the interrelationship
between various activities which constitute the project
 This method will compute the earliest possible start time and the latest
possible start time of each activity
 In addition, it will identify the critical activities, which can be defined as “The
activities if they delayed even a short time, the whole project will be
delayed”.
The development of CPM network can be done
with following steps:
 Step 1: Activity specification – Identify the activities in the work
 Step 2: Identify the sequence of activities involved in the project
 Step 3: Estimate the approximate time for each activity and develop a
network diagram
 Step 4: Identify the critical path and slack / buffer time by calculation
The “critical path” is the path that takes the longest to complete and thus
determines the minimum duration of the project. The critical path can be
identified by determining the following four parameters for each activity.
 ES – Earliest Start time: - The earliest time at which the activity can start
given that its precedent activities must be completed first.
 EF – Earliest Finish time: - It is equal to the earliest start time for activity
plus the time required to complete activity.
EF = ES+ activity duration

 LF – Latest Finish time: - The latest time at which the activity can be
completed without delaying the project.
 LS – Latest Start time: - It is equal to the latest finish time minus the time
required to complete the activity.
LS = LF–activity duration

 To calculate slack time: The slack time for an activity is the time between
its earliest and latest start time, or between its earliest and latest finish
time.
EXAMPLE
Advantages of critical path method:
 Makes dependencies visible between the project activities.
 Enables the calculation of the float (slack) of each activity. The float tells you
exactly how long an activity can come in late without it impacting the project
schedule.
 Organises large and complex projects.
 Encourages the merchandiser to reduce the order duration by optimising the
critical path.
 Provides opportunities to respond to the negative risk of going over-schedule
by identifying the activities that are most critical.
Disadvantages of critical path method:
 For large and complex projects, there’ll be thousands of activities and
dependency relationships. Without software, it can be mighty difficult
managing.
 Activity durations must be fixed and well known. Unfortunately, there is
uncertainty associated with certain activities.
 Activities in partial completions not accounted.
 Successive activities can be considered into action (start work) only after the
completion of predecessor activity. In some situations, on the partial
completion, we can start work.
 For example, after the first day of cutting production the bundling process
can be started, there is no necessity to wait until the whole production
completion in cutting.
PERT (Program Evaluation and Review
Technique):
 In critical path method (CPM), it was assumed that the activity duration
estimates, and the derived values for the earliest start, latest start, earliest
finish and latest finish were all deterministic.
 In reality, this is seldom true and durations are often not known in advance.
PERT has extended this deterministic approach in the face of uncertainty
about activity times and employs a special formula for estimating activity
durations.
 The approach of PERT assumes that the activity duration estimates are done
by someone who is familiar with the activity, and has enough insight into the
characteristics of the activity.
PERT
Hence, the technique requires three duration estimates for each
individual activity, as follows:
 Optimistic time estimate (To): This is the shortest possible time in which the
activity can be completed, and assumes that everything has to go perfect
 Realistic time estimate (Tm): This is the most likely time in which the
activity can be completed under normal circumstances
 Pessimistic time estimate (Tp): This is the longest possible time the activity
might need, and assumes a worst-case scenario.
Steps to solve a PERT question
 Step 1: Calculate the “expected time” for the activity,  
Pert Estimate = (Optimistic + (4 X Most Likely) + Pessimistic)/6
 Step 2: Calculate the variance of the activity’s duration estimate.
Sigma = (Pessimistic – Optimistic) / 6
 Step 3: Identify the critical path
 Step 4: Calculate the probability of finishing the order XYZ in given time or
less than that time.
Z = D – Te/σ 
Where: Z = Number of standard deviations D is from Te
Te = Expected time
D = Activity duration
 Step 5: Use Z chart to know the percentage of probability
 Step 6: Estimation of possible completion time with higher probability
 Example: A small project consisting of eight activities has the following
characteristics:
                                                                                                                     

       
i. Draw the PERT network for the project.
ii. Prepare the activity schedule for the project.
iii. Determine the critical path.
iv. If a 30- week deadline is imposed, what is the probability that the project
will be finished within the time limit?
If the project manager wants to 99% sure that the project is completed on the
schedule date, how many weeks before that date should he start the project
work?
SOLUTION: -

i. The network diagram for the given data is shown in fig. below. The earliest
time and variance of each activity is computed by using the formula. 
ii. Calculation activity duration and scheduling times.

iii. The critical path of the project is 1-2-4-5 -6, critical activities being A, D, G & H.

The expected project length is the sum of duration of each critical activity. Expected
project length = 5 + 15 + 4 + 5 = 29 weeks.
Variance project length is obtained by summing variance of each critical activity.
iv. The required probability can be determined by finding the area under the
normal curve to the left of X = 30
Now, the probability of completing the project within the 30 week deadline is

v. If the project start T weeks before the due date, the X will represent the
ordinate under normal curve to the left of which 99% of area lies.

The area between n and X- being 99-50 or 49% and Z – value corresponding to this
is 2033 (From table)
RAW MATERIAL CONSUMPTION
ESTIMATIONS
Raw material consumption estimations
After order scheduling process is completed, next important job for the
merchandiser is to estimate the average consumption of various raw materials
for that particular style and also for the order quantity.
Various consumption calculations details like,
1. Weight of the yarn or fabric per garment (grams per square metre)
2. Yarn or fabric consumption per garment and for order quantity
3. Sewing thread consumption
4. Other raw materials consumption.
Fabric and yarn weight calculations
The method of estimating the GSM of woven fabric is provided here.

The method to estimate the GSM of knitted fabric is provided here.

Example1

GSM of the woven fabric.

 100% cotton in warp yarn and
100% polyester in weft.
 EPI= 80
 PPI = 60
 Warp count = 2/100 Ne and
 Weft count = 80 Denier.
 Warp crimp = 6%
 Weft crimp = 8%
Example 2
GSM of the knitted fabric.
 Loop length = 0.55 mm  Wales per inch = 60
 Course per Inch= 72  Yarn count = 40s Ne
Size wise – Colour wise order
quantity breakup identification
Size wise – Colour wise order quantity breakup
identification

In practical situations, while receiving the order the merchandiser sometimes

will get the exact details of colour wise and size wise quantities but most of the
time he will receive only the,
 Order quantity and
 Size and colour wise ratio or percentage
 So, it is important for a merchandiser to know the calculation method for
these quantity breakup. Hence, this section details the calculation formula
related to this identification.
Steps to calculate quantity breakup
 Step 1: Calculate the sum of all ratios (may be size or colour)
 Step 2: Always remember to add the wastage percentage with order quantity
(based on experience / companies previous records)
 Step 3: Divide the order quantity by the summation value
 Step 4: Multiply the result by the ratio of particular size or colour, this will
give the exact quantity of that particular ratio (either size or colour)
Example

Calculate the size wise

quantity for the order with
 10,000 pcs order quantity
 The size ratio is S:M:L:XL =
1:2:2:1.
YARN / FABRIC CONSUMPTION CALCULATIONS
 The basic formula for the calculation of fabric consumption per garment is
provided here
Calculating Fabric Consumption
To calculate the fabric consumption, the following details are necessary,
 Measurement details of the garment
 Fabric width in Case of woven fabric
 Fabric GSM in case of knit fabric
 Shrinkage
 %Fabric description
 Style description of the garment
 In case of woven fabric, the total usable fabric width = Original width –
selvedge
 This usable width only needs to be used for the calculations
 In case of multiple fabric roll with different widths are used, consider the
lowest or least width for the calculation, if they are laid together during
cutting
 All the allowances should be considered before making consumption
calculations
EMBROIDARY THREAD CONSUMPTION
Generally measure based on,
 Stitch quantity in the embroidery design
 Stitch length in the embroidery design (which depends on design and types of
stitch)
 Length of thread in the cones.
The consumption (in Number of cones) is =
SEWING THREAD CONSUMPTION CALCULATION
Thread consumption in any garment depends upon numerous factors like-
 Stitch type
 Seam type
 Material thickness
 Number of layers
 Construction
 Stitches per inch (SPI)

However, these factors are not constant with the different style preferences.
Hence, thread consumption is never standard for sewn product categories such as
shirts, trousers and footwear.
SEWING THREAD CONSUMPTION CALCULATION

There are two methods generally used to calculate the amount of thread in a
seam and hence the thread consumption in the sewn product:
By measuring the actual amount of thread consumed
 A specified length of a given seam is measured and then the thread is pulled
out of this length.
 We can use the amount pulled out of this specified length to calculate the
ratio of thread consumed in the entire seam.
 By dividing the amount of thread by the seam length, we get the ratio of
thread consumed.
 If we multiply this factor times the total length of seam, we can determine
the total thread consumed for that seam
Example1
Calculate the sewing thread consumption in a 15 cm length 2 thread chain stitch (402).
ii. By calculation using Thread consumption ratios
 The easier method is to use the generally applicable thread consumption
ratios for the various stitch types that are listed below.
 By relating these ratios to the length of seams using each stitch type, total
thread consumption can be calculated.
 Here, the above ratios are arrived at with a stitch density of 7
stitches per cm (18 stitches per inch).
 These ratios are the prescribed minimum in regular conditions
and marginally vary with the factors affecting thread
consumption. A
 certain percentage of wastage is to be added to the above ratios
as per shop floor conditions. It may vary from 5% to 15%.
SEWING THREAD NUMBER SYSTEM
Thread sizes are communicated through various numbers and numbering systems
which are derived by relating its unit length and weight.
Fixed Weight Systems
 In this system, unit weight is taken as fixed and its length is measured
Systems under fixed weight:
 English Count (Ne) = Number of hanks of 840 yards/lb
 Metric Count (Nm) = Number of hanks of 1,000 meters/kg
In fixed weight systems, the yarn becomes finer as the count number increases.
Fixed Length Systems
 In this system, unit length is taken as fixed and its weight is measured
Systems under fixed length:
 Denier = Weight in grams of 9,000 meters
 Tex = Weight in grams of 1,000 meters
 Decitex = Weight in grams of 10,000 meters
In fixed length systems, the yarn becomes coarser / heavier as the count number
increases.
Generally, Metric count is used to describe synthetic, spun and core spun thread
while English count is used to specify cotton thread.
Filament threads are normally expressed with Decitex or Denier.
Factors affecting sewing thread consumption
 Thickness of fabrics
 Plies of fabrics to be sewn
 Stitch type
 Stitch density
 Width of seam
 Garment size
 Design of the apparel
 Automatic thread trimmer of that machine
 Skill of the operator
 Quality of thread
OTHER RAW MATERIAL
CONSUMPTIONS
Other raw material consumptions
Generally the following raw materials used in the garment manufacturing, for
which the merchandiser needs to calculate the total requirement for a single
garment or for an order.
 Buttons
 Labels
 Inter lining materials like nonwoven, canvas, etc.
 Hooks
 Zippers
 Tapes
 Elastics
 Tags, Poly bags, stickers and other packing materials
 Cartoon boxes, etc.
Raw materials – Key instructions
 The merchandiser will receive information from buyer regarding the quality
and requirement specification.
 With the sample one can understand how many numbers of particular raw
materials particular product is required per garment and
 Thus he or she can estimate the total numbers for the order quantity.
 The merchandiser should aware of the company efficiency either from
previous history or from similar order situations in past.
 Based on that merchandiser should include certain amount of waste
percentage to the particular raw material.
Raw material and their unit of measurements
S.No Raw Materials Unit of measurement
1 Label, Zipper, Hang Tag, Carton Per Unit
box, Rivets, Hanger
2 Laces, Elastics In meters (50 meter or 100 meter roll)
3 Tape, Velcro In meters (roll) or m/Kg
4 Buttons Gross (12 Dozens – 144 units )
5 Shanks Gross
6 Polybag Unit (Based on GSM
7 Sewing thread Cone (2000 or 5000 meter)
Differeence between trims and accessories
TRIMS
Technical Definition The materials which are attached
with the body of garments by
sewing are termed as trimmings
Non-Technical Trimmings are the ultimate
Definition materials that are attached with
the garments while using by the
end users.
Key Point Trimmings are used as functional
purposes
Example Buttons, Waistband
ACCESSORIES
The materials which are not
attached with the body of
garments by sewing, only
used for garments finishing
and packing are termed as
accessories
Accessories are the ultimate
materials that are not
attached with the garments
while using by the end user
Accessories are used as
decorative purposes
Interlining, etc.
Carton, Gum Tape, Poly
bag, etc.
FACTORY CAPACITY PLANNING
Factory capacity planning
 Merchandiser must have some knowledge about the factory available capacity, labour
skill level and machine capacity along with factories technology up gradation details.
 The general formula used for the calculations are provided below.
Line Planning
 Line planning is another important task for merchandiser and production
planning department.
 It is a process of scheduling and allocating of orders to production lines
according due dates of production completion.
 A line planning process tells
 when a style is going to be loaded to the line?
 how many pieces to be expected (target) from the line
 when order has to be completed
 It is mandatory to know the capacity details and skill level of the line or
factory or plant.
 This will help the merchandiser during booking orders or allocating orders to
the production line.
Example1
 Consider that a company has
received an order with
 target date = 20 days from today
 order quantity =25,000
 SMV is 6.74.
 line efficiency – 65%,
 each line has 15 operators.
Calculate number of lines required to
complete the order within the target
date.
Capacity calculation for other departments
 Departments like cutting, checking, finishing and packing, also the actual
capacity of any operation can be computed based on the SMV of that
particular operation.
 Most of the time the SMV values of these department activities will be
provided to the merchandiser.
CHECKING, FINISHING AND PACKING DEPT.
 The garment checking, finishing and packing process are performed
individually for every garment. Thus no confusion like the cutting
department.
 Thus the capacity can be calculated like sewing department.

CUTTING DEPARTMENT
 The operations involved are spreading, marking, cutting, fusing, re-laying, re-
cutting, sorting, enumeration and bundling.
 The critical issue in this process is calculation of Standard Allowable Minutes
(SAM) for one piece of garment or component.
 Primary variables influences the calculation of cutting SMV are layer number
during a lay, range of markers during a lay.
SMV Calculation
The general steps involved in the calculation of SMV for cutting, checking,
finishing and packing operations,
 Do cycle time of jobs (time study for five – ten cycles)
 Do performance rating ( Assess how fast or slow the operator doing the task in
1–100 scale)
 Calculate basic time (Basic time = cycle time × performance rating)
 Add allowances (machine allowance + personal fatigue)
 Calculate standard minutes (SAM = Basic time + Allowance percentages).
The basic time is actually SMV.
Sr. No. Operations
1 Spreading
2 Marker making
3 Cutting
4 Fusing
5 Re-cutting
6 Sorting
7 Number stickering
8 Bundling
Units for cutting operation SAM
Calculate the total SMV for a spread and identify the SMV for a layer
Marking SMV / marker; in case of CAD marker SMV/ lay
Calculate SMV / lay
SMV / garment
SMV/ Lay based on number of layers
SMV / lay
SMV / component and multipy by number of components to get SMV/
garment
SMV / Marker
FABRIC UTILISATION PERCENTAGE
To calculate utilisation percentage in cutting, the details regarding
 Lay length
 Lay width
 GSM and
 Numbers of plies in a lay are required.

 Here, total lay weight is = Lay length × lay width × GSM × Number of plies used
 To calculate the weight of the cut panes, measure the weight of the waste from the lay and
minus the waste weight from the total lay weight.
GENERAL SEWING DATA
It is a PTS (Pre-determined Time Standards) based time measuring system.
GSD provides a scientific, ethical and auditable approach to quantifying
manufacturing methods, times and costs and accurately and consistently
establishes International Standard Time for complete products (styles), or
individual product components (features).
GSD provides fast, accurate rates in a fraction of the time compared with other
systems. For every facility and style change option, GSD allows pre-costing of
various stages of manufacturing.
The system provides reliable, measurable information on:
 Optimum Standard Allowed Minute values
 Production-run efficiency (overall & component)
 Costing per style
 Performance related indices
BREAKDOWN OF OPERATIONS
At the initial stage most of the time its merchandisers solo
responsibility. That decision whatever he or she makes based on
her / his knowledge going to decide few things like,
 Is this order can be performed in our factory? – By considering
style complications and technical or technological facility
requirement
 Can we able to deliver the product quantity on time? – Capacity
of the department and factory
 Will the company get the expected level of profit out of the
order? – considering style complication and cost factors.
BREAKDOWN OF OPERATIONS
 Ultimately these questions will lead the
merchandiser to a situation whether to
accept the order or to reject the order.
 It is a huge decision for the company and
for himself.
 But this decision most of the time based
on merchandisers own assessment of the
garments requirements and their
companies skill set.
THANK YOU