Chapter 10 Apparel Production and Global Sourcing

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Production Planning Based on orders, a manufacturer decides on how many garments of each style to produce. Cut to order is the safest method, where you cut and produce only against orders. Cut to stock involves greater risk, where cutting is based on estimates of projected sales. Cut to stock is necessary for basics to enable production to be spread out over time. This allows work on items with high projected sales during slack months and when they have long lead times.

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Global Sourcing Manufacturing is a global phenomenon, with the majority of manufacturers no longer producing apparel in their own factories. Contractors, or independent producers does sewing, and/or cutting and patternmaking, in their own factories. Contractors relieve manufacturers from: –Paying wages during slack periods –Investing in plant and machinery –Lack of capacity during peak times

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Global Sourcing Extra movement of goods, communication issues and timing issues arise from remote production. Manufacturers seek cheap labor by going to Asia, Mexico, the Caribbean Basin and Eastern Europe. There are three basic methods of offshore production: –Production package –Cut, Make, and Trim (CMT) –Offshore Assembly (807) Industry concerns about overseas production include disintegration of domestic production base and use of sweatshops overseas replacing domestic production.

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Costing Production costs are mutually determined by the manufacturer and contractor. Elements include: –Materials –Trimmings –Production patternmaking, garding and marking –Spreading and cutting –Assembly –Finishing –Freight –Duty and quota

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Purchasing of Piece Goods Ordering the materials to produce garments may be done by the manufacturer or overseas contractor. Both environmental concerns and the volume of the piece goods order effect the cost. Piece goods buyers must also consider: –The amount that may be required for reorders –Trimmings –Fabric quality and dye lot matching

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Patternmaking Accurate patternmaking is crucial for successful apparel production. Most large manufacturers make patterns on a computer using Computer Aided Design, or CAD. Grading is the method to increase or decrease the sample size production pattern to make a complete size range. Markers are the cutting guide on a sheet of lightweight paper the same width as the fabric.

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Production Scheduling Contractors schedule production and garment assembly in time to met shipping dates. The production schedule, or issue plan is a reverse timetable usually covering six months. The first date is a shipping date that meets the retailers order requirements. Plant capacity must be considered in planning the production schedule. Computerized inventory control has made planning more accurate.

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Spreading and Cutting Procedures After the issue plan, a cutting order tells what to cut, what fabrics to use and how to cut. Computer guided spreaders provide distortion free garment spreading at high speeds to enable cutting. Markers are put on top of fabric and cutting is done by hand or computer via laser beam or water. Bundling is the process of sorting out cut pieces and organizing them for assembly.

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Garment Assembly Garment assembly, or operations, are based on operation sheets, where all necessary operations are listed in sequence. Sewing operations must be performed in sequence. The three methods of construction are: –Progressive bundling –Whole garment system –Modular manufacturing

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Garment Assembly Computer technology is used in garment assembly: –Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) –Unit Production Systems (UPS) –Computer simulation –Flexible manufacturing Three main types of power sewing machines are used in traditional factories: –Lock stitch –Chain stitch –Overlock or serging

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Garment Assembly While programmable sewing machines are very successful in surging or seaming, automated sewing remains difficult. Finishing is the handwork done inside collars and lapels to form and hold shape. The high cost of skilled labor has driven this tailoring to fusing or machine basting.

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Production of Men’s Suits Men’s clothing was divided into firms that produce tailored goods or firms that produce furnishings. Men’s suits production can have over 200 steps. Modern technology introduced automation into an industry traditionally handwork oriented. Production steps in mass produced suits are: –Fuse or hand stitch interfacings, jump baste chest pieces and bridal tape on lapel crease –Press, line and stitch pockets –Join main pieces together –Set in sleeves and linings and sew buttons

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Mass Customization and Production of Knitwear Body scanning technology developed by Textile/Clothing Technology Corporation (TC3) uses white light to capture three dimensional body images. These measurements are converted and sent to a laser that cuts cloth to create a custom fitting garment. The two commercial methods of knitwear production are: –Cut and sew –Full fashioned

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey The Final Steps of Garment Production Dyeing ensures perfect color match between garments. Washing is used in jeanswear to finish garments. Pressing vastly improves the look of garments. Quality control is the standardization of production using specifications as guides. Labels showing a variety of information are sewn in. Many retailers require “floor ready” standards: –Preticketing garments with bar coded price tags –Hang merchandise on Voluntary Industry Communications Standards (VICS) hangers

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Shipping from Global Contractor to Manufacturer’s Distribution Center Another choice is the method of shipping from manufacturer to retailer Three main methods are used: –Free on Board (FOB) where contractors deliver goods to the ship or plane in the country where it is made. Manufacturers arrange and pay for transport and duty. –Landed, Duty Paid (LDP) where contractors ship to the distribution center and pay duty. –Cost, Insurance, Freight (CIF), pays for insurance and freight to final destination.

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Shipping from Global Contractor to Manufacturer’s Distribution Center Finished goods take approximately 4 to 35 days on water via ship and 3 to 10 days via airplane. They are delivered to either the manufacturer’s distribution center for direct delivery to retail stores, or to the retailer’s distribution center for distribution to the retailer’s stores.

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Filling Orders and Shipping to Retailers Garments are checked for quality, divided into groups according to style, color and size and put into stock. Standardized purchase orders make pulling orders to fill easier, faster and more efficient. Orders transmitted via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) are automatically translated in Advanced Shipping Notices (ASN’s) and invoices. ASN’s are sent to stores so they know what to expect. Bar-coded boxes are prepared for shipment, with packing slips and addresses, allowing for on time delivery and quick checking at the destination.