Know about Departments in Apparel Industry

Let's Know about Departments in the Apparel Industry

Departments in Apparel Industry

There are a variety of departments in the apparel industry with different workings. All the functionality of departments in the industry is different but aligned towards a goal.

MERCHANDISING - Merchandising is a method by which products are designed, created, implemented and delivered to the consumer. This involves directing and supervising product line development from start to finish. Marketing and Merchandising Department-Under ahead of profit control, a team of merchandisers and marketers work together. Merchandisers are competing with foreign buyers. The teams are made according to the directed buyers.

A Merchant Main Responsibility 

• Order Confirmation from the Buyer 
• Product Development 
• Market and Product Review 
• Marketing the Concept 
• Booking Orders 
• Confirming Distribution 
• Design and Sampling 
• Costing 
• Raw Material 
• Manufacturing Follow-up 
• Transactions Follow-up

The merchandising department is responsible for all different types of sampling and approvals.

SAMPLING DEPARTMENT - The sampling department is one of the most important departments in any export building and plays a vital role in a unit's uplift. The sampling team works directly with the Merchandising and Development department. Sampling is done to see how the product will look when manufactured in bulk and to check if there are any differences in the design that are made according to the requirements of the consumer. Sampling is the stage of development of initial steps of product development. It is a process through which a small number of clothes are made to match the buyer's requirement and obtain the buyer's approval to start production. It's different from bulk manufacturing because every tailor is multi-skilled here. This department makes samples based on specifications and requirements sent by the purchaser in the tech pack Sampling process varies from purchaser to purchaser, and type of style as well, but a particular order of sampling is followed in the industry, the stages and purpose of the sample may be the same but the terminology used may vary and depend entirely on the purchaser.

The typical samples namely described as:

1. Design development
2. Proto sample
3. Fit sample
4. Ad or photoshoot sample
5. Salesman sample
6. Pre-production sample
7. GPT sample
8. Size set sample
9. TOP sample
10. Wash sample
11. Shipment sample

Such samples are sent one after the other to the retailer for the buyer's approval and to proceed further. In addition to these normal steps, the buyer often recommends improvements to the prepared sample, and then adding such suggestions makes a counter sample and is sent to the buyer for approval. The sampling department helps the merchandising department find out about the consumption of fabric per unit of clothing and thus helps in costing the cloth.

FABRIC SOURCING DEPARTMENT - The clothing procurement department is basically interested in deciding how and where to get its products, i.e. cloth.
It works in collaboration with the merchandising department and takes care of the delivery of the appropriate items within the scheduled time and cost. 
A fabric sourcing team needs to have experience of all forms of fabric to accomplish its function effectively.

PURCHASE DEPARTMENT - The purchasing department is similar to the procurement department, but mostly due to its own manufacturing department while the procurement department is working to purchase the accessories and trimmings. However, the purchasing department The operating cycle is close to the department for sourcing fabrics.

FABRIC AUDIT DEPARTMENT - The main goals of the Fabric Audit Department are: 

• To examine fabric defects using different methods.
• Selection of structures according to AQL 1.5.
• The test takes place on the following grounds: the shade is segregated at 100 percent.
• A 100 percent width separation is done.
• Deficiencies for 15 percent of the fabric are inspected.
• The shrinking check is 10-15 percent lightweight and most of it 100 percent heavyweight. 
• Only in full width is the textile tested.
• Whether the roll is correct or not, the amount is checked. The quantity is put to the test.

ACCESSORY STORES DEPARTMENT - Roles of Accessory Stores Department

• The shops collect in-house raw materials and after this, the sampling process is conducted and a list of the tests which will be performed for these specific products must be made and then sent to the laboratory. 
• The lists of accessories and measures commonly tested are: Colored lace and tape checks for color rapidity The elastic color speed test is tested for the dimensional consistency of elastic fabrics.

PLANNING DEPARTMENT - The Department of Planning has a key role to play in approving the order, which helps merchants to calculate how much the particular style will cost them, telling them if the company is able to produce the particular style within that time frame. Includes fundamental planning in the production of apparel: 

• Order receipt.
• Adequate planning is available to check whether enough power is available to deliver the specified date of delivery.
• The availability of cut pieces and panels (eventually cut-brother, print, wash, and pack) in the non-sewing areas is verified.
• Search for ample time to order and collect textiles, trimmings, approval samples, laboratory tests, etc.
• The customer shall be notified of the delivery date.
• Proper coordination between departments to ensure smooth process flow.
• Monitoring of program development.
• If possible, REDO.

LABORATORY DEPARTMENT - The laboratory department at the factory is designed to check both the fabric and accessories, with all appropriate equipment and instruments.
Nevertheless, there are several tests that the buyer prescribes that machines for such tests can not be used in the plant and that the plant does not have the correct equipment, therefore they will submit such products or devices, which would need other tests to be performed in the external laboratories, with the permission of the buyer and the dealer.

MACHINE MAINTENANCE - Besides having a quality program and the best practices, "machine repair" is also very necessary to receive goods of "quality."

Unacceptable product quality also results in malfunctioning machines.
Breakdown and preventive maintenance are aimed primarily at reducing downtime and rising life, respectively.
Proper maintenance of the machine is also required to avoid damage on the floor.

Functions of Preventive Maintenance

• Care of fittings
• Adjustment of settings
• Oil change
• Graph of repair
• Reports
• Outward / inward
• Needle weekly reports.
• History card
• Needle log cards for the system setup table.

CAD DEPARTMENT - Most apparel industries have their own CAD department for varied style garments made using some specialist software packages.

The CAD department is responsible for the following functions: 

• Determining cost-cutting average 
• Making the most efficient cutting marker 
• Development and alteration of patterns 
• Development of size set patterns by grading 
• Sticker designs.

CUTTING ROOM - The Cutting department receives an order from the production manager to cut a fabric style. Cutting order is an authorization to cut a given amount of styles from the spreads by the production manager.

This comes in the form of a box file with the following details: sampling, clothing(fabric and trim fabric), fabric consumption, and other style details.

CAD Methods sheet The planning-length of lay etc. the scale of the ratio and the colors in which patterns are to be cut is the planning symbol of the CAD Design required sheet.

PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT - The production floor produces in two categories, 

• Pilot Production 
• Bulk Production

The production department may obtain specifics such as, the style of the clothes, the number of operators needed, the batch for which the style has to be mounted, any specific types of machines to be used for the particular style, aim for each day Breakup of the production quantity.

Production managers help the planning department to schedule or assign a specific line to the style by telling them the line's potential and informing them about the operators ' skills as well.

IE DEPARTMENT -The IE department has to work with many other departments as this department provide the whole idea of the construction of the garment and the thread and trim usage requirements, skill level categorization of the operators and other relevant aspects, therefore they play a vital role in deciding the cost of producing a single piece of the garment and also determine the factory costs for that particular style by calculating the SAM value.

EMBROIDERY DEPARTMENT - The section on embroidery is a department that only comes into the picture when demands of the particular style.

From the sewing floor or from the cutting department, the embroidery section receives the garments and then they start their embroidery process.

WASHING DEPARTMENT - The garment is sent to the washing department until complete with all the operations and is then finished in line with the buyer's requirements for that particular style and thus plays an important part in the final look and texture of the garment, which must be faithful to the buyer's specifications 100%.
There are various types of washing procedures involved and they are categorized as follows: standard washing/water, washing/drying, softener washing, desize washing, enzyme washing, stone enzyme washing, rubber ball washing, denim washing, bleach washing, tinting / T-staining.

QUALITY ASSURANCE DEPARTMENT - Performance is the most important criteria for any product and the same concept applies also to the garment industry.

The quality assurance teams have split their work into different manufacturing stages in order to maintain consistency and are grouped into four major groups that are as follows.

• Pre-production audit
• Sewing audit
• End-line audit

FINISHING DEPARTMENT - The finishing department is the department that comes after all the departments and plays an equally important role in the garment's final appearance.
Most of the following steps in the region are found in the department, Trimming Inspection Semi–Packaging Solid Packaging Mixed Packaging Pressing Tagging.

You must read about the "Overview of the Global Textile Industry".