Retailing and Merchandising in Textiles and Appare 3(2+1)
Lesson 13 : Merchandising
Material Management
Raw materials, including fabric, findings, and trim, can represent from one third to one-half the total cost of a garment. The purchasing and scheduling of these raw materials must be programmed for delivery as close to their required usage as possible. This is the business philosophy of just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing, which greatly reduces inventory carrying costs and warehousing requirements by scheduling the delivery of raw materials precisely at the time they are to be used in the production process. One major branded jeans manufacturer schedules trailer loads of denim fabric to be de livered daily to its cutting facility with the rolls loaded in the order in which it is planned that they will be spread for cutting. This allowed the manufacturer to eliminate a half million square foot fabric warehouse and reduce handling costs by 50 percent. In 81 percent of the apparel companies surveyed (see Appendix), merchandisers select all raw materials; in 40 percent, merchandising is responsible for purchasing raw materials for the design function; and in 25 percent, the merchandiser actually purchases raw materials for stock. The responses from retailers were different. In 69 percent of the companies, product managers select the raw materials, and when it comes to purchasing the materials for the design or production stages, the product manager has no responsibility whatsoever.
Participants