Lean Process & Merchandising Management

2018
- Pakistan Readymade Garment Technical
Training Institute
- A project of Punjab Skill Development Fund
(PSDF)
3/14/2018
Apparel Merchandising and Lean
Manufacturing
A study of Apparel Merchandising with respect to
Lean Approach to find out the Application &
Advantages of Lean in the function of Apparel
Merchandising.

Apparel Merchandising and Lean Manufacturing
Pakistan Readymade Garments Technical Training Institute Page 1
Acknowledgement
This dissertation is dedicated to Sir Shahzad Akram Kamboh, whose style of
teaching empowered us to write this short thesis. His shared valuable
knowledge of his field, i.e. Textile Industry, with us will surely help us out in
our practical life as a professional.
Project Owners:
Sundas Khan
Shiba Mahmood
Fozia Younas
Iram Shahzadi
Attiya Daoud

Abstract
As Lean Manufacturing is a philosophy of eliminating waste through continuous
improvement and Apparel Merchandising is a way to deliver the clothing requests
and meet the needs of potential customers and designers at the maximum profit
for the company and the maximize quality for the buyer. Hence, the purpose of
this project is to find out the importance of lean manufacturing in our field of
textile merchandising. In this dissertation we have made some research on the
topic of Lean Manufacturing and its usefulness for an apparel merchandiser. We
are examining the usual process of an apparel merchandiser to complete his/her
order in the context of lean manufacturing and will see that how a merchandiser
can improve his/her results by following the lean processes.

Contents
• Introduction of Textile Industry
➢ What is Textile Industry?
➢ Types of Fabric Used In Industry
➢ History of Textile Industry
➢ Textile Value Chain
➢ Pakistan’s Textile Industry
➢ Barriers to Grow
➢ Recommendations
• Understanding of Apparel Merchandising Management
➢ What is Merchandising?
➢ What is Merchandising Management?
➢ What is Apparel Merchandising?
➢ Responsibilities of an Apparel Merchandiser
• Introduction of Lean Manufacturing Techniques
➢ Introduction of Lean Manufacturing
➢ Why Lean Manufacturing?
➢ Key Principles of Lean Manufacturing
• Processes Involved in Lean Manufacturing
➢ Value stream mapping (VSM)
➢ Kaizen Approach
➢ Process mapping
➢ 5S
➢ Lean Six Sigma
• Lean Manufacturing and Merchandising Management
➢ How to utilize Lean in Merchandising Process

Introduction Of Pakistan’s
Textile Industry

What is Textile Industry?
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of
yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural or synthetic using products of
the chemical industry. Have you ever looked around your house at all of the products
that contain some sort of fabric? You might have notice blankets, furniture, carpet,
curtains, even your clothing fabric is a part of our daily lives and without it, and we
would not have many of the products. We have come to love, need and want. Textile is
a fabric that is knitted or woven and made from yarn. Thus, the textile industry is the
industry responsible for taking a raw material like cotton or wool and spinning it into yarn
that is later used to create the fabric. All of the processes involved in the converting of
the raw material into finished product, including developing or producing, manufacturing,
and distributing textile are included in this industry.
Types of Fabric Used In Industry
The textile industry utilizes many different types of fabric but, all of item can be broken
down into two major categories, naturally and synthetic.
Natural fabric is those that occur naturally from things like animals (sheep, silkworms,
and alpaca) and plants (cotton and flax).
Synthetic fabrics are those that are created in a lab and are manmade. Some examples
of synthetic fabrics include rayon, spandex, polyester and nylon.

History of Textile Industry
Up until the industrial revolution, many products in the textile industry were made at
home and without the use of machines. But the creation of factories, and soon fabric
was mass produced. Some key inventions that led to this boom and development of the
textile industry include the flying shuttle which allowed one weaver to use one hand and
operate the loom. The spinning jenny led to the ability of spinning multiple threads at
one time. And then there was the power loom which used steam to power it so that it
could combine threads. The cotton gin was a mechanical invention that allowed for a
more productive way to separate the cottonseed from the cotton fabric instead of doing
it manually, And, the jacquard loom which allowed for creation of designs and patterns
on the fabric.
Textile Value Chain
In the first stage of the production process, raw material is prepared by separating
impurities from cotton balls (ginning), which is then used to draw strings of fiber and
manufacture yarn (spinning). The yarn that is produced is then woven into cloth
(weaving & knitting) which is further processed into different articles including
readymade garments, hosiery, towels and bed sheets. The textile industry is a high
involvement sector and as such value addition remains imperative to garner healthy
returns. However, Pakistan’s textile sector is primarily concentrated in the upstream
processes, specifically spinning.

Pakistan’s Textile Industry
Pakistan currently ranks as the 4th largest producer of cotton in the world and has the
third largest spinning capacity in Asia.
The textile sector of Pakistan plays a pivotal role in the country’s economy – its
significance stemming mainly from its very large cotton production capacity. The country
currently ranks as the 4th largest producer of cotton in the world and has duly
capitalized on this capability by developing and promoting its textile sector. As a result,
Pakistan now also has the third largest spinning capacity in all of Asia. The importance
of the textile sector as an integral part of Pakistan’s economy is highlighted by the
following facts
- It provides employment to over 40% of industrial labor force
- It contributes 8.5% to GDP
- It accounts for 40% of banking credit
- It holds approximately 60% share in national exports
International Standings of Pakistan’s Textile
Production and
Export
Percent
(%)
Rank
Cotton Production 9.5 4th
Cotton Consumption 10.0 3rd
Yarn Production 9.0 3rd
Yarn Export 26.0 2nd
Cloth Production 7.0 3rd
Cloth Export 14.0 3rd
Garment Export 1.0 20th
Total Textiles Export 2.0 15th

Production
There are six primary sectors of the textile production in Pakistan:
• Spinning
• Weaving
• Processing
• Printing
• Garment manufacturing
• Filament yarn manufacturing
Cotton is the largest segment of textile production. Other fibers produced include
synthetic fiber, filament yarn, art silk, wool, and jute.
Cotton: Cotton spinning is perhaps the most important segment in the Pakistan textile
industry with 521 units installed and operational.
Synthetic fibers: Within synthetic fibers, nylon, polyester, acrylic, and polyolefin
dominate the market. There are currently five major producers of synthetic fibers in
Pakistan, with a total capacity of 636,000 tons per annum.
Filament yarn: Three types of filament yarn are produced in Pakistan. These are
acetate rayon yarn, polyester filament yarn, and nylon filament yarn. There are currently
about 6 units in the country.
Artificial Silk: This fiber resembles silk but costs less to produce. There are about
90,000 looms in the country located mainly in Karachi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala,
and Jalapur Jattan, as well as some in FATA.
Wool: The main products manufactured from wool include woolen yarn, acrylic yarn,
fabrics, shawls, blankets, and carpets.
Jute: Jute sakes and hessian cloth are primarily used for packing agricultural products
such as grain and rice. The production of jute products was approximately 100,000 tons
in 2009-10.

Trade
Textiles comprise 57% of Pakistan's export revenues. However, in recent years, textile
exports have declined significantly. Textile exports were recorded at $11.625 billion
dollars in 2014-2015. In 2015-2016, this number had dropped 7.7% to $10.395 billion.
The Pakistan Textile Exporters Association recently requested the government to take
significant measures to ensure the growth of textile exports and sustain the employment
provided by the sector. Specifically, the PTEA has requested:
• Zero rating on export value chain (i.e. no tax, no refund) to boost export growth
• Subsidize a decrease in cost of production to boost competitiveness of Pakistani
exports
• Guarantee energy supply to textile mills at competitive rates
Furthermore, the Pakistan Textile Mills Association has demanded that the removal of
duty on cotton imports and a rebate of five percent on textile exports. This plea has
come at a time with about 110 mills have been shut down due to various barriers to
growth including the energy crisis.

Barriers to Grow
Main reasons of crisis in textile industry in Pakistan are as follows:
1. Lack of Research & development (R&D):-
The lack of research & development (R&D) in the cotton sector of Pakistan has
resulted in low quality of cotton in comparison to rest of Asia. Because of the
subsequent low profitability in cotton crops, farmers are shifting to other cash
crops, such as sugar cane.
2. Lack of modernize equipment:-
The textile industry has obsolete equipment and machinery except few major
producers. The inability to timely modernize the equipment and machinery has
led to the decline of Pakistani textile competitiveness. Due to obsolete
technology the cost of production is higher in Pakistan as compared to other
countries like India, Bangladesh & China.
3. Increasing cost of production:-
The cost of production of textile rises due to many reasons like increasing
interest rate, double digit inflation & decreasing value of Pakistani rupee. The
increasing interest rate caused barrier in opening new manufacturing units & also
increase the production cost of existing units. The value of Pakistani rupee is
continuously decreasing which increased the cost of imported raw material. The
removal of subsidy & implementation of new taxes from government also
increase the cost of production. The instant increase in cost of electricity also
caused an increase in production. The above all reason increased the cost of
production of textile industry which create problem for a textile industry to
compete in international market.

4. Energy crisis:
As a consequence of load shedding the textile production capacity of various
subsectors has been reduced. The representatives of the all textile associations
presented their serious concerns on the huge losses being incurred due to
electricity & gas load shedding and the instant rise in the Electricity tariff. They
said that the industry has already been crippled due to record high load
shedding.
5. Lack of new investment:-
Pakistan textile industry is facing problem of Low productivity due to its obsolete
textile machineries. To overcome this problem and to stand in competition,
Pakistan Textile Industry will require high investments.
6. Bad Law & Order Condition:-
Bad law & order condition and unstable political situations are also the reasons of
creating hurdle in growth of this sector.
7. Supply chain management:
Another problem contributing in the poor performance of our textile sector is the
absence of efficient supply chain management and centralized framework. Many
economic and political factors limit the ability of the exporters to meet their
commitment timely and may also result in losing business in future.
8. Export Performance of the Textile Sector:-
Due to high cost of production, power shortage and stiff competition with regional
players, the export performance of Pakistan textile sector is suffering badly.

9. Raw material Prices:-
Prices of cotton & other raw material used in textile industry fluctuate rapidly in
Pakistan. The rapid increase in the price raw material affects the cost of
production badly. Due to increase in the cost of production the demand for export
& home as well decreased which result in terms of downsizing of a firms resulting
in unemployment.
10. Effect of Inflation:-
The increase in inflation causes the increase in the cost of production of textile
good which return in downsizing. The double digit inflation is also affecting
exports of textiles.
Recommendations
Recommendations for the growth of the textile sector are as follows;
1. Revision of Government policies is required:-
There are non-conducive government policies in term of bank loans and interest
rates. It is the need of the hour to develop a coherent plan by the government
that allows some sort of exemption/concession to the textile sector. For example
as in India; the Export-Import Bank was set up for the purpose of financing and
facilitating the industries, especially textile. The government may give subsidies
to share the burden of the industry.
2. Reducing the cost of doing Business in Pakistan:-
At present cost of doing business in Pakistan is higher as compared to the
regional countries, which has resulted in bitter competitiveness to Pakistani
Products in Foreign Markets. China and India are the bigger competitors of
Pakistan. We fear if cost of doing business in Pakistan is not brought at par with
other Asian countries, our products would find no place in Market both in terms of

quality and price. In the context of future trade, there is an urgent need to bring
all the utility charges and levy of taxes down to the minimum level.
3. Focus on Value Addition:-
Pakistan is a leading exporting nation in raw yarn, cotton, and fabrics. If we
emphasis on the value added products like garments, Hosiery, knitwear and
other textile made-up, the export volume of textiles can be increased by
manifolds. In this respect top priority should be given to stitching industry that
leads to highest value addition and employment generation
4. Technology interventions:-
Sophisticated technology should be introduced to compete with the other
countries (India, Bangladesh & China) in the global market in term of cost and
quality.
5. Human Resources Development:-
The Textile Board should establish a separate training wing as a Center of
Human Resource Development where training courses should be conducted for
the capacity building of labor. There is also urgent need to increase the number
of such Vocational Institutions where modern technical education is provided.
6. Proper Energy Supply:-
According to sources, it is estimated that in recent past around 800 units have
closed in Punjab during electricity and gas load shedding while approx. 500,000
workers lost their jobs. In order to save the industry there must be a preferential
treatment with the industry in uninterrupted energy supply.
7. Investment in Textile Sector:-
The investment volume is not satisfactory in the textile sector as compared to the
potential available. Government should take serious step to survive the textile
industry. In order to decrease the price raw material for textile we need to
increase our production capability.

Understanding of
Apparel
Merchandising Management

What is Merchandising?
The term merchandising has been derived from the word merchandise that means the
goods to be bought & sold.
The activity of promoting the sale of goods at retail is called Merchandising.
Merchandising activities may include display techniques, free samples, on-the-spot
demonstration, pricing, shelf talkers, special offers, and other point-of-sale methods.
According to American Marketing Association, merchandising encompasses "planning
involved in marketing the right merchandise or service at the right place, at the right
time, in the right quantities, and at the right price."
What is Merchandising Management?
Merchandising Management is the sequence of various activities performed by the
Merchandiser such as planning, buying, and selling of products to the customers as per
their requirements.
As merchandising includes the all necessary steps to buy or sell goods so the right
arrangement or sequence of the steps taken to buy or sell the good is called the
Merchandising Management.
It can be further defined by the help of following:

What is Apparel Merchandising?
Garments mean apparels or clothing what we need to wear every day for casual or
formal fashion. The word came from the Merchandise, and it means buying and selling
something to someone.
Apparel merchandising is the merchandising belongs to the buying and selling the
garments and the person who is dealing with that merchandising is called Apparel
Merchandiser.
Apparel merchandiser is the backbone of the textile industry. Many can produce the
things but there are few who can merchandise them properly. The art of presentation,
the way of communication, the knowledge of the products and a quick and on the spot
decision making is the key to success to the apparel merchandisers.
Making TNA’S appropriate costing, budgeting, order monitoring techniques, technical
knowledge and skills about apparel business, product research and development and
data gathering and presentation are the major area of expertise for the merchandisers

An apparel merchandiser, also known as a fashion merchandiser, actually she/he has to
perform much more than traditional merchandising. She/he has to keep her educated
and realize on the most recent fashion fads and styles around the world and make sure
that store is the first to carry cutting-edge clothing and accessories. The merchandiser
coordinates with the management or production section to increase sell of a product.
Apparel Merchandisers are considers as a key person in Apparel industry for their
responsibilities. In flow chart we can define these responsibilities as

Furthermore:
Responsibilities of an Apparel
Merchandiser
Following are the main responsibilities of merchandisers.
1. Internal & external communication:-
As merchandiser is the person who is responsible to carry out the order for both
the buyer and seller so the communication is one of the essential parts of his
duty. To negotiate order till the production and then shipment he/she must have
the strong interpersonal skills.
2. Consumption & Cost Calculation:
Consumption and costing is one of the core responsibilities of an apparel
merchandiser. This is the part which decides whether to take this order or not,
what are the quality standards to follow and what would be the level of production
by keeping the concept of profit or loss in the mind. This responsibility requires
the deep skills and experience to initiate.
3. Sampling:-
Development of samples as per tech pack and then presentation for the approval
of samples to buyer is also the responsibility of an apparel merchandiser
4. Lab dips:-
Lab dips are to the conformance of the fabric colors used to make the garment
according to the requirements of the tech pack. This making of lab dips from
dying department is also the part of a merchandiser’s responsibilities.

5. Accessories & Trims:-
It is also the responsibility of a merchandiser to arrange the right accessories and
trims for the garment production.
6. Preparing Internal Order Sheets:-
Internal order sheet is the sheet of required raw material, accessories & trims
necessary for the making of garment. As the order negotiator and the owner of
the product merchandiser knows it well.
7. Preparing Purchase Orders:-
After making the internal order sheet the purchase order to supplier for the raw
material is then to prepare by the merchandiser by keeping the facts of cost and
quality in the mind.
8. Advising and Assisting Production:-
Communicate and to be in touch with production department during the whole
process of order production to get the required standard of quality at each level
of production is also the part of merchandiser’s duty.
9. Advising Quality Department About Quality Level:-
As the merchandiser have the tech pack and all the communication/requirements
of buyers so he/she is the responsible to incorporate the required standards in
the finished product, that’s why he/she often negotiates with the quality
departments to make sure the quality standards.
10.Mediating Production and Quality Departments:-
To manage the both, production & quality, merchandiser plays the role of
mediator to make sure the as per excellence end product.

11.Giving Packaging Instruction For Shipment:-
Packaging as per the buyer’s standard for shipment is also the point of interest
for a merchandiser. It is one of the essential things to clear the shipment from
inspection for the delivery.
12.Helping Documentation Department:-
To export, all the documentation must be clearly defined and complete to avoid
any problem in shipment. Merchandiser takes the responsibility with export
department to make the all documents as per legal standards.
13.Final Inspection:-
Arrangement and successful completion of final inspection is also the
responsibility of a merchandiser.
14.Following Shipment:-
Following shipment to make sure the on time delivery to the buyer

Introduction of Lean Manufacturing

Introduction of Lean Manufacturing
Lean manufacturing or lean production, often simply "lean", is a systematic method for
waste minimization within a manufacturing system without sacrificing productivity. Lean
also takes into account waste created through overburden and waste created through
unevenness in workloads. Working from the perspective of the client who consumes a
product or service, "value" is any action or process that a customer would be willing to
pay for.
Lean principles are derived from the Japanese manufacturing industry. For many, lean
is the set of "tools" that assist in the identification and steady elimination of waste. As
waste is eliminated quality improves while production time and cost are reduced.
There is a second approach to lean manufacturing, which is promoted by Toyota,
called The Toyota Way, in which the focus is upon improving the "flow" or smoothness
of work, thereby steadily eliminating unevenness through the system and not upon
'waste reduction'.
• Lean manufacturing dramatically reduces the waste chain.
• Lean manufacturing reduces inventory and floor space requirements.
• Lean manufacturing creates more robust production systems.
• Lean manufacturing develops appropriate material delivery systems.
• Lean manufacturing improves layouts for increased flexibility.
Why Lean Manufacturing?
Lean Manufacturing removes and/or minimizes non-value work activity from the
manufacturing process. Here are four reasons why anyone should consider using Lean
Manufacturing techniques:
1. Streamlines the company’s processes:-
Implementing Lean allows a manufacturer to streamline their processes
throughout the entire organization, from the front office all the way to distribution.
Efficiencies are witnessed and the manufacturer is able to work at its full

potential. This results in a reduced manufacturing cost and increased speed to
market.
2. Removes waste:-
Lean addresses the Nine Areas of Waste: motion, inventory, waiting time,
transportation, information, quality, overproduction, processing and creativity. By
eliminating waste, a company has the opportunity to abolish time spent on
unnecessary tasks.
3. Lean can build team commitment:-
In order to build a Lean operation, a company must recognize that there is a
need for change. Employing Lean operations requires focus from all team
members. In many instances, utilizing Lean techniques have allowed for a
company-wide assessment of their manufacturing processes, which builds
teamwork and cooperation.
4. The job is never done:-
A key element of Lean is “continuous improvement.” This means that there are
continuous opportunities to become Leaner.
Hence, typically Lean will improve;
• Quality performance, fewer defects and rework (in house and at customer)
• Fewer Machine and Process Breakdowns
• Lower levels of Inventory
• Greater levels of Stock Turnover
• Less Space Required
• Higher efficiencies, more output per man hour
• Improved delivery performance

• Faster Development
• Greater Customer Satisfaction
• Improved employee morale and involvement
• Improved Supplier Relations
• Higher Profits
• Increased Business
Key Principles of Lean Manufacturing

There are 5 key principles of Lean Manufacturing
1. Identify Value:-
Value is always defined by the customer’s needs for a specific product. For
example, what is the timeline for manufacturing and delivery? What is the price
point? What are other important requirements or expectations that must be met?
This information is vital for defining value.
2. Value stream:-
Once the value (end goal) has been determined, the next step is mapping the
“value stream,” or all the steps and processes involved in taking a specific
product from raw materials and delivering the final product to the customer.
Value-stream mapping is a simple but eye-opening experience that identifies all
the actions that take a product or service through any process. That process can
be in design, production, procurement, HR, administration, delivery, or customer
service. The idea is to draw, on one page, a "map" of the flow of material/product
through the process. The goal is to identify every step that does not create value
and then find ways to eliminate those wasteful steps. Value-stream mapping is
sometimes referred to as process re-engineering. Ultimately this exercise also
results in a better understanding of the entire business operation.
3. Create Flow:-
After the waste has been removed from the value stream, the next step is to be
sure the remaining steps flow smoothly with no interruptions, delays, or
bottlenecks. “Make the value-creating steps occur in tight sequence so that the
product or service will flow smoothly toward the customer,” advises LEI. This may
require breaking down silo thinking and making the effort to become cross-
functional across all departments, which can be one of the greatest challenges
for lean programs to overcome. However, studies show that this will also lead to
huge gains in productivity and efficiency, sometimes as high as 50-percent
improvement or more.

4. Establish Pull:-
With improved flow, time to market (or time to customer) can be dramatically
improved. This makes it much easier to deliver products as needed, as in “just in
time” manufacturing or delivery. This means the customer can “pull” the product
from you as needed (often in weeks, instead of months). As a result, products
don’t need to be built in advance or materials stockpiled, creating expensive
inventory that needs to be managed, saving money for both the
manufacturer/provider and the customer.
5. Seek Perfection:-
Accomplishing Steps 1-4 is a great start, but the fifth step is perhaps the most
important: making lean thinking and process improvement part of your corporate
culture. As gains continue to pile up, it is important to remember lean is not a
static system and requires constant effort and vigilance to perfect. Every
employee should be involved in implementing lean. Lean experts often say that a
process is not truly lean until it has been through value-stream mapping at least
half a dozen times.
Processes Involves in Lean Method
There are 5 most popular lean methods; that are:
1. Value stream mapping (VSM)
2. Kaizen Approach
3. Process mapping
4. 5S
5. Lean Six Sigma
1. Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
Value stream mapping refers to developing a visual picture of the flow of
processes, from start to finish, involved in delivering a desired outcome, service,
or product, which could include multiple processes. Value stream maps are
generally bigger picture, strategic views of a service or process – they are used
for identifying improvement priorities.

Benefits:-
• Value stream map is quick and easy to learn
• It's a group exercise and therefore can involve your workforce
• You can use a completed value stream map as an improvement aide to
document transitions
• It’s an inexpensive tool
• It can be easily critiqued by your workforce (using post it notes) to highlight
problems that exist within the process
• It's not just for manufacturing! Value stream mapping has been used in offices,
service industries healthcare etc.
• It helps portray the process from the start of the production process to the end,
this way it finds the waste in the process accurately
• It's easy to understand - With a little bit of training on VSM icons - maps are easy
to understand conveying powerful process in a simple pictorial fashion

2. Kaizen Approach:-
Kaizen is a combination of two Japanese words that mean "to take apart" and "to
make good." Kaizen refers to the belief that small, incremental changes routinely
applied and sustained over a long period of time result in significant performance
improvements. Kaizen focuses on eliminating waste in a targeted system or
process of an organization, improving productivity, and achieving sustained
improvement. Kaizen activity often involves rapid improvement events
(sometimes called a kaizen blitz), which bring together a cross-functional team
for two to five days to study a process and begin the implementation of process
changes.

Benefits:-
• Less waste – inventory is used more efficiently as are employee skills.
• People are more satisfied – they have a direct impact on the way things are
done.
• Improved commitment – team members have more of a stake in their job and are
more inclined to commit to doing a good job.
• Improved retention – satisfied and engaged people are more likely to stay.
• Improved competitiveness – increases in efficiency tend to contribute to lower
costs and higher quality products.
• Improved consumer satisfaction – coming from higher quality products with fewer
faults.
• Improved problem solving – looking at processes from a solutions perspective
allows employees to solve problems continuously.
• Improved teams – working together to solve problems helps build and strengthen
existing teams.
3. Process Mapping:-
The process map is a visual image or depiction of the specific process you would
like to improve. It’s a great tool for creating a common /shared understanding of
a process. You’d be surprised at the different perceptions people have about a
process. It’s not until you get them in a room together that you are able to
develop the common ground and understanding of the process.

Benefits:-
• Visibility of Your End-to-end Processes
• Show Process and Activity Owners
• Support Induction and Training
• Re-purpose/Re-use Process Mapping
• Show Compliance and Continual Improvement
• Business Process Analysis: Identify and Mitigate Risk
• Support Operational Excellence
4. 5S
5S is a simple methodology for creating a clean, safe, orderly high performance
work environment. The concept is that an orderly environment promotes
efficiency. It’s a time saver to help increase performance efficiency and
productivity. 5S includes the following steps:

Sort — clearly distinguish needed items from unneeded and eliminate the
latter. E.g. (excess supplies, outdated data or information. Books, catalogues
and files).
Set In Order/Straighten — Organize and identify a specific place for
everything. Keep needed items in the correct place to allow for easy and
immediate retrieval. Immediately recognize items out of place, and an excessive
or insufficient amount of items. Eliminate time wasted locating items; Improve
customer service.
Shine — Keep the workplace neat and clean. A clean and organized
environment can boost employee morale and create a sense of ownership and
belonging.
Standardize — This is the method by which sort, straighten and shine are made
habitual. Standardization enhances organizational performance and eliminates
the need to re-do the first 3S’s. It encourages consistency.
Sustain — The final S involves the effective, ongoing application of 5S in order
to improve organizational performance. Here, you’re simply maintaining
established procedures.

Benefits:-
The Key Benefits of 5S are:
• Less Waste (Improved Efficiency)
• Reduced Space Used For Storage
• Improved Maintenance
• Improved Safety
• Better, More Committed Employees
• Improved Quality
5. Lean Six Sigma:-
Lean Six Sigma is a combination of two powerful process improvement
methods: Lean and Six Sigma.
Lean Six Sigma decreases organization’s costs by:
• Removing “Waste” from a process. Waste is any activity within a process
that isn’t required to manufacture a product or provide a service that is up to
specification.
• Solving problems caused by a process. Problems are defects in a product or
service that cost your organization money

Benefits:-
• Increases Profit
• Reduce Waste
• Reduce Defects by solving problems
• Decreases Costs
• Improves Efficiency & Effectiveness
• Helps Develop People/Employees

Lean Manufacturing
&
Merchandising Management

As we have separately studied the concept of Apparel Merchandising and Lean
Manufacturing and now in this part of the project we will see that how a merchandiser
can get the advantages of Lean in his/her daily tasks to maximize the quality of the
product for the buyer and the profit for his/her company.
We already know that the core responsibilities of an apparel merchandiser are:
• Getting order from the buyer
• Internal & external communication to get the order done
• Preparing internal purchase order sheets
• Arrange on time Samples for approvals including Lab-dips & accessories
• Advising and assisting production and quality department
• Helping in documentations for shipment
• Arranging on time inspection
• Giving shipping instructions and following shipment
In all these responsibilities the “Time & Action” plays an important role to get all the
work done to fulfill the commitment. And by doing this it is also necessary for him to
keep the concept of “Profit” in his mind and it is obvious the profit will increase when the
cost will decrease.
Cost < Price = Profit
On next pages we will individually see the impact of each lean method on garment
manufacturing processes

Cost can be minimized by:
• Elimination of Waste
• Process Standardization
• Effective Workplace Layout
• Improved Quality
• On-time Delivery
And, different methods of Lean, offering us
• Waste Elimination
• Process Flow
• Perfection of All Products, Processes & Services
• Satisfied Employees
• Improved quality
And to this, lean methods to use are:
• Quality Control Tools
• 5S
• Just in Time (JIT)
• Kaizen
• Lean Six Sigma
Where, Quality Control Tools are
• Pareto Chart
• Fish Born Diagram
• Histogram
• Control charts
• Scatter Diagram

First we will see that how the different quality control tools can help a merchandiser to
get his/her work done
Role of Quality Control Tools in Apparel Merchandising:
Pareto Chart:
A Pareto chart, is a type of chart that contains both bars and a line graph, where
individual values are represented in descending order by bars, and the
cumulative total is represented by the line.
The purpose of the Pareto chart is to highlight the most important among a set of
factors. In quality control, it often represents the most common sources of
defects, the highest occurring type of defect, or the most frequent reasons for
customer complaints, and so on.
A merchandiser can plot out the data of all possible errors to get the view of the
most frequent occurred problem and can plan his/her further moves

Benefits:
• Easy to reach the problem
• Easy to analyze problem’s seriousness
• Easy to interpret
• Helps to prioritize the working areas
• Improves decision making
Fish Bone Diagram:
A fishbone diagram, also called a cause and effect diagram or Ishikawa diagram,
is a visualization tool for categorizing the potential causes of a problem in order
to identify its root causes. It uses to get the root cause analysis of the problem to
eliminate it.
Merchandiser can sit with the concern person or department to find out the
source of problem

Benefits:
• Display relationships clearly and logically
• Show all causes simultaneously
• Facilitate brainstorming
• Stimulate problem solving
• Help maintain team focus
Histogram:
A frequency distribution shows how often each different value in a set of data occurs. A histogram is
the most commonly used graph to show frequency distributions. It is used when analyzing whether
the process can meet customer’s requirement.
A merchandiser can see the effectiveness of two different processes by using the data
histogramatically

Benefits:
• Good for numerical data
• Good for comparing two different processes
• Good for forecasting trends
• Good to find time to time effects
Control charts:
The control chart is a graph used to study how a process changes over time.
Data are plotted in time order. A control chart always has a central line for the
average.
Merchandiser can use it to plot his/her production time and quantity to get check
on the complete production quantity to at the right time.

Benefits:
• Gives time to time variation view
• Gives average production rate
• Shows any unusual value, if occur
Scatter Diagram:
A scatter diagram, also called a scatterplot or a scatter plot, is a visualization of
the relationship between two variables measured on the same set of individuals.
It shows the correlation between two variables and checks their relation of
occurrence.
Merchandiser can check the relation between production and time by using this
method. This picture can give him/her a quick look if there is any infrequent
situation.

Benefits:
• It shows the relation between two processes
• Gives the quick view of process smoothness
• Shows the direction of process
Now after going through quality control tools of lean we can see the usefulness of this
for a merchandiser to analyze the correct situation and position of his/her order, and
he/she can also plan his/her TNA’s and moves according to this to complete the order
without any delay or difficulty.
Further, we can see the next four processes
Role of 5S System in Apparel Merchandising:
5S is a structured approach to getting a workplace cleaned up, organized, standardized,
creating efficiency rather than waste, and sustaining improvements made. It is called
"5S" based on five Japanese words starting with “s” that describe the five steps this
involves.
i.e. Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain.
The detail of this process is already given above in the section of Introduction of Lean
Manufacturing.
A professionally effective organized workplace will have a positive impact on workers
and the standardize process flow from work station to work station will reduce the
chances of mistake, mismanagement and loss of product parts and accordingly this will
help in giving the quality products in committed time.

Role of “Just In Time” in Apparel Merchandising:
Just in Time is the process that denoting a manufacturing system in which materials or
components are delivered immediately before they are required in order to minimize
storage costs.
This system is not only reduces the cost of storage but the wastage too that can be
made during unfavorable storage condition.
Reduction in cost and waste are the parts of the merchandiser’s duty and this process
can help him/her out to manage both of these just by getting the things on time.
Role of Kaizen in Apparel Merchandising:
Kaizen (or 'continuous improvement') is an approach of constantly introducing small
incremental changes in a business in order to improve quality and/or efficiency. This
approach assumes that employees are the best people to identify room for
improvement, since they see the processes in action all the time.
This lean method has already been discussed in detailed in the section of Introduction
of Lean Manufacturing.
Merchandiser can use it to find the improving elements in its production and other
processes by taking the feedback from the workers of the respective departments. As it
is the daily process so by talking workers daily not only give him/her the overview of
production status but the problems and their alternative solutions too.

Role of “Lean Six Sigma” in Apparel Merchandising:
A detailed description of Lean Six Sigma is already provided in the section of
Introduction of Lean Manufacturing. So as we know that the Lean Six Sigma is the
combination of two different systems that are Lean & Six Sigma.
This procedure not only helps to reduce the waste but it also use the systematic
approach to reduce and standardize the procedure to sustain the minimum wastage
control to enhance the profit and reduce cost.
A merchandiser can get a standardize system for his/her order completion by following
it to implement in his tasks. This will not only reduce his/her own workload of follow ups
and pressure of time management.

Conclusion
By studying all these process we can conclude that Lean manufacturing can play an
important role in Apparel merchandising. This will not even save time and reduce waste
but will secure a merchandiser from stress and haphazard that can happen due to
workload and quality issues. By the implementation of lean system not only the profit
will increase but the firm will have the more satisfied employees and as it is said that
employees are the best assists of any organization so the happy and satisfied employee
will give you a quality products without delaying from time line. It will reduce the turnover
rate of employees that will eventually provide the reduction in cost of new hiring and
trainings.

Lean Process & Merchandising Management

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Lean Process & Merchandising Management

Similar to Lean Process & Merchandising Management (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (12)

Lean Process & Merchandising Management