This document discusses the global apparel production process from planning to shipping. It explains that manufacturers often outsource production to contractors in other countries to reduce costs. The key stages covered are production planning, global sourcing methods, costing, patternmaking, cutting, assembly, finishing, quality control, labeling, and shipping from the contractor to retailers. Offshoring production allows taking advantage of lower labor costs but introduces challenges with communication and long distances.

1. Chapter 10
Apparel Production and Global
Sourcing

2. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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.

3. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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

4. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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.

5. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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

6. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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

7. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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.

8. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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.

9. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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.

10. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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

11. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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

12. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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.

13. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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

14. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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

15. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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

16. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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.

17. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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.

18. Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e
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.