‘Sourcing is defined as
the process of determining how and from where manufactured goods or components
will be procured.’ The main motivational force to do sourcing of
garments/fabrics is to give the highest level of satisfaction, at low
production cost. Today’s business strategy is shifting the certain operations
from apparel value chain to low cost and takes competitive advantage to enhance
the profit margin.
For garment export
house fabric and trims are the raw material which needs to be outsourced.
Sourcing is basically determining the most cost efficient vendor of materials,
production, or finished goods at the specified quality and service level. It is
closely associated and an important part of apparel merchandiser’s
responsibility.
Sourcing department along with apparel merchandiser plays
the vital role to execute and shipment of export order successfully.
Merchandiser must make sure that all approvals related to fabric and trims
should be coordinated with the sourcing department in given timeframe. Fabric
sourcing department is basically engaged in determining how and where its
merchandise i.e. fabric will be obtained within the scheduled time and cost. The
different parameters in sourcing i.e. lead time, process of fabric and trim
approvals, cost of logistics and incoterms need to keep in mind while deciding
the sourcing tactics for particular export order.
Types of sourcing:
|
Type fabric sourcing
|
Description
|
|
Local manufacturer
|
Fabric is manufactured locally, with local infrastructure.
|
|
Traditional export
|
Local fabric is exported to garment manufacturing
countries.
|
|
International sourcing
.
|
Fabric is made locally, but raw i.e. yarn or fibre is
sourced from other country
|
|
Global sourcing
|
Fabrics are made with parts sourced from abroad as part of
global sourcing strategy.
|
|
Off-shoring
|
Raw material is exported first i.e. yarn or fibre, then fabric
is
reimported to meet the demand.
|
|
Global manufacturing Fabric
is manufactured in other country.
|
|
Role of production merchandiser in
sourcing:
The sourcing and merchandising has the same goal to meet
i.e. to get right fabric/trims at right place on right time and with right
price. As merchandiser is key person in whole order processing hence sourcing
is the integral part of merchandising activities. The role of merchandiser in
sourcing can be described as
In small export house merchandiser bares the
responsibility of sourcing
In large export houses sourcing team coordinates
merchandiser to source the fabric and trims.
Merchandiser is responsible for calculate fabric and trim
consumption per garment and coordinate it with sourcing department.
The approvals related to fabric i.e. lab-dips, desk-loom,
print-strike-off, dye-lot, thread run, needs to get from buyer within time
frame.
The art work, trim card need to get approved from buyer
which is responsibility of merchandiser.
To maintain the proper buffer in Time and action calendar
is the responsibility of merchandiser.
The process of fabric/trims sourcing
The process of fabric sourcing is very dynamic, it changes
with the fabric type, cost quoted by fabric supplier, lead time, buyers
requirement. The typical process of fabric sourcing in an export house can be
described as:
The material and
information flow
The material and information flow in sourcing is from buyer
to either to buying house or garment manufacturer. And buying house or garment
manufacturer passes this information to fabric and trim supplier. According to
information fabric and trim supplier supplies the material to garment
manufacturer. Sometimes buyer has nominated supplier for fabrics and trims
hence; buyer shares all the information to fabric and trims supplier directly
and ask merchandiser to source the fabric and trims as per requirement of
order. In this case the all-risk related to fabric and trims i.e. delay,
variation, quality checks is transfer to fabric and trim supplier and solely
bare by the buyer.
Factors affecting sourcing of fabric
and trims
Lead time:
Fabric and trim sourcing is very time consuming process
which includes desk loom and lab-dip approvals, trim and art work approval, FPT
approval. The fabric sourcing itself will take lead time of 30-60 days
depending upon type of fabric for yarn dyed fabric it takes approx.45 day, for
piece dyed fabric it take approx. 30 days and for fibre dyed fabric it takes
approx.55-60 working days. Merchandiser needs to decide the supplier of the
fabric supplier on the basis of type of fabric and time remains in hand to
complete the export order. If fabric sourced from other country, then time
required for transportation needs to keep in mind.
Trim sourcing is
another important factor that needs to take care. For trims generally it takes
30 days to get in-house. That is also depends upon type of trims and from where
trims are getting procured.
Logistics:
Logistics is one of the main factors which affects the
fabric sourcing drastically. There are several aspects those are 1. Time
required for transportation 2. Infrastructure for logistics 3. Cost of
logistics. Merchandiser needs to keep in mind these factors while placing the
order for fabric or trims. The time required for transportation is very
important to achieve the accurate lead time of fabric/trims procurement.
Absence of adequate infrastructure will lead to delay in fabric procurement.
Cost of logistics will directly affect the cost of garment; hence merchandiser
should be well aware about these aspects of logistics and then place the order
for fabric and trims.
Quality parameters:
The demand for high-quality low-cost fabric/trims coupled
with the need to reduce costs to increase operating profits is driving more
companies to outsource manufacturing overseas. Though sourcing is an effective
way to do business but sometimes fabric and trims supplier cannot meet the
quality parameters, which will lead to trouble for apparel merchandiser to
execute the export order.
The ability of sourcing partners to produce quality fabric
and trims consistently depends on a number of factors. One of the main factors
is skill of the workforce and their worker’s flexibility to work to produce
wide range of fabrics and trims. The technology up -gradation of the sourcing
partners. Another important factor is the accuracy of written communications
and instructions received from the garment manufacturer/ apparel merchandiser.
Sourcing costs:
The sourcing decisions are taken mainly on the basis of cost
manufacturing. But now a days garment exporters makes strategic bonding with
fabric and trims vendors. The buyers also makes bonding with fabric and trims
vendors, these are called nominated vendor. The sourcing cost depends upon
following factors
Labour wages
Manufacturing cost
Cost of logistics/transportation
Incoterm negotiated(for international sourcing)
When comparing the costs of manufacturing a fabric and trims
offshore or domestically, manufacturers must include all the hidden costs of
added processes and steps that go hand in hand with offshore production. The
cost of sourcing is optimised when fabric and garment manufacturing units are
under one roof or closer to each other. The freight chargers are increased when
there delay in manufacturing and material need to send with air freight.
Minimum Order Quantity
(MOQ):
This is the important factor that affects the sourcing. For
sourcing of fabric and trims there is always a MOQ for which directly affects
the cost. Every supplier requires a certain MOQ to produce the fabric and trim
economically; otherwise the cost of running the production is higher if
production is below MOQ. If garment exporter places the order of raw material
below MOQ then generally cost will be more for that. Hence throughout the
supply chain MOQ is maintained the in order to achieve the appropriate cost of
production.
Types of supplier:
In garment industry suppliers are appointed by export house
or by buyer, for the production of fabric and trims. As there are limitations
of manufacturing of fabric and trims for garment export houses, though some
export houses has in-house fabric production, it has become increasingly common
in garment industry to source the fabric and trim from others rather than
employing a large production capacity themselves. The main advantage of
sourcing the fabric and trim is the transfer of risk and enables the garment
exporter to concentrate on only garment production. However, another concerns
have been expressed about the prevalence of supplier because of a perception
that the exporter has less control over the skills and training of supplier’s
employees and so there may be a negative impact on quality and health and
safety on site. There are two types of suppliers namely
Nominated supplier
Non nominated
supplier
For both type of supplier lead time generally remains same
irrespective of MOQ, order quantity, quality parameters of the raw material.
Transit lead time will change with the location of the supplier i.e. domestic
and overseas supplier.
Nominated supplier:
Nominating the supplier is a common practice in garment
industry, a procedure that was initiated by buyers to achieve better control
over their supply chain, is now a very common practice followed in the garment
export industry and has many aspects to it. These days a buyer nominates
suppliers mainly for products like accessories, fabrics, packaging material and
logistics to gain better control over their supply chain, get consistent
quality and on time deliveries. The most important factor is the
standardization of the product as, by nominating suppliers, buyers intended to
get raw materials which is having consistent quality and with no defects or
flaws. The second important reason for nomination is on time deliveries as
buyers were getting delayed orders and most of the times agents/manufacturers blamed
suppliers of trims, accessories or fabrics for the delays.
Advantages of
nominated supplier:
Time saving for garment manufacturer because they only have
to deal with one company to provide basic raw material.
Quality assurance of the raw materials is consistent and
taken care by buyer
Nominated supplier can be involved in product development
since they are already having good experience in this field.
Along with these
advantages there are certain disadvantages for nomination of suppliers
Nominated Suppliers may become overconfident about their
product quality
There may be a Monopoly of supplier in the market
Nomination may leads to unethical practices like corruption
by agents and traders
Loss of price competitiveness as suppliers sometimes
overcharge
Non-nominated supplier:
Non nominated suppliers are the garment manufactures source
of raw material. Sometime buyers provide
the specification of the raw materials and ask garment manufacturer to source
the same their own suppliers. Non
nominated supplier has their own advantages and dis advantages.
As they have challenge to sustain in business, hence non
nominated supplier try their best to follow the instructions given by buyer or
garment manufacturer
The cost is
competitive to market, which makes them advantageous
Garment exporter may get chance to explore with the
innovative products offer by non-nominated supplier.
The disadvantages
of these suppliers are
There may be flaws in quality of the raw material due to
communication gap between buyer and supplier.
To get involved these suppliers in product development
process is difficult task.
It will be difficult for buyer to control the social
compliance and ethical business practice norms on these suppliers effectively.
Ordering specifications:
Garment exporter must give specifications to the supplier to
get the accurate raw material. The ordering specifications are as
Raw material
Ordering specification
Fabric
§ Fabric design (desk-loom)
§ Fabric swatch(if provided by buyer)
§ Lab-dip/colour standard
§ GSM (Gauge in case of knitted)
§ Yarn count
§ Cuttable fabric width
§ EPI/PPI
§ Fabric finish
§ Requirements of dyes and finishing chemicals
§ Unit of measurement i.e. meter/ yard for woven
and KG for knitted
§ Order quantity
§ Shrinkage tolerance
§ Fastness properties
Buttons
§ Raw material i.e. wood, nylon etc.
§ Colour (sample provided by buyer)
§ Unit of measurement I.e. linge
§ Order quantity
§ Quality parameters
§ Button strength
§ Colour fastness
§ Order quantity
Zippers
§ Raw material i.e. metal, nylon
§ Colour
§ Length
§ Type of puller
§ Zipper finish
§ Fastness properties
§ Zipper strength requirements
Thread
§ Colour I.e. thread run
§ Thread specifications i.e. 2 ply, 3 ply
§ Fibre type i.e. filament yarn, or staple yarn
§ Thread ticket no. (thread count)
§ No. of cones
§ Meter of thread content on cone i.e. 1000, 5000
meter.
§ Finish
§ Thread construction
§ Fastness properties
§ Strength
§ Heat sensitivity
Label
§ Type of label i.e. printed, jacquard
§ Design specification of label
§ Size specification of label
§ Colour combination
§ Font type
§ Font size
§ Line spacing
§ Care Instructionstype
§ Fastness properties
§ Dimensions of the label
Polybag
§ Polybag Thickness
§ Raw material specification i.e. polyethylene.
Polypropylene etc.
§ Colour
§ Dimensions
§ Specification of Print on polybag
§ Type of closure
§ Type of dents
Cartons
§ No of plies i.e. 3,7
§ Raw material
§ Dimensions
§ GSM of the paper
§ Print specification of cartons
§ Type of carton
§ Dimension tolerance
§ Bursting strength
Interlining
§ Fibre content
§ Construction specification i.e. woven/non-woven
§ GSM
§ Colour
§ Fastness properties
§ Fusible /non-fusible
§ Shrinkage
Approximate Lead time requirement for
domestic and overseas sourcing
Article Domestic
sourcing Overseas sourcing
Fabric (solid dyed) 30
days 45 days
Fabric (y/d dyed) 45-60
days 55-70 days
Fabric (fibre dyed) 75-90
days 90-120 days
Buttons 10-15
days 20-25 days
Zipper 7-10 days 10-15 days
Thread 7-15 days -
Label 7-15 days 20-25 days
Poly bag 7-10
days -
Cartons 7-10 days
-
These lead time are depends upon the quantity and
considering the ideal condition. In any emergency case supplier can also supply
the fabric is less duration.
Prepared By: Md. Tarikul Islam
01912885383
jonytex073@gmail.com
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