INDEX
Unit I ...................................................................... 3
Lesson 1: Structure of the Clothing Industry .......... 4
Lesson 2: Sectors of the Clothing industry ........... 11
Lesson 3: Product Types and Organisation ........... 18
Unit – II ............................................................... 32
Lesson 4: Design Department............................... 33
Lesson 5: Marketing Department ......................... 54
Lesson 6: Finance Department ............................. 69
Lesson 7: Purchase Department ........................... 79
Lesson 8: Production Department ........................ 86
Lesson 9: Operations Department ........................ 94
Unit -1
Clothing Industry
Lesson 1: Structure of the Clothing Industry
Lesson 2: Sectors of the Clothing Industry
Lesson 3: Product Types and Organisation
, Lesson 1: Structure of the Clothing
Industry
Objective:
To understand the size and manufacturing structure of clothing industry,
so as to equip ourselves with better management skills.
Structure:
1.1 Size structure
Entry to the clothing industry has always been easy because of the relatively
small amount of capital required to purchase machinery and the necessary
raw materials. For the past century the industry has been dominated by one
simple, cheap and long-lived tool, the basic sewing machine, and this not
only facilitates entry into the industry but virtually dictates its structure. This
is amply demonstrated by the large number of small factories which exist
within the industry.
A 1971 survey (22) of the clothing industry within the European Economic
Community showed the preponderance of small factories. At that time, the
total number of people employed by the EEC clothing industries was 1608500
and they were dispersed over 26500 factories, with the distribution shown in
Table 1.1.
Table 1.1 Distribution of factories according to employees
Employees Factories
1-25 11 660
26-50 8480
51-100 3630
Over 100 2730
Small factories employing up to 25 people represented 44 per cent of the
total number of factories in the industry, and in themselves these small
factories accounted for a substantial percentage of the total clothing
production, especially where fashion merchandise was concerned.
However, the bulk of clothing production, as measured by the number of
employees, was concentrated in factories that had more than 100
employees, as shown in Table 1.2. Table 1.2 Distribution of employees
according to factories
Number of employees Total employed
1-25 11 660
1-25 212323
26-50 294355
51-100 310440
Over 100 791382
,According to this table, nearly 50 per cent of the people working in the EEC
clothing industry were employed in large factories having over 100
employees. The total structure of the EEC clothing industry at the time of the
survey was as shown in Table 1.3.
Table 1.3 Distribution of employees and factories (see also Fig. 1.1)
Number of factories Average number
of employees
110660 18
8480 34
3330 85
Unfortunately, there is very little information available regarding the size
structure of clothing industries elsewhere, but from what is known the 1971
EEC structure has remained basically unchanged and is typical of the
situation in other parts of the world.
1.2 Manufacturing structure
The clothing industry manufactures a vast variety of garment types ranging
from work clothes to ball gowns and the production itself can be carried out
by one of two types of organisation: a manufacturer or a Sub-contractor.
1.2.1 Manufacturer on own account
This is the type of organisation which is responsible for every stage in the
production of garments, from design and selling to production and deliveries
to the customer. The strength of this type of organisation lies in design and
marketing expertise and the ability to:
Anticipate or follow very closely the changes in fashion;
Anticipate possible fluctuations in the level of demand;
Finance the operation of the business.
1.2.2 Sub-contractor
These account for most of the small factories within the clothing industry and
they exist because they produce garments of acceptable quality at
competitive prices in a short through-put time. The contractor’s prices must
not only be competitive with those of other sub-contractors, but they must
also be low enough to make it attractive for the manufacturer to produce via
the sub-contractor, rather than to produce for himself.
, As an individual, the sub-contractor will perform nearly all the management
and administrative functions within the factory and will also regularly visit the
manufacturers supplying work to the unit. The exception to the typical small
sub-contractor can be found in the Far East where the largest factories are
sub-contractors producing high volume, low-cost garments for the North
American and Western European markets. A rapidly developing source of
sub-contracted production is Eastern Europe, where the factories generally
work on shorter runs and at higher levels of technology than their Far Eastern
counterparts.
Working methods
The manufacturer can produce garments via a subcontractor in a number of
ways, for example:
1. Cutting - The manufacturer can supply the subcontractor with:
cut garments ready for sewing; raw materials and cutting
markers;
raw materials and graded sets of patterns.
2. Making-up - This is the raison-deter of the subcontractor and is the basic
service he sells.
3. Trimmings - The manufacturer can supply all, some or none of the
trimmings required to make the garments.
4. Finishing - This usually refers to pressing, final inspection and bagging,
and one or more of these processes can be performed by the
manufacturer or the sub-contractor.
5. Quality control - The manufacturer usually operates in-process and final
quality control procedures to ensure that the garments produced by the
sub-contractor are according to specifications.
Lesson 2 Sectors of the Clothing industry
Unit I ...................................................................... 3
Lesson 1: Structure of the Clothing Industry .......... 4
Lesson 2: Sectors of the Clothing industry ........... 11
Lesson 3: Product Types and Organisation ........... 18
Unit – II ............................................................... 32
Lesson 4: Design Department............................... 33
Lesson 5: Marketing Department ......................... 54
Lesson 6: Finance Department ............................. 69
Lesson 7: Purchase Department ........................... 79
Lesson 8: Production Department ........................ 86
Lesson 9: Operations Department ........................ 94
Unit -1
Clothing Industry
Lesson 1: Structure of the Clothing Industry
Lesson 2: Sectors of the Clothing Industry
Lesson 3: Product Types and Organisation
, Lesson 1: Structure of the Clothing
Industry
Objective:
To understand the size and manufacturing structure of clothing industry,
so as to equip ourselves with better management skills.
Structure:
1.1 Size structure
Entry to the clothing industry has always been easy because of the relatively
small amount of capital required to purchase machinery and the necessary
raw materials. For the past century the industry has been dominated by one
simple, cheap and long-lived tool, the basic sewing machine, and this not
only facilitates entry into the industry but virtually dictates its structure. This
is amply demonstrated by the large number of small factories which exist
within the industry.
A 1971 survey (22) of the clothing industry within the European Economic
Community showed the preponderance of small factories. At that time, the
total number of people employed by the EEC clothing industries was 1608500
and they were dispersed over 26500 factories, with the distribution shown in
Table 1.1.
Table 1.1 Distribution of factories according to employees
Employees Factories
1-25 11 660
26-50 8480
51-100 3630
Over 100 2730
Small factories employing up to 25 people represented 44 per cent of the
total number of factories in the industry, and in themselves these small
factories accounted for a substantial percentage of the total clothing
production, especially where fashion merchandise was concerned.
However, the bulk of clothing production, as measured by the number of
employees, was concentrated in factories that had more than 100
employees, as shown in Table 1.2. Table 1.2 Distribution of employees
according to factories
Number of employees Total employed
1-25 11 660
1-25 212323
26-50 294355
51-100 310440
Over 100 791382
,According to this table, nearly 50 per cent of the people working in the EEC
clothing industry were employed in large factories having over 100
employees. The total structure of the EEC clothing industry at the time of the
survey was as shown in Table 1.3.
Table 1.3 Distribution of employees and factories (see also Fig. 1.1)
Number of factories Average number
of employees
110660 18
8480 34
3330 85
Unfortunately, there is very little information available regarding the size
structure of clothing industries elsewhere, but from what is known the 1971
EEC structure has remained basically unchanged and is typical of the
situation in other parts of the world.
1.2 Manufacturing structure
The clothing industry manufactures a vast variety of garment types ranging
from work clothes to ball gowns and the production itself can be carried out
by one of two types of organisation: a manufacturer or a Sub-contractor.
1.2.1 Manufacturer on own account
This is the type of organisation which is responsible for every stage in the
production of garments, from design and selling to production and deliveries
to the customer. The strength of this type of organisation lies in design and
marketing expertise and the ability to:
Anticipate or follow very closely the changes in fashion;
Anticipate possible fluctuations in the level of demand;
Finance the operation of the business.
1.2.2 Sub-contractor
These account for most of the small factories within the clothing industry and
they exist because they produce garments of acceptable quality at
competitive prices in a short through-put time. The contractor’s prices must
not only be competitive with those of other sub-contractors, but they must
also be low enough to make it attractive for the manufacturer to produce via
the sub-contractor, rather than to produce for himself.
, As an individual, the sub-contractor will perform nearly all the management
and administrative functions within the factory and will also regularly visit the
manufacturers supplying work to the unit. The exception to the typical small
sub-contractor can be found in the Far East where the largest factories are
sub-contractors producing high volume, low-cost garments for the North
American and Western European markets. A rapidly developing source of
sub-contracted production is Eastern Europe, where the factories generally
work on shorter runs and at higher levels of technology than their Far Eastern
counterparts.
Working methods
The manufacturer can produce garments via a subcontractor in a number of
ways, for example:
1. Cutting - The manufacturer can supply the subcontractor with:
cut garments ready for sewing; raw materials and cutting
markers;
raw materials and graded sets of patterns.
2. Making-up - This is the raison-deter of the subcontractor and is the basic
service he sells.
3. Trimmings - The manufacturer can supply all, some or none of the
trimmings required to make the garments.
4. Finishing - This usually refers to pressing, final inspection and bagging,
and one or more of these processes can be performed by the
manufacturer or the sub-contractor.
5. Quality control - The manufacturer usually operates in-process and final
quality control procedures to ensure that the garments produced by the
sub-contractor are according to specifications.
Lesson 2 Sectors of the Clothing industry
