Thursday, 3 October 2013

GARMENT MERCHANDISING AND EXPORT PROCEDURES



Aravin Prince Periyasamy
Introduction
        Merchandising department is the ‘star of the department’ among all the working departments in the Export concern. Because Merchandising is the only department having Maximum control over the departments and total responsible for Profit and loss of the company.  After LPG  (Liberalization, privatization & Globalization)  the business gets more  important and now merchandising is on its hot seats.
         So, It is necessary to understand the day to day happenings of the ‘star department’.

         Merchandise    – means goods bought and sold; and trading of                                       goods.
         Merchandising – is an activity of selling and promoting the                                             goods.

a.  What does a Merchandiser do?
         Merchandiser  is a person who  interacts with  the buyer and  seller, and also puts  efforts  into  proper  relation  between  buying  office/buying agents/agency and seller/ Exporter in terms of executing an order.

b. Merchandiser in garment industries:
         In  the  field  of  marketing  and  services,  Merchandiser  is  at  a  position  of  post  importance,  He  is  the  person  who  co-ordinates  with  various departments for a uniform business.
 
Objects of Merchandising
         Merchandising denotes all the planned activities  to execute and dispatch  the merchandise on time, taking into consideration of the 4 R’s to replenish the customer.


  Right Quantity     : We have to dispatch right qty of product what                                           buyer ordered.
  Right Quality      :  But it should be with right quality as accepted                                          both parties.
  Right Cost          :  Everybody wants more from what they paid.
  Right Time         :  We don’t want to wait idle as at even in                                             Restaurant. Keeping Delivery schedule is                                       mandatory. 

Qualities for Merchandiser:

1.  Communication  Skill:  The  communication  is  very  much  important  to  promote  the business  activity.  The  merchandiser  should  remember  that  communication  must  be lurid and should having face to face conversation with the buyer.

2.  Planning Capability: Merchandiser should be capable of planning, based on the planning the order is to be followed. If the planning is not done properly it will directly affect the delivery time of the order.

3.  Decision making:  For  a Merchandiser,  decision making  power  is most  important.  He should think about the decision to be taken and to act in a right way.

4.  Loyalty: Loyalty is an essential character of human beings. Especially for the business people like merchandiser it is a must. 5.  Knowledge about the field: Merchandiser should have adequate knowledge about the garments,  Computer  knowledge,  and  technical  knowledge  to  communicate  with different people in the business is a must.

6.  Co-ordinate & Co-operate: Merchandiser is the person who is actually co-ordinate with the  number  of  departments.  To  Co-ordinate with  different  people  in  the  industry  he should be co- operative.

7.  Monitoring ability: Merchandiser should monitor to expedite the orders.

8.  Other qualities:  Education, Experience, Situational Management, Ability to Evaluate, Dedication, Knowledge of expediting procedures.

 Function of merchandisers
  Developing new samples, execute sample orders
  Costing
  Programming 
  Raw materials / Accessories arrangement
  Production scheduling (or) route card drafting
  Approval of various Process, Pattern and size set 
  Pre production follows up
  Meet Inspection Agencies
  Production controlling
  Identifying shortages and make arrangement for the shortages
  Following quality assurance procedures, quality control procedures
  Monitoring the in-house, sub-contractors and junior activities
  Buyer communication
  Communication with sub-contractors, processing units & other         3rd parties 
  Proper reporting
  Highlighting to the management
  Record maintenance
  Developing samples
  Placement of orders to suppliers
  Taking measures for consistent production
 Taking preventive action to maintain the targeted performance in   all areas of activities
 Attending meeting with superiors and furnishing the required details about merchandising




Important Duties 
 COSTING or   CALCULATING GARMENT PRICE.

         In many companies, costing is done by costing officer & CEO. But in some places, it is done by the Merchandisers.   Some important terms in costing
·  Yarn cost
·   Process cost
·  Process loss
·  CMT (Cutting, Making & Trimming)
·  Negotiation (getting the best out of a deal)
·  Commission percentage (%) for Middle man
·  Shortage
·  Buyer specification (It is buyers responsibility to specify the quality required)
·  Quantity
·  Currency [1]  Mode of Shipment (sea, air)
·  FOB (Free On Board)
·  CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight)
·  OH (Over head)
·  Quota(Not applicable nowadays)
·  Profit (level of %)

Quality control:
 One of the Major responsible job handled by Merchandise dept is Q.C
 Textile Testing & Inspection
 Testing :      (1) Analysing
                    (2) Testing
         Analyzing is one time process, which is taking place at the time of confirming the order with the Buyer as well as the raw material quality.  Total cost of the garment is definitely based  on the raw material quality & composition.
         Ex: Count & Construction of the yarn used in the fabric or garment, Fibre composition of the raw material, Type of Dye or print used in the garment, etc. 
         Testing is a process to understand, the quality of the produced item meets the requirement of  the buyer. Testing is done on every lot or selected lots or wherever buyer asked. 
  Inspection:
         Inspection is the visual examination or review of raw materials partially finished components of garments and completely finished garments in relation to some standards
Specifications, or requirements as well as measuring the garment to check if they meet the required measurement.

Types of inspection: 

  1. Incoming material inspection:
       
         After fabric is received,  the same should be inspected for the following purpose
                                                       
1.    GSM
2.    Dia
3.    Shrinkage
4.    Color Streaks
5.    Color matching

 2. In - process Inspection:
         During the manufacturing itself we have to inspect the quality, it can be done the different process such as cutting, spreading, sewing, finishing and packing. This may be on partially finished (or) semi finished garments.

3. 100% Inspection:
           Inspection should be done in 100%. In the inspection center.

4. Final Random Inspection:

         It is random inspection done according to the customer¡¦s individual required Standard after the shipment have been completed, packed and ready to ship. Colour appearance, workmanship, style etc will be checked against the customer¡s specification.  



 Inspection Parties:

a)    Internal Quality Controller:
Inspection done by the Company internal quality control to  check the quality parameters
before to Final Inspection.

b)    Quality represented by buying Agencies:
Inspection done by buying Agencies quality control to check the customer    requirement.   

c)    Third Party Inspection:
Inspection done by third party like SGS or ITS.

 Export procedures.

         To become  an exporter the first on the primary activity is get am IE CODE thro RBI registration. This is like the license for exporting. After getting the IE code, it is mandatory to enter our name with AEPC. Through this only we are here to understand various export policies of Government bodies and restricted goods index. Before applying for IEC the account number and letter from exporters bank is to be sent to the RBI. After obtaining this number, the RBI will give a code.

         Getting TIN number and CST are also mandatory for purchasing raw materials inside the country.  Registering with TEXTILE COMMITTEE is necessary for Woven fabric exporters and easy for getting 100% EXPORT CERTIFICATE.


         Registration with ECGC (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation) will helpful those having less experience with international business and less confident on Buyers or dealing with new buyers. 

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