2012

FASHION MERCHANDISING
TOPICS: FUNCTIONS AND QUALITIES OF A GOOD MERCHANDISER IN AN APPAREL INDUSTRY

ANJU VIJAYAN MFM 3RD SEM 10/17/2012

Merchandising Functions
The functions performed by the merchandising department can be broadly classified under the following headings: 1. Communication: Communication can be defined as the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speck, signals, writing, or behavior. It is the art and technique of using speech, signals, writing, and behavior effectively to impart information or ideas. This is one of the most important functions of the Merchandiser. He is the link between the Buyer and the company. The Buyer is in direct touch with the Merchandiser and brings to his notice all his requirements Once the merchandiser knows what the Buyer needs are, the next step is to communicate those to the relevant departments, so that the departments work towards satisfying those needs. Apart from the above, a lot of information flows between the Buyer and the company, through the Merchandiser The Merchandiser communicates with the following: Buyer Suppliers Relevant Departments and Factory. The company uses various modes of communications such as: Electronic Mail Telephone Video Conferencing Meeting Courier Services 2. Co-ordination: Co-ordination can be defined as Discussing issues and lines of action Consensus on objectives and strategies Co-Ordination is closely related to communication i.e. the merchandiser has to communicate effectively to coordinate between; The Buyer and the company The various departments in the company and The company and the suppliers 3. Planning: Planning is an act of formulating a program for a definite course of action. A scheme, program, or method worked out before hand for the accomplishment of an objective. It is systematic arrangement of elements or important parts; a configuration or outline. While planning we are given: Initial State (Current state of affairs) A set of action definitions Goals (Desired state of affairs) Once the merchandiser receives an inquiry from Buyer he know the initial state of affairs like the Style details Buyer needs Company resource availability He will check whether it is possible to go ahead with the style and if the style is feasible will get the costing done and get the samples ready. These are action definitions. The goal is the timely delivery of costing details and samples so as to receive an order from the Buyer The Merchandiser will determine the various steps to be followed so as to achieve the goal of timely delivery of samples.

He will make a time ad action plan, allocating time to various activities keeping in mind the resources available in hand and the time needed to acquire the others which are not available with the company at that time.

4. Follow up: Following up is to maintain contact with (a person) so as to monitor the effects of earlier activities and actions. It is undertaken to increase the effectiveness or enhance the success of the earlier activities and actions. It is supposed to be carry out till the completion of the task at hand. Following up is a basically a part of communication functions of the Merchandiser, but it is such an important function that it should be considered separately as well The merchandiser performs the following, follow up functions: Following up on the Buyers to send the complete information about the styles; Following up with all the departments to check everything is going as planned and according to schedule; Following up on the Buyers to send the raw material for sampling (if they are providing it) Following up with the suppliers to get raw materials in house on time Following up with the sampling department and seeing to it that samples are ready on time Following up with the Buyers to send the comments and approvals on the samples sent to them Following up with the factory to check whether production is on time, so that the bulk delivery schedules are met. 5. Sourcing: In simple words sourcing is to obtain (parts or materials) from another business, country or local manufacturer. Sourcing is the way an organization procures its needed goods and services. For a particular style, raw materials for the samples can be sourced in the following ways; The Buyer sends the yardage, trims and accessories for the samples; The Buyer nominates the suppliers for the fabric, trims and accessories; In this case the merchandiser places the order with suppliers and assures that the raw materials is in house in time to meet the sample delivery date; The Buyer just gives the raw materials details and the merchandiser is required to source the raw materials and get it approved from the Buyer; Here the merchandiser can directly source the material from suppliers and should ensure the raw materials in housed so that the delivery dates can be met. 6. Costing: Its the identity of the garment which is calculated in two broad categories. For calculating the cost of the garment we should have the knowledge of pre-production & production of the garment. There are 2 types of costing, They are as follows, 1.DIRECT COST In this there are 2 types, Direct Material Cost.- This includes fabrics & other raw materials like threads, button, & other trimmings. Direct Labour Cost- This includes the cost of the labor for production of the garments like cutting, finishing, packing, production etc. 2. Indirect Cost In this there are 3 types, Fixed Over Heads. Is the fixed expenditure required to run the organizations smoothly. They are as follows, Rent of the building. Rates payable to local authorities. Insurance charges for factory & machinery. Depreciation charges for building & machinery.

 Salaries for managerial people. Interest on capital Variable Over Heads. It changes as per the rate of production. EX : Energy of all kinds, maintenance, well fair, supervisory expenses, stationery postage & telephones. Other Expenses. These expenses are required in co ordination with other departments. EX: Administration expenses, marketing, distribution, purchasing. Besides the above expenses some more charges for transport of material are added but they depend upon the agreement between the buyers & seller like FOB, C & F, CIF. Costing is the process of determining, estimating and calculating the cost of the style ordered by the Buyer so that it can be communicated to the Buyer. Only after the Buyer gets the initial costing, will decide whether to place the order with the company or not. The cost should meet what the Buyer is ready to pay for a style. Buyer always negotiates the cost and after few initial costing, Buyer may decide to reduce some of the trims to reduce the cost or vice versa. We have to be competitive in pricing so that we can compete with other suppliers on the price, which is very important to get business. Since the price is reduced, the quality should not be compromised Merchandiser always needs to give the best quality product with minimum price. It is very important function, as a single mistake can result in a huge loss to the company. If the Merchandiser increases the cost by mistake, the company will not get the order. On the other hand, if he reduces the cost, then the company would lose money on the order. Both ways it would cause a loss to the company. The Merchandiser requires the following information to cost the style: The prices of all the raw materials (Fabrics, trims & accessories) to be used in the style Consumption of the raw materials to be used in the style; The factory SAMs and earning ratio Cost of Finishing/ wash to the garment Cost of quota The Merchandiser would: Co-ordinate with all the departments and acquire information required to calculate the cost of a particular style; Cost the style Send the costing to the Buyer for the approvals Try to meet the targets set by the Buyer Negotiate with the suppliers to reduce the prices of raw materials. Ensure proper flow of Raw materials Reduce cost by utilizing the available machinery& manpower to the maximum 7. Sampling The Buyer wants to know whether the company is capable of producing the styles with the desired quality levels For this they ask the company to produce the samples which are then tested for the look, fit, grades, colors, quality, wash/finishing etc., by the Buyer. If the Buyer is satisfied with the sample then only the company gets a confirmation for the style to be produced In the process, the Buyer asks for a lot of changes being made to the style The initial designs may look good on paper but may not look that good on the actual sample so the Buyer on checking the concept sample may ask for certain changes in the style. The fit samples are fitted on a live model by the Buyer and he asks the Merchandiser to incorporate the changes in the samples and send the sample for the next fit The process continues till the fit is approved. All the changes and comments received from the Buyer are to be brought to the notice of the relevant departments, tech pack updated and changes incorporated in the sample.

The Merchandiser has to perform the following functions: Receive the sampling request from the Buyers Check whether all the required information is there. If not get it from the Buyer Call the tech pack meeting for selection and discussing the styles; Co-ordinate between all the departments to get the sampling process initiated Co-ordinate with the Fabric and Purchase department to get the raw materials in house on time. Co-ordinate with the planning dept to the sample allocation of production. Make a sample order chart Make sure that the sample are produced and dispatched on time Receive the alterations and comments from the Buyer, update tech pack and inform all the departments of the changes to be incorporated and effected on the style. Getting the samples approved by the Buyer & Receive sign-off samples from the Buyer and ensure they are handed over to the factory for bulk production. 8. Compliance : Compliance means the act of complying with a wish, request or demand. It means acting according to certain accepted and prescribed standards The Buyer provides the Merchandiser with a number of compliance manuals such as the: Vendor Manual Color Palettes Label Placement manuals . Fold/ pack standards Construction standards Testing standards Product Assessment Manual Quality Assurance Manual Technical services Policies and Procedures How to Measure Manual Vendor Approval Process Manual etc., The merchandiser has to make sure that all the compliance issues are met. 9. Documentation and Maintaining Records: Documentation is the act of supplying documents or supporting references or records It is the allocation, synopsizing, and coding of material for future reference. This another most important function performed by the Merchandiser Every action performed by the Merchandiser should be documented properly. The merchandiser has to document all his actions so that they can be kept safely and properly for future reference. Following are some of the important documents that merchandiser to maintain: Tech Pack, Purchase Orders Buys and buyer manuals BOP charts Cost sheets Time and Action calendar Fabrics chart Trims and Accessories chart Production status chart etc.,

Qualities of 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.