Textile Products & Sourcing

IDM

JURY SUBMISSION
FACULTY- DR. NEHA SINGH

PREPARED BY:

AVINASH SINGH
NISHANT GUPTA
VICTORIA’S SECRET
INTRODUCTION
Victoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie, and beauty products. It is
a subsidiary within the publicly traded Limited Brands company. Limited Brands also owns
Baths and Body Works, Pink, La Senza, and Henri Bendel. Victoria's Secret is the largest
segment in Limited Brands and has over $5 billion in sales. Victoria's Secret is known for
their annual fashion show and their catalogues.
Roy Raymond founded Victoria's Secret because he felt embarrassed when shopping for
lingerie for his wife in a department store. Victoria's Secret stores are meant to create a
comfortable environment for both men and women with wood-paneled walls, Victorian
details, and helpful sales staff. Instead of racks full of lingerie with every size, the first
Victoria's Secret stores featured single styles hung on the wall in frames. Victoria's Secret
follows trends similar to other fashion apparel companies and produces garments relating
to different seasons. Their products mix fashion with basic necessities, which ensures
profitability because new styles come out several times a year. Each style comes in various
colors and prints.

Figure 1: Product Mix of Victoria’s Secret

Source: Supply Chain Strategies in the Apparel Industry: The Case of Victoria's

CONCEPT-TO-MARKET
Concept-To-Market defines the path of all the activities involved in taking an idea from the
point of conceptualization to the point of delivery to a store. The process is very detailed
and well defined. A few key steps are described below from a high-level standpoint. The
process starts with identifying a void in the market and sizing it. For example, in the case of
Pink', the company decided to go after the young and casual customer. One of the reasons
was the considerable profit pool that could be tapped and the other was the potential
future competition arising from this category.
The next step involves pre-production or the development of prototype to see the range of
merchandise that would address the life-style in mind. After the pre-production is done, the
sourcing team takes responsibility for manufacturing enough products for the purpose of
testing in stores. A store test is planned in number of stores, ranging from 5 to 50, and the
results are read. As test results come in, typically, a number of iterations are required before
the product is launch-ready. Finally, the production orders are placed with the Sourcing
team and the product is delivered to stores with the help of the Logistics team

Figure 2: Concept-To-Market process flow in Victoria’s Secret

Source: Supply Chain Strategies in the Apparel Industry: The Case of Victoria's

SOURCING OF THE PRODUCT

We have chosen a product from the official website of Victoria’s Secret to explain the
sourcing process. Below are the details :

Description For year-round cosy: a printed jogger with

the tapered fit, featuring decorative piping
for an elevated touch.

Composition 100% cotton

Fabric

Components  Printed fabric

 Elastic waist
 Elastic cuffs
 Logo “V” patch at the waistband
 Decorative Piping

Trims

Sourcing Components

Figure 3: Two major components of sourcing

1. Fabric Sourcing

Fabric is the most important component of the garment and constitutes 70% of the total
raw material required to make a garment.
Primary Fabric Details

Quality 100% cotton Single Jersey (knit)

GSM 200
Width 60”
Print AOP
Average consumption in garment 0.300 kg

Trim Fabric Details (Piping)

Quality 100% Polyester

GSM 100
Width 42”
Solid Dyed Black colour
Average consumption in garment 0.25 metre

Assuming total order quantity is 50,000 pcs, then: -

Total fabric quantity to be ordered is = Average consumption of fabric in garment X Total
number of Pcs. + rejection % (buffer fabric)
Primary fabric requirement = 0.99 x 50,000 + 5% = 51,975 metres
Trim fabric Requirement = 0.25 x 50,000 = 12,500 metres (fabric to be used in piping. Hence,
no additional rejection needs to be added)
*Knit fabrics are ordered in Kg but for simpler understanding requirement is taken in metres.

Supplier Details (Primary Fabric)

Name Arvind Mills, Ahmedabad

Lead Time 60 days from date of PO issued
Rate- FOB Rs.200 per metre
Mode of transportation to the nearest port By Train
Payment Terms Advance Payment 25%, Rest after delivery

Minimum Order Quantity is the smallest order quantity that is required by the supplier to
run make the order at the agreed upon rate. If the order is placed below the MOQ then
feasibility is checked and revised rates are submitted which are often sampling rates.
MOQ in this order is 3000 metres.

Supplier Details (Trim Fabric)

Name Arvind Mills, Ahmedabad

Lead Time 45 days from date of PO issued
Rate- FOB Rs.55 per metre
Mode of transportation to the nearest port By Train
Payment Terms Advance Payment 25%, Rest after delivery

MOQ in this is 2500 metres

Technical Specifications & Testing Parameters for Primary fabric

 Test Performed Test Requirement Regulation
Fabric Quality
Thread count, wales & courses As specified (+/- 5%) ASTM D3887
GSM As specified (+/- 5%) ASTM D3887
Yarn Size As specified (+/- 10%) ASTM D1059, 1244
Flammability Class 1 ASTM D1230
Dimensional Stability
Shrinkage 7% length x 5% width AATCC 135
Skewing 5% AATCC 179
Colourfastness
Colour change Grade 4 AATCC 61
Staining Grade 3
Self-staining Grade 5
Crocking AATCC 8
Dry Grade 4
Wet Grade 3
Perspiration AATCC 15
Shade change Grade 4
Staining Grade 3
Pilling Grade 4 ASTM D 3512-82
Strength Properties
Bursting strength 45 lb ASTM D3786
Seam strength 35 lb ASTM D3940
Snap strength Tension Test 15 lb ASTM PS79
Formaldehyde 75 ppm

Guideline care instructions: Machine wash cold, Tumble dry low

Terms & Conditions

 PO number of the brand to be mentioned on the bills at the time of delivery

 All bills will be accepted as per rates and terms mentioned on PO. Maximum
acceptable quantity is 1% over and above order quantity.
 Exact matching to print/colour approved is essential. Please get lab dips/strike off
approval prior to bulk production.
 Fabric should be as per the test report mentioned.
 All goods must comply with Brands physical and chemical restrictions manual.
 A checking charge of Re 1/ metre would be levied for rejected quantity.
 Delivery Date is the essence of this order. Failure to meet delivery terms would
result in penalties unless prior extension is obtained in writing. Penalty for late
delivery would be 1% of the order value per day.
 Any excess fabric received will be returned post shipment.
Time & Action plan (Primary Fabric)

Orde date – 1st dec Completion date – 29th Jan Total Quantity – 51,975 metres

Assuming per day production is 1500 metres per day and the output starts from the 25 th day
(in 25 days supplier arranges yarn, sets machine and plans his output) & 2 machines are
planned, then TNA is as per below details:

26th dec Output start date

1st 10,000 metres 29th dec
2nd 10,000 metres 2nd Jan
3rd 10,000 metres 6th Jan
4th 10,000 metres 10th Jan
Balance Quantity 14th Jan
Total greige fabric out by 14th Jan
Printing & Finishing 7 days
Total printed fabric out by 21st Jan
Transportation 7 days
Fabric Delivery 28th Jan

*FOB or first of bulk fabric will be sent by the supplier on 26 th dec, so as the brand can check
and test the fabric as per their requirement.

2. Trims Sourcing

Trim is often the forgotten category in the manufacturing process. Fabric accounts for
60%–70% of garment FOB cost while trim accounts for 10%.

Purchasing trim is a complex, multi-dimensional process. If the process is to yield the

desired result, four specific goals must be achieved for every single trim item.

1. Quantity must be correct.

2. Quality must be correct.
3. Delivery must be correct.
4. Cost should be competitive.

Vendor
selection as
per past Initials After approval
Trim quality
Trim Sheet perfomances received from bulk order
sent to
Preparation and current supplier for confirmation
supplier
negotiations approval and PO issued
of best price
and lead time
Figure 4 Trim sourcing process
Trim Sheet of the garment

Description Supplier Rate Consumption Total Qty +

2% rejection
Garment
Logo label X&Y (nominated), Rs.1.35/- 1 unit 51000 pcs
Hong Kong Lead
Wash care label X&Y (nominated), Rs.0.30/- 1 unit 51000 pcs time is
Hong Kong 45
Elastic X&Y (nominated), Rs. 6.0/- per 0.4 metre 20,400 mts days
Hong Kong mts
Thread Vardhman ltd., Rs.160/- 0.6 metre 30,600 mts
Ludhiana
Packing
polythene X&Y (nominated), Rs.1.50/- 1 51,000 pcs
Hong Kong
Carton box X&Y (nominated), Rs.2.0/- 1 51,000 pcs
Hong Kong

Trims Testing Requirement

Trims to be checked against standards on the following parameters by AQL 2.5:

 Shade matching of thread

 Shrinkage of tape

 Width and thickness 

 Strength 

 Fibre content 

 Text content/font/language in labels and tags

Time & Action plan for trims

45 days TNA

Order place date 1s Dec

 FOB approval 20th Dec
Dispatch date 7th Jan
In-house date 14th Jan

ASSEMBLY OF THE PRODUCT

Once the trim and fabric are in-house and checked they are issued to production
department. Production department requires 25-30 days (depending on the order quantity
and style). Production can happen in-house or from a third-party vendor. Garment details
are sent to different factories and best price and terms are negotiated. Also, past
performances are analysed, where capability of the judged in reference to a particular style.
CMT (Cut Make Trim) cost is the essential negotiating factor.

Figure 5 Standard Garment sourcing Process flow

Source: Source-it, Global material sourcing for the clothing industry

Production Supplier Details

Name Komal Exports

Country Bangladesh
CMT rate Rs.70/- per pc, ex-factory
Lead time to cut & make 50000 pcs 30 days
Fabric and trims will be delivered to the factory, post which 30 days needed for the factory
to make goods.
CMT = labour cost per minute x SAM of the garment / line efficiency %
Post assembly, transportation to the nearest port and then to the distribution centre of the
day will take 14 days. From where, the brand will send the garments to different stores all
over the globe.

REFERENCES

 Source-it, Global material sourcing for the clothing industry

 https://www.intracen.org/uploadedFiles/intracenorg/Content/Publications/prov/22
_Source-It%20Global%20Material%20Sourcing%20for%20the%20Clothing
%20Industry.pdf

 Fashion merchandising: sourcing

https://www.textiletoday.com.bd/fashion-merchandising-sourcing/

 Purchase Department in a Garment Company

https://www.textileschool.com/382/purchase-department/

 Fashion Merchandising
https://www.slideshare.net/nitinkr10/time-and-action-calendarbuyingprocess

 Purchasing & Sourcing Management in Apparel Industry

http://www.bscms.com.bd/sites/default/files/Sourcing%20%26%20Purchasing
%20management%20in%20Apparel%20Industry%20-%20Walid%20Hossain.pdf

 Trims & Accessories Inspection Procedures

https://www.onlineclothingstudy.com/2012/03/trims-and-accessories-
inspection.html

 Trims- Accessories Inspection Procedure of Garments Industry

https://onlinegarmentsacademy.blogspot.com/2020/01/trims-inspection-procedure-
garments.html

 Thread Consumption Guide

https://www.coats.com/en/information-hub/Thread-Consumption-
Guide#:~:text=Measuring%20Actual%20Thread%20Consumed,-A%20specified
%20length&text=By%20dividing%20the%20amount%20of,thread%20consumed
%20for%20that%20seam.&text=*Generally%2C%2010%25%20to%2015,added%20to
%20the%20consumption%20derived.

 Official Victoria’s Secret website

https://www.victoriassecret.com/us/vs/sleepwear-and-lingerie-catalog/victoria-s-
secret-satin-short-5000007350?brand=vs&collectionId=b00c44c8-ec63-4a9f-976d-
6c8e770c02ad&limit=180&productId=7c5eacb4-53b9-49bf-b606-
a4014e000ae8&stackId=29e67a7e-d3e2-4ea2-8c8a-cc98c3e2845c