Performance Measurement Tools for Garment Merchandising

Introduction:
Merchandising is the process of planning right merchandise at right time in the right quantity and at the right price to meet the needs of the company’s target buyer or customer. Garment merchandising involves a constant watch of the production of the garment products. Performance measurement is a technique of gathering and reporting information concerning the performance of an individual or organizations. Contrasting to the manufacturing process where task activities are small enough to have repeatability; hence, it follows the work measurement principle. Garment merchandising activities have a long duration and follow a project management principle.

Performance Measurement Tools for Garment Merchandising:
There are eight tools of performance measurement for garment merchandising.

1. Enquiry Response Time:
It is the time interval between the enquiries to the apparel buyer for the order to the confirmation of the order. A response must be sent within 24 hours or the next working day. A costing request should be replied to within 48 hours with possible alternatives.

…………………………………..Enquiries replied within time frame
Enquiry response time = ———————————————————- x 100
………………………………………….Total enquiries replied

2. Sample Acceptance Percentage:
This represents the capacity of the design team in a garment industry in realizing the buyer’s tastes, costs and the trends of the current season.

A higher percentage of sample acceptance level facilitates a long-term relationship with the buyer and a better chance of receiving production orders for the particular styles.

……………………………………Samples accepted by buyer
Sample adoption % = —————————————————- x 100
………………………………Samples presented to the buyer

3. Order Conversion Rate:
This shows the percentage of successful conversion of sampling to actual buyer orders. Lower percentage adds significant cost to the manufacturer and time delays.

…………………………………………………………………..Number of styles ordered
Order conversion rate (or) Sample hit rate = ————————————————————-
…………………………………………………………………..Number of styles sampled

4. On-Time Sample Delivery Percentage:
It represents the total time taken from the date of order enquiry from the buyer to the dispatch of the order. A proto sample should be sent within four days and a fit sample within five days to the buyer to ensure a quick response from the buyer. This information can be valuable for evaluating the performance of the merchant and for acquiring further orders by showing a good delivery record to the buyers.

………………………….Number of samples sent on or before time
Sample delivery = ——————————————————————— x 100
………………………………….Total number of samples sent

5. Sample Rejection Percentage:
It is ratio between the number of garments rejected and the number of garments dispatched. The rejected garment includes proto sample, fit sample or any other type of samples depending on industry requirement. The rejection percentage evaluates the ability of pattern makers as well as merchandisers in understanding the tech pack. It is vital for the merchandisers to have a good impression with the buyer.

6. On-Time File Handover to Production Department:
This measurement index represents the ability of the merchandising department in handing over the order related files to the production department in a stipulated time to avoid any bottleneck in the delivery of the order. Any change in the schedule disrupts the planning schedule.

This index can be determined on a weekly or a monthly basis.

…………………………………………Number of on time deliveries
File handover achievement = ————————————————- x 100
…………………………………………Number of planned deliveries

7. Number of Orders Handled per Unit Time:
It represents the number of orders successfully carried out by a merchandiser in a particular month or season. This indirectly evaluates the quantum of work carried out by the merchandiser in a specific period of time.

Orders handled per unit time = Total orders handled in a month or year

8. Value Handled per Unit Time:
It signifies the value that the merchandiser is bringing into the company.

Value handled per unit time = ∑ order values in a month or year

Conclusion:
Merchandising is the job where the merchandiser should have a constant interface with production and see that the ultimate aim of satisfying customer needs is met. Merchandiser has to see that everything is going in pace in the production and at the same time report and take immediate actions to solve the emerging problems. Apparel merchandiser should be well aware of what a customer wants this season and what is produced by the manufacturer is as per the needs of the customer. He should well inform customer about the styles, quantity and quality of the product required and the time when the goods should reach the customer. Performance measurement tools help lots to garment merchandiser for procuring merchandising activities successfully.

References:

Apparel Manufacturing Technology By T. Karthik, P. Ganesan and D. Gopalakrishnan
Fashion Marketing Management by A. Arunraj and V. Ramesh Babu
Apparel Merchandising by R. Rathinamoorthy and R. Surjit

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