Responsibilities Of A Garment MerchandiserMerchandising Merchandising is the department which mediates marketing and production departments. It is Space optimization through effective Brand/Package allocation, focusing on gaining first position, providing greatest exposure of brands to all consumers, creating a consistent, orderly and clean appearance for the products, maximizing the use of POS to increase consumer awareness of brand and promotions. Introduction Merchandising is a process through which products a re planned, developed, executed and presented to the buyer. It includes directing and overseeing the development of product line from start to finish. Marketing and merchandising depart ment: A team of merchandisers and marketers work together under a profit controls head. Merchan disers handle the foreign buyers. The teams are made according to the buyers being handled. Merchandising is the department which mediates marketing and production departments. Some times, merchandising department will have to do costing and pricing also. In any case, the merchandiser is the person whose responsibility is to execute the orders perfectly as per the costing and pricing. So it is a very valuable department. Following are the main responsibilities of merchandisers. Two type of merchandising done in garment exports • • Marketing merchandising. Product merchandising. Marketing merchandising Main function of marketing merchandising is • • • Product Development Costing Ordering Marketing merchandising is to bring orders costly products development and it has direct contact with the buyer. Responsibilities Of A Garment Merchandiser Product merchandising Product merchandising is done in the unit. This includes all the responsibilities from sourcing to finishing i.e. first sample onwards, the products merchandising work start and ends till shipment. A Merchandisers key responsibility is as follows: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Product Development Market and product Analysis Selling the concept Booking orders Confirming Deliveries Designing and Sampling Costing Raw Material Flow Monitoring Production Follow Ups Payments Follows Internal & external communication, Sampling Lab dips Accessories & trims Preparing internal order sheets Preparing purchase orders Advising and assisting production, Advising quality department about quality level Mediating production and quality departments Giving shipping instructions and following shipping, Helping documentation department Taking responsibility for inspections and Following up the shipment. Internal & external communication Earlier, we had seen the importance of communication with buyers. By the same way, internal communication is also very much valuable. As the other departments will follow the instructions given by the merchandising department, they have very high value. Other departments don’t know the buyer’s instructions; they know only the merchandising department’s instructions. So it is the Responsibilities Of A Garment Merchandiser sole responsibility of merchandising department to instruct other departments the specifications and instructions of buyer’s orders clearly. Even a small omission, mistake or deviation of instruction may create big problems. Sometimes, they may not be correctable. Hence all the instructions to be double checked before being informed to other departments. Prevention is better than cure. Responsibilities Of A Garment Merchandiser Department structure and Functioning Functioning of Merchandise Department Responsibilities Of A Garment Merchandiser Departmental Structure Understanding Textile for a merchandiser As a Garment Merchandiser he/she must have the knowledge about Textile. The word “Textile” originally applied only to woven fabrics, now generally applied to fibers, yarns, or fabrics or products made of fiber, yarns or fabrics. The term Textile originates from the Latin verb Texere-to-weave-but, as the Textile institutes terms and definitions Glossary explains, it is now “a general term applied to any manufacture from fibers, filaments or yarns characterized by flexibility, fineness and high ratio of length to thickness.” Textile Fiber: Fibers used for the production of yarn and fabric. There are many fibers looks like textile fiber but all the fibers are not textile fibers. Textile fibers must the following propertiesI. Primary Propertiesa. High length to width ratio b. Tenacity c. Flexibility d. Spinning Quality e. Uniformity Responsibilities Of A Garment Merchandiser II. Secondary Properties: a. Physical shape b. Elastic recovery and elongation c. Resiliency d. Flammability and other thermal reactions e. Density f. Luster g. Color h. Moisture regain Skills Necessary: Mathematical, Analytical, Interpersonal, Organizational, Mechanical, Manual Dexterity, Decision Making, Computer Skills, Written Communications, SelfMotivated, Leadership, Management, Detail Oriented, Tactful, Works under pressure, Sales, Basic Business Principles, Responsible, Goal Oriented, Customer Service, Negotiating, Orderly Minded, Initiative, Good Judgment, Determination, Confidence. The duties and responsibilities of a Garment Merchandiser Garment merchandising position is a smart position in a RMG industry. But it remains true that it contains a lot of risks. To handle all items related with Garment Merchandising is so hard. But if someone (Merchandiser) draws the high concentration on their job then he/she will become a successful merchandiser. Role of a Merchandiser: The main role of a garment Merchandiser is to collect Garment export order (Export L/C). Then produce the garments and export. If a Merchandiser can the all operation successfully then his/her garment owner as well as he/she will be benefited. But it’s a matter of true that to perform those above functions successfully needs huge knowledge and tremendous effort for a Merchandiser. Duties and Responsibilities of Merchandiser: The major duties and responsibilities of a garment merchandiser are as below• • To procure or collect a garment export order or export L/C To estimate time schedule for the export of those garments as per L/C Responsibilities Of A Garment Merchandiser • • • • • • • • • • • • To arrange all the materials needed for the garments to manufacture and export To monitor collection of raw materials as per time schedule To monitor the quantity and quality of the collected raw materials To select garment factory if needed To monitor garment production progress as per time schedule To monitor desired/imposed quality level of the produced garment To monitor garment packing instructions To monitor banking and shipment arrangements as per time schedule To maintain continuous liaison with the buyer or his/her representative if needed To maintain continuous liaison with his/her controlling authorities To follow up payment collection against garments export as per schedule And finally, To earn profit through garment export execution The Techniques of Negotiation A successful negotiation outcome does not generally occur though luck, but by following a clear process. The process reflects the different levels of knowledge of the subject of negotiation, various parties and the way they communicate at various stages in the negotiation. The following is an outline of steps essential to effective negotiation. • Prepare, prepare and prepare: Enter a negotiation without proper preparation and you’ve already lost. Start with yourself. Make sure you are clear on what you really want out of the arrangement. Research the other side to better understand their needs as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Enlist help from experts, such as an accountant, attorney or tech guru. • Pay attention to timing: Timing is important in any negotiation. Sure, you must know what to ask for. But be sensitive when you ask for it. There are times to press ahead, and times to wait. When you are looking your best is the time to press for what you want. But beware of pushing too hard and poisoning any long-term relationship. • Leave behind your ego: The best negotiators either don’t care or don’t show they care about who gets credit for a successful deal. Their talent is in making the other side feel like the final agreement was all their idea. • Ramp up your listening skills: The best negotiators are often quiet listeners who patiently let others have the floor while they make their case. They never interrupt. Encourage the other side to talk first. That helps set up one of negotiator’s oldest maxims: whoever mentions number first, loses. While that’s not always true, it’s generally better to sit tight and let the other side go first. Even if they don’t mention numbers, it gives you a chance to ask what they are thinking. Responsibilities Of A Garment Merchandiser • If you don’t ask you don’t get: Another tenet of negotiating is “Go high, or go home.” As part of your preparation, define your highest justifiable price. As long as you can argue convincingly, don’t be afraid to aim high. But no ultimatums, please. Take-it-or-leave-it offers are usually out of place. • Anticipate Compromise: You should expect to make concessions and plan what they might be. Of course, the other side is thinking the same, so never take their first offer. Even if it’s better than you’d hoped for, practice your best look of disappointment and politely decline. You never know what else you can get. • Offer and expect commitment: The glue that keeps deals from unraveling is an unshakable commitment to deliver. You should offer this comfort level to others. Likewise, avoid deals where the other side does not demonstrate commitment. • Don’t absorb their problems: In most negotiations, you will hear all of the other side’s problems and reasons they can’t give you what you want. They want their problems to become yours, but don’t let them. Instead, deal with each as they come up and try to solve them. If their “budget” is too low, for example, may be there are other places that money could come from. • Close with Confirmation: At the close of any meeting- even if no final deal are struck-recap the points covered and any areas of agreement. Make sure everyone confirms. Follow up with appropriate letters or emails. Do not leave behind loose ends. Execution of Garment Export Order Garment Merchandiser is the person who collects the export order from buyer. But after receiving the export order, without wasting any time, it is very essential to prepare a time schedule for the job to be done for safe execution of the export order. The main job for the execution of an export orders are as follow• • • • • Detail analysis of export (L/C) Preparation of time schedule for the export (L/C) Collection/ Procurement of fabric and accessories for the garment to be exported. Distribution of responsibilities for the jobs and duties. Make production plan • Inspection of the produced garment for quality, quantity, packing and other requirements of the buyer. • • Preparation of banking and shipment formalities. Continuous follow-up of progress Responsibilities Of A Garment Merchandiser • Others. Normally the person who is engaged and given responsibility for a particular garment export orders (L/C), is called garment merchandiser. So he/she should monitor all the jobs related to execution of an export order as well as maintain a continuous liaison with the garment exporter and garment importer to inform continuous progress of the garment export order. Progress for garment production quantity with required quality level within scheduled time is the most important and critical job of the garment merchandiser. Hence, through knowledge is essential for a garment merchandiser for successful execution for the export order. With the change of time now a day, garments quality became very important. To maintain the produced garments with required quality level, it is very essential to start from fiber, yarn, fabric, dyeing, printing, finishing, garment production, garment inspection and quality control, testing garment washing/dyeing, garment finishing, packing etc. technical affairs. It’s a matter to mention that I will write about all technical affairs one after another. But there is no hesitation to say that if someone draws the high concentration about this topic he/she would be a successful merchandiser. Procurement of Garment export order Procurement of Garment export order is a difficult job for a garment merchandiser. Normally garment export order is found from the potential garments importers called garment buyer. Anybody wants to collect garments export order. But the person who wants to collect the export order, he/she should be able to convince the buyer. When the buyer is convinced about garment production, garment quality, garment costing and garment delivery or shipment ability, then garments export order is procured by someone. To convince the buyer it is better if you can visit his/her office in abroad with your produced some sample garments and company profile. Event it will be more helpful, if you can invite and arrange your potential buyer to visit your office, factory to see the production facility, production quality, so that the buyer gets confidence about your garment export ability. Without clear confidence among buyer and exporter from both sides, may be a risky business deal. If garment exporter can continuously deal with only two or three buyer with buyer’s satisfaction, it will be sufficient enough to run garment production and garment business smoothly round the year. Knowledge & Skill ness required for a garment Merchandiser As I mentioned in my previous article about the duties and responsibilities of a garment merchandiser, so now it is clear that to perform successfully those duties & responsibilities, Responsibilities Of A Garment Merchandiser sufficient related knowledge & skill ness of a merchandiser is the most necessary. To acquire those knowledge & skill ness, institutional support is essential. However a brief guide about the knowledge & skill ness requirement of garment merchandiser is noted out below: • A Merchandiser should be a smart person with fluent speaking, reading and writing ability in English Language. • A smart Merchandiser should be a technically sound person having clear conception about textile fiber, yarn, fabric, dyeing, printing, finishing, garment manufacturing, garment washing, garment dyeing, Textile testing, Textile product & raw materials inspection and quality control. • Should have clear knowledge about procurement/collection of an export order (export L/C). • A Merchandiser should have the ability to plan and execute the time schedule. • A smart Merchandiser should have the ability to make liaison with buyer & production people. • • • A Merchandiser should have clear knowledge about garment shipment formalities. Should have clear knowledge about banking and commercial formalities. Should have clear knowledge about sourcing of raw materials. • Should have clear knowledge about garment costing and raw materials consumption calculation. • • Should have self-motivated and hardworking ability. And finally, should be able to maintain commitment.
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