Time and action plan for Apparel Merchandising

Time and action plan for  merchandisers:

The time and action plan (TNA or T&A Plan) is an important tool for a merchandiser to enlist his day-to-day activities or to enlist the different operations involved in the process of completing an order. This process involved various department and different people in the manufacturing. Hence, this T&A calendar / plan helps the merchandiser to analyses every individual operation with the aspect of, when to start? When to end? Is the process according to the plan? Or is there any deviation with the activity?   In short, a time and action calendar defines the ideal date/time period within which the major activities of an order should occur against a scheduled de- livery. In general, the merchandisers will develop list of activities need to   be performed for an order in a spreadsheet in a column, the expected date   of completion on next column and the actual completion date on the very next column.

However, this time, and action plan is not simply a data entering process, it is also about scientifically working out the activity duration, logically   determining   the   preceding   and   succeeding   activities.  The main  

Purpose of time and action plan is to cross check the each activity related    to a particular order in frequent interval. The main advantage of the time and action plan is its graphical representation (Gantt chart). Hence, anyone can understand the information out of it without any technical background. After the preparation of TNA calendar, merchandiser can list down their daily “to-do-list” and taking it one by one. As per TNA schedule processes can be executed on timely basis to track whether an order is on track or it will get delayed. To prepare a time and action plan, the merchandiser re- quires the following details:

1) Extensive process flow of an order from the sampling to dispatchwith tasks to be performed on each activity

2) Detailed production capacity of various departments of their unit. In some cases, the merchandiser needs to know their vendor’s production capacity also

3) Tentative lead time details of various raw material and buffer time required for each department

4) Style complication in each department level,  both  in  technical aspects and also in terms of throughput time of different departments

5) Duration of transportation, shipment and logistic facility for the par- titular customer and exact delivery date to the customer

6) Availability of the special machines / technology and their possible Influences

7) Details regarding the local and national level holidays – in his/ her company and also holiday information about customers / vendors, from where the raw material imported or to whom the products need to be delivered

8) Complication associated with the trims and accessories sourcing and manufacturing

9) Government and political policies of concerned countries

10) Response time of customer / buyer at various stages.

(A)Factors to be considered while making Time and action plan:

•      Production capacity of plant

•      Style type of merchandise

•      Festivals of manufacturing country

•      Holidays

•      Shipment details

•      Festivals of country from where raw material is imported

•      Logistics facilities

•      Lead time estimated by buyer

•      Style complications

•      Fabric and trims manufacturing complications

•      Buffer required from each department

•      Political stability of the country

•      Flexibility of freight forwarder

•      Response time from buyer at different stages

•      Lead times of various activities like L/C payment, custom clearance, etc.

•      Cut-off dates for shipments

A successful time and action plan helps to streamline the pre-production activities at different level. The chart also clarifies information about delays in day to day basis. This activity chart helps the  merchandiser to  monitor the sub or minor activities under each task. Out of this preparation work, the complications come along with the sampling department. Since, the approval from buyer or from the higher management of his / her own company is necessary after each of the sampling stage, the unexpected delays in sampling process makes the merchandiser uncomfortable. Hence, during the TNA preparation, sufficient buffer time need to be provided between the processes, based on individuals experience. The Figure mention details the various key activities which need to be performed by a merchandiser at various levels of sample development.

                                       Figure:Influencing key activities from the sample department

From the production point of view, there are few other critical process which has direct influence on the time and action chart preparation. The operations and their influencing factors were listed in following Table;

Table .Tentative lead time for different key activities

S. No.	Process name	Lead time details
1	Fabric approval	•   For lab dip – 15 days for a single time (based on the quality expectations and facility available Merchandiser can plan 10–30 days)
2	Prints, trims and accessories	•   15–25 days for the approval is must. If complicated styles / special materials used lead time can be extended up to 30 days
3	FPT	•   Most of the time performed by the third party (Buyer recommended internationally accredited testing organizations) •   5 days to 1 week time can be provided as lead time
4	Fabric and trim sourcing	•       Very time consuming process which includes desk loom and lab dip approvals, trim and art work approval, FPT approval •       For sourcing solid dyed – 30 days •       yarn dyed – 45 days Fabric dyed – 55–60 days •       Can be given as a lead time in T&A plan •       For sourcing of Trims – Based on availability and place of sourcing 30–45 days can be given
5	Production department	•   Sourcing department delays will be considered •   Based on the complexity in the sourcing process, the buffer time can be allotted for cutting department •   Production department start date from the very next day (or 1 or 2 days) from the cutting department (based on production capacity) •   Based on factory efficiency and capacity the lead time for each department can be allotted by considering the shipment date

Other than these key activities, a merchandiser should always remember the style complication of the particular labour, the operator efficiency of the factory, skill level, technology available with the facility and initial lag of production during the manufacturing. By considering these factors, a merchandiser can allocate buffer time / lead time for each activity and sub-activity.