On Manufacturing: Highly diversified product range means increased number of lots at various stages of operation.

All these product parameters lead into multiplicity in number of batches at various stages of process. The key drivers of lot size at different stages of operation are mapped across process domains in Exhibit 3. Order size and maximum batch size permissible at different stages as determinants of lot size are common across manufacturing stages and are not shown in this exhibit.

Hence various apparel and textile manufacturing parameters lead to increase in number of s.k.u. in retail shelf on one hand, and increase in number of lots on manufacturing end on the other. And this multiplicity in manufacturing batches has contributed to following complexity into the nature of operation.

• Loss In Productivity
• Value Loss
• Difficulty In Assortment planning,
• Poor Asset management

All these have resulted in increase in manufacturing cost.

Loss In Productivity: In fibre and yarn dyeing, occurrence of re-processing increases with higher number of lots due to increasing difficulty in shade matching. Machine stoppage increases with more number of cleaning after every different shade being dyed. Also there is chance of machine remains idle or under-utilised because all machine have fixed batch size, which may not match with order size of each individual shade component at fibre or yarn stage.

In spinning, weaving and processing, occurrence of changeover increases with higher number of lots. Also uneven processing and loss of productivity results with frequent changes in case product diversity increases.

In garmenting, the scheduling becomes increasingly difficult with increasing types of basic fabric types, garment fits and models. In a completely automated apparel manufacturing operation, it would be difficult to synchronise movements of body, collars, buttons and other accessories across cutting, assembling and stitching of final garment. Garment productivity suffers as a result of this highly diversified product ranges.

Higher Value Loss: Material loss increases at every stage with increase in number of lots. It is largely because of fixed amount of material goes into waste for every lot irrespective of lot-size. So more waste is generated with higher number of lots.

For instance, it is found that material losses are typically higher for all-wool, finer micron wool blend and smaller lots in dyeing and spinning. In finishing, wastage is higher for all-wool fabric than that of blended fabric.

In weaving, there is fixed length, which goes into wastage with every warp-beam. So with reduction in beam-length and more number of beams, the amount of wastage increases.