In the apparel industry, the role of production management is immense. This is the one sector where factors like the production process, capacity, machinery, compliance, etc. are discussed before the main product arrives. And proper management of all of these things results in the desired end product. In simple words, production management can be defined as the process of planning the conversion of raw materials into finished products. Other than this, it also includes the procurement of necessary materials, their supervision, and control.
Production Planning and Control in Apparel Industry
This is an important aspect of apparel manufacturing and involves things like scheduling PCDs (planned cut dates), allocating the style to a sewing line, and controlling several other processes. A few other things are also there, and together they are called production planning and control. These are:
- Task Scheduling
- Inventory Planning
- Loading Production
- Process Selection and Planning
- Quantity Estimation
- Capacity Planning
To ensure maximum productivity for your business, it is important to collect all the production-related information in real time. Known as real-time production monitoring, it helps to capture any problems in the production line without any delay. This is much better as compared to conventional production monitoring, where all the data related to a production line is collected first and then analyzed.
Here are a few benefits of real-time production monitoring:
- Improved Efficiency
- Higher Productivity
- Enhanced Quality
- Reduced Downtime
What is real-time reporting tool?
No matter how exciting and easy real-time reporting may sound, it is one of the most complicated things to do. At times, things can get so overwhelming when you choose to do it manually. In such situations, the need for an efficient automated system arises. A real-time reporting tool helps in capturing all the data across the production floor in real-time. Currently, a number of manufacturing monitoring systems are available for apparel businesses. The main challenge is finding one that you can rely on.
The Solution
LTLabs offers LTproduction, a comprehensive production monitoring system for manufacturing businesses in the apparel industry. This track-and-trace system provides end-to-end status visibility on your production orders and materials throughout your factory floor and production process. It provides real-time traceability for all supplies, materials, and finished goods at any critical points of your production process in the factory.
Key Benefits
- PO status & supply availability
- WIP visibility
- Reduces Manual Tracking with Better Manpower Utilization
Key Features
Here are the key features of real time production monitoring system:
- Create operation processes in our LTglobal admin, based on the actual factory setup.
- Assign checkpoints per process, line, or machine.
- Include checkpoints through multiple factories and for Sub-con processes.
- Determine which areas and processes require dashboards for the users.
Internal Work Orders
- Create or upload internal work orders (IO) and POs, and manage them in one location.
- Link with ERP or planning system or schedule the IO within LTproduction.
- Instant process capacity and fill rate update when scheduling IOs.
Track & Trace
- Auto-generate or add bundles manually within IO, per style and size.
- Assign RFID cards to track and trace your bundles/garments along any process.
- End-to-end PO traceability with supply and WIP visibility between operations.
- Auto-close a PO once the total PO quantity has been reached.
Real-Time Dashboards
- Real-time data available per factory, operation, and line level.
- Supply visibility with clear indicators and alerts for remaining and lacking supply, bottlenecks, and priority requests.
- Eliminate manual data recording and manual send/receive confirmations.
- Custom mobile and email notifications for potential PO delays, excessive WIP build-up, and tracking abnormalities.
Reporting & Analytics
- Custom reports and analytics per factory, operations, and line level.
- Generate daily-weekly-monthly reports or use customized formats like shipment dates or production seasons.
- Analyze and compare top- and bottom-performing factories, production processes, and subcontractors.
- Execute root cause analysis to determine which areas are causing delays.
Explore our wide range of cloud-based solutions that are specially designed for the apparel industry.