Merchandising of Men’s Shirt in Bangladesh – A Case Study

Abstract

This project is about a brief study on “Merchandising of men’s shirts in Bangladesh”. In the whole procedure of exporting garments to the retailer of abroad and to communicate with them, merchandisers have a great influence and responsibilities. When the order is taken from the buyer the duty comes to the floor of merchandisers and before going production they do almost everything to make the business smooth. So, the work starts with the order taking and making business relationship. Then sample making, planning, booking of every single material for samples, and getting approval are all the key responsibilities of merchandisers. In the case of production, the sample goes in bulk so, the responsibilities become huge and it comes to the relation with operation also.

In the other words, we can say that it is the Merchandiser’s responsibility to develop and deliver the garments properly. The aim of a merchandiser is to fulfill all the requirements of the buyer. After getting the order, the buyer sends a master sample and a BOM (Bill of Material) Sheet to the merchandiser. After that merchandiser sends it to the sampling section and also monitor and give instructions for making the samples correctly. Merchandiser also does sourcing for the Fabric, Accessories, and trims i.e. required for the original samples, and sends it to the sampling section for sample making.

After making the samples properly they send the garment to the Buyer for approval. After approving the product buyers demands the price per garment or per dozen and then the merchandiser prepares the cost sheet for the product and sends it to the buyer. If the price is approved by the buyer, then the merchandiser sends PI (Performa Invoice) to the buyer. Then buyer opens LC (Letter of Credit) Against Factory. After opening the LC the merchandiser goes for bulk production and also gives accessories and trims orders and then finally after finishing the production, products are sent for shipment.

In this project work, I have covered all the above-mentioned roles of merchandiser against the product (Men’s Shirt) with reference to the country, Bangladesh. I have also covered a brief overview of the RMG sector of Bangladesh, the contribution of RMG in total export of Bangladesh, cost of fabric/garments export, cost sheet & BOM sheet preparation for shirts with reference to the ‘MOHAMMADI GROUP LTD, BANGLADESH.’ In the end, I have summarized this document with the ‘Comparison Cost Sheet’ referencing the various countries.

Conclusion

This study reveals the beneficial factors of manufacturing apparel from Bangladesh. US retailers, brands, and importers can be benefited from the results of this study. The findings of this study confirm low labor costs and standard quality of manufactured products are the core strength of Bangladeshi vendors that should be considered by the buyers.

The study indicated low labor cost is the first choice of the buyers when they consider apparel outsourcing and select outsourcing destinations. The continuous search for low-cost products propelled importers to move towards Asian vendors. After Hong Kong, Korea, and China, Bangladesh is now one of the most competitive price providers. Findings support that still a significant percentage of buyers and importers did not experience apparel sourcing from Bangladesh and also a significant percentage are not informed about the services offered by Bangladeshi vendors. Hence, this competitive advantage can influence more business managers to outsource apparel from Bangladesh in the near future.

The results of this study also reveal the product quality aspect of Bangladeshi vendors, which carries a positive influence on outsourcing. This means Bangladeshi vendors can make apparel products maintaining international quality standards. This supports previous findings that development in technology and the global presence of information technology helped developing countries of the far east to match the demand of global quality standards.

Due to the geographical location of Bangladesh, a longer vessel leads time for exporting products to the US is required compared to some other sourcing destinations. Participants in this study directly supported that fact. Despite having geographical distance, there is still scope for lead time reduction by using direct and faster vessels. Moreover, all the Asian countries are in the same situation in terms of vessel lead time to ship products to the US. Hence, this fact should not restrict apparel buyers to outsource apparel from Bangladesh as there are not enough geographically closer alternatives for US importers for apparel outsourcing.

Unlike previous studies, which reveal that higher currency exchange rates positively influence apparel outsourcing destinations, this study showed that a gradual increase in the difference of currency exchange rate between the US dollar and Bangladeshi taka does not have a significant impact on outsourcing apparel from Bangladesh. Hence, it can be predicted that in the future even if Bangladeshi taka gets stronger against the US dollar it should not affect the bilateral apparel trade between Bangladeshi vendors and US importers.

The results of this study provided information about benefit factors associated with outsourcing from Bangladesh by apparel retailers, brands, and importers. Furthermore, it can provide a better understanding of important trade-offs that sourcing managers and apparel buyers face in various outsourcing alternatives.

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