Garment Merchandiser’s responsibilities

Merchandising is a process through which products a replanned, developed, executed and presented to the buyer. It includes directing and overseeing the development of a product line from start to finish. Marketing and merchandising department: A team of merchandisers and marketers work together under a profit controls head. Merchandisers handle foreign buyers. The teams are made according to the buyers being handled.

Coordination regarding shipping

It is one of the responsibilities of merchandiser to follow the shipping. He has to give the shipping instructions clearly to the production, quality, documents and shipping departments. It is not only enough to give the instructions to them, but also it is the merchandiser’s duty to coordinate with these departments for smooth shipping and to follow them closely.

Taking responsibility for inspections

If we work with buying offices or buying agents or buyer’s liaison offices, there will be many inspections like pilot batch, initial, online, mid final and final.

If we work with the buyers directly, the number of inspections will be limited. The buyer may like to see the inspection in the middle production or final inspection. Sometimes, the buyer may ask any third party (like SGS) to do the inspections. It is better for the merchandiser to take responsibility for these inspections too.

Following shipment

Finally, the merchandiser has to make sure the vessel details, ETA, ETD, shipping lines, B/L instructions, documents, vessel connections, freight & other charges are in accordance with the buyer’s instructions and our suitability.

Helping the documentation department

Though the documentation department takes care of all documents, it is preferable for the merchandiser to check the important things like the prices, quantity, description, Category, HS code, consignee’s & consignor’s addresses, payment terms, delivery terms, purchase order number, port discharge, etc.

Accessories and Trims

The merchandiser has to send the accessories and trims like buttons, zippers, labels, hang tags, polybags, inner boards, etc to the buyer for approval. It is better to send in 2 or 3 types or qualities for getting approval. This will save a good time.

Preparing internal order sheets

The merchandising department has to prepare internal order sheets based on the buyer’s order sheets. From the merchandising department only, the other departments will get al the instructions and specifications. The merchandiser should be aware of the value of his job. So while preparing internal order sheets, he should prepare them by taking care of each and every detail. He may omit some information to other departments, like buyer’s address, export price, delivery date, etc. The other departments may not need this information.

Preparing purchase orders

The merchandiser has to prepare purchase orders. They should be advised to the purchasing department. The description, quantity, quality standards, price or price target, delivery target and payment terms of the required raw materials, accessories and trims should be clearly mentioned in the purchase orders. The clear information will help everybody to understand the requirements clearly.

Advising and assisting production

As the merchandiser is the person who knows better about buyer’s approvals, comments, and instruction, for the better flawless production, he will have to advise and assist production. As he has to guarantee the quality to the buyer, though there is a separate production department, the merchandiser should know about day to day affairs, status and problems of each stage of production.

Advising production and quality department about the quality level

Each garment will have different acceptable quality level according to the buyer’s specification and tolerance level. Though the production and quality departments are taking responsibility for quality, it is the merchandise and the marketing manager who decide whether the quality is up to the acceptable level or not. So the merchandiser should advise and instruct the production and quality departments about the quality and tolerance levels of a garment.