Made to order
SR Bhowmik knows Asia like the back of his hand.
Having worked in the garment industry since 1990 - starting as an assistant production manager in India - Bhowmik landed his head of merchandising role (Holeproof Division) at Pacific Brands Asian plant last August.
Based in Hong Kong, his garment technical skills and extensive mass production knowledge in India, Indonesia and China now sees him responsible for sourcing underwear for Antz Pantz, Holeproof and Rio's Australian and New Zealand markets.
"Most of the challenging merchandising, supply chain and logistics positions are actually offshore as a result of the US, EEC, Australian and Japanese [retail] companies aggressively increasing their manufacturing base [away from their home country]. Responsible for meeting price, quality and delivery targets, managing relationships with Chinese factories and raw material suppliers, it's my job to ensure [Pacific Brands] innovation and replenishment product lines have the shortest possible lead times, whilst still ensuring lowest possible cost."
Agreeing merchandisers play a key role in coordinating the entire manufacturing process from order through to delivery, Permanser director Kate Porter says positions in merchandising, product development, apparel technology and sourcing are continuously evolving to reflect the needs of offshore manufacturing.
"The supply chain management function is inevitably more complex and more control mechanisms are required to ensure on-time/in-full deliveries are made according to customer quality and delivery requirements.
"As manufacturing, sampling and even pattern making is now being done offshore, there's a greater need to ensure complete clarity and accuracy of the patterns, size charts and manufacturing instructions before bulk production is started. This has led to positions such as quality assurance (QA)/garment/apparel technicians to have a background in checking samples, pattern making, construction and specification sheets."
McKenzie Fashion divisional manager Liz Pearson agrees QA/garment/apparel technicians have been in great demand over the past year.
Pearson says with close to 100 per cent of garments being manufactured in China or the Far East, QA/garment/apparel technicians play an imperative part in ensuring specifications and fits on all garments are correct for sample approval and production.
"Even though patternmakers and some quality control people still have a hand in it, the volume of work that sometimes goes through each company now requires independent people to execute it."
With the opinion there isn't enough importance given to QA/garment/apparel technicians, Fashion First director Margaret MacQueen says some companies employ a merchandiser in conjunction with a QA to carry the communication load; but many rely on and expect the QA to carry out both roles.
"A key role that's not yet recognised for its importance - this person is ultimately responsible for fit, quality and delivery, which all translates to profitability. Requiring experience and knowledge, I see it becoming a more important role in the future, attracting people with more experience through a higher salary."
Finding new jobs are being created or existing ones are becoming more complex due to the changing aspects of businesses' running offshore, Threadhunters director John Morison says there's definitely a requirement for new QA/garment/apparel technician roles, especially when dealing with communication problems.
"It all starts in the design room, redefining these systems onshore before production goes offshore. Businesses such as Kmart and Target need to see the process is handled effectively and be familiar with problems such as mistakes patternmakers and designers may make. This is where [QA/garment/apparel technician's] come in, giving advice on what will or won't work."
Recognising the added complexity and demands of existing positions can be a challenge, Bhowmik says for expatriate offshore employees this can be intensified when combined with offshore manufacturing problems.
"Working within different cultures, language problems and trying to manage manufacturing through less experienced factories can all make an impact."
Adding that positions such as divisional managers are also now more complex, Pearson feels the challenge at the moment is not all retail operations people have had exposure to buying principles due to them being separate job functions in the past.
"Previously a retail/wholesale divisional manager had a clearly defined role ensuring stores and/or products were performing to maximum efficiency. [Today] they need solid evidence of buying principles so product selection is in-line with required inventory levels, sales and margin budgets. Requiring a hands-on approach, [they] also need to oversee store operations teams and develop/implement marketing campaigns. Planning the development and execution of a direct import apparel home brand program is high on the agenda now especially with volume businesses."
Senior designer and product developer at Young Spirit Clothing, Kate Mahon, feels the current industry has made it necessary to multi-task and have an ever-increasing number of skills under your belt.
"Designers have been able to create a range from one simple thing, be it an abstract idea or something more concrete. That's the design process. What's different, in my opinion, is the collaborative working style between companies - between buyer and product developer - as more of the bigger retailers manufacture their own house-brands."
Supplying to retail chains such as Kmart, Mahon - whose accounts include Secret Love, Now, Solutions and Miss Understood - says her job is primarily about communication.
"It entails working with buyers and my team to develop and deliver commercially viable garments. It requires me to think outside the square in design and process and know how to get ideas across to people who don't have a design background."
Adding much of the production process within the apparel industry, in particular the discount department store environment, will continue to move offshore purely on the basis of economy, Mahon says manufacturers can't afford for a significant part of the process to be done in Australia.
"The average discount department store consumer would never be able to afford the product [otherwise]. However, at this stage, it's also essential for companies to have strong ties within Australia to identify what products will be successful within our market."
Seeing Permanser's placements in China increase exponentially over the past two years, Porter says opportunities in Asia have become much more attractive to Australians as they realise it will be looked at favourably on their resume and there are diminishing opportunities that match their skill base and experience in Australia.
"[In Asia] there's still some requirement for experienced Australians able to pass on their technical skills and knowledge to local staff. This will enable local staff to take on more senior roles as time goes by - there's now a large mentoring/training component in most expat job descriptions.
Currently working with clients in Mauritius and Sri Lanka, Permanser is also seeing an interest in candidates for India-based positions.
"We expect our business in [India] to grow rapidly within the next few years and are looking to expand our own team accordingly", says Porter.
Already appointing a China-based consultant to source local candidates, Permanser is also seeing a major shift towards local staff being recruited offshore by larger apparel companies.
"At the very senior level, a general manager in China must be more adept at dealing with government departments and local employment issues as well as the day to day operational side of the business", says Porter.
"Therefore many of our clients are choosing to employ locally with maybe mid management team members coming from Australia. This doesn't usually provide a saving in salary cost, as a local general manager will be highly educated and often have extensive experience with international companies, demanding a salary package equal to, if not greater than, an Australian in a similar role."