Apparel Merchandising

Role purpose:

Every order runs on two documents, and this role owns both.

The Bill of Material answers what to buy and how much to buy to complete the order. It drives purchase quantities, costing and in-housing dates, so an error in consumption or a missed trim surfaces later as a shortage, an excess, or a shipment that misses its date.

The operation bulletin answers what it takes to make it. It lists the operations in sequence with their SAM values, machine types and manpower, and it is the basis for line layout, capacity planning and efficiency targets.

The Executive – BOM converts a confirmed style into both documents, gets them agreed across sampling, purchase and production, and ensures the final versions are loaded in ERP so that every downstream team is working off the same data. A wrong figure entered once is repeated by purchase, costing and planning, and is usually found only when material is short on the floor, so the checking discipline matters as much as the preparation.

Key responsibilities:

Bill of Material

• Prepare the BOM for every confirmed style from the tech pack, approved samples and buyer specifications.
• Work out consumption for fabric, trims and accessories, including wastage and process allowances, and keep the basis of each calculation on record.
• Circulate the draft BOM to sampling, purchase and production, close their queries, and freeze the final version within the agreed lead time.
• Issue revisions when the buyer changes a specification or a trim is substituted, and inform every affected team of what changed.
• Support costing with accurate component-level quantities and consumption figures.

Data accuracy and ERP control

• Upload the approved BOM into ERP, or hand it to the ERP team in the required format, using the agreed template every time.
• Check every entry line by line against the source document before release: component, item code, unit of measure, colour, size and quantity.
• Treat ERP as the single source of truth. No team should be working from a side spreadsheet or an email attachment.
• Coordinate with the ERP team to create and correct item codes, units of measure and component masters.
• Audit BOM data already in the system at regular intervals, clear duplicate or obsolete codes, and escalate system gaps that cause repeated errors.
• Maintain style-wise BOM records and version history so the current version is never in doubt.
• Own the correction when an error is found: trace where it entered, fix it in ERP, and inform everyone who already acted on the wrong figure.

Operation bulletin

• Generate the operation bulletin for each style: operation sequence, SAM, machine type, attachments and manpower.
• Build it from the approved sample and the sewing method agreed with production and Industrial Engineering.
• Update the bulletin when the construction or the method changes, and reissue it to production and planning.
• Provide the operation and SAM data needed for line balancing, capacity planning and costing.

Follow-up and coordination

• Maintain a live style-wise tracker showing BOM status, bulletin status, pending approvals and who each open item is waiting on.
• Follow up daily on open items rather than waiting for a reply, and escalate anything stuck beyond the agreed time.
• Chase sampling for the trim and fabric approvals that are holding up a BOM.
• Follow up with purchase on component availability and in-housing dates against the BOM, and flag a shortage before it reaches the cut date.
• Raise delays early, with the date impact stated, instead of reporting them after the fact.
• Join pre-production meetings and answer the BOM and operation queries raised there.
• Close the loop on every revision by confirming that purchase, production and ERP are all on the latest version.

What we are looking for

Essential

• 3–5 years in merchandising, product development or BOM in an apparel export house.
• Hands-on experience preparing BOMs and working out fabric and trim consumption.
• A proven eye for detail: the habit of checking figures against the source before releasing them, and of catching an error in your own work.
• The persistence to follow up until an open item is closed, without needing a reminder.
• Working knowledge of an apparel ERP, with the discipline to verify data before entry rather than correcting it afterwards.
• Strong Excel: lookups, pivots and structured workbooks used daily, not occasionally.
• Ability to read a tech pack and a sample and translate both into components and operations.
• Clear written and spoken communication with sampling, purchase and production teams.
• Graduate or diploma in apparel or fashion technology, or equivalent experience on the floor.

Added advantage

• Exposure to operation bulletin preparation, SAM study or time study.
• Experience with knits and wovens across more than one buyer.