ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the manufacturing process within the fashion industry and outlines what the mass production of garments entails. It discusses the different production processes available to fashion retailers and illustrates these through different case studies. Finally, the chapter explains the roles of buyers and merchandisers during the manufacturing process and how they monitor it using the critical path. The first part of the chapter provided an overview of the apparel pipeline, which forms a vital part of the manufacturing process from sourcing raw materials, to creating fabrics, to designing products and producing them, and finally selling them to the end-consumer. The latter half of this chapter provides a brief overview of different production techniques that organisations may incorporate, such as lean, just-in-time, or sustainable supply chain management. Supply chain management is concerned with the entire the manufacturing process in that it focuses on suppliers all the way to end-users.
