Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu is widely known as India's knitwear capital, with a large number of manufacturers and exporters supplying international brands and retailers. Export garment production involves many stages, many job workers and strict buyer deadlines.
The Export Order Journey
- Buyer enquiry and sampling.
- Costing and order confirmation.
- Fabric and trims planning.
- Knitting, dyeing and compacting.
- Cutting, stitching, checking and packing.
- Buyer inspections.
- Shipment and documentation.
ERP Capabilities Exporters Need
Order and Style Management
Orders by style with size and colour breakdowns, delivery dates and buyer-specific requirements.
Costing
Pre-order costing for fabric, trims, processes, overheads and margins, compared with actual costs after production.
Material Planning
Yarn and fabric requirements calculated from orders, with purchase tracking.
Process Tracking
Track each order through internal departments and job workers, with quantities issued, received and pending at every stage.
Job Work Management
Many processes are done by specialised units. Track material at each job worker, process loss and charges, with GST documentation.
Quality
Inline and final inspections, defects and rework.
Shipment and Export Documentation
Packing lists, invoices and shipment tracking, with data ready for export documentation.
Compliance and Audits
Buyers often require social and environmental compliance audits. Maintaining records of workers, wages and processes in a system supports audit preparation.
"On-time shipment is the export promise. ERP helps you see delays while there is still time to fix them."
Reports
- Order status by stage.
- Pending at job workers.
- Planned versus actual costs.
- Shipment schedule.
- Process loss.
Common Questions
Can ERP handle size and colour matrices? Yes. Orders, production and packing can all be managed by style, size and colour.
Can we see delays early? Stage-wise tracking against planned dates highlights orders falling behind, so you can act before the shipment date is at risk.
How do we involve job workers? Simple mobile entries or receipts at each handover help keep quantities accurate.
Implementation Checklist
- Standardise style, size and colour codes.
- Define process stages and the departments or job workers responsible.
- Set planned durations for each stage to track delays.
- Create costing templates for common product types.
- Train merchandisers, production staff and job workers on data entry.
Mistakes to Avoid
Updating order status only in merchandisers' spreadsheets, and recording job work in separate registers, make it impossible to see delays early. Bring every stage into one system.
Measuring Success
Track on-time shipment rate, orders delayed at each stage, difference between planned and actual cost per order, and process loss at job workers. Reviewing these after every season helps improve planning and pricing for the next one, and gives buyers confidence in your delivery commitments.
How ITELLIC Helps
We build custom ERP systems for manufacturers and exporters, designed around order flows, process stages and job work networks.
Custom ERP Systems
One system for purchase, production, inventory, sales and accounts.
