Demand Manufacturing Glossary
(9/11/2018) Update
Demand Manufacturing is divided into two production paths that are defined by the customer. Individual pre-paid consumer custom products are produced using Purchase Activated Manufacturing (PAM) and wholesale production that replaces actual retail product sales in store or on line is called Demand Sourcing (DS).
An Integrated Mini-Factory (IMF) is capable of both manufacturing paths. Demand Sourcing allows the online or brick and mortar retailer to operate in the dream state of "never out of stock and never over stock"
Here are some of the terms used to describe the elements of Demand Manufacturing:
Active Tunnel Infusion (ATI)
A permanent coloring process developed and patented by AM4U,
Inc. that uses clean physics with no water instead of chemistry to dye and/or
print fabric.
Color Space
Display monitor screens are portrayed in pixel based Red
Blue Green (RGB) color space. Digital printing appears as dot arrays of
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (CMYK) color space.
Color Cone
A graphic representation of all the factors required to be
in alignment to reproduce matching colors job to job and/or between digital
printers.
Color Profile
An ICC profile is a RIP translation table that provides RGB,
CMYK or Lab color values directions to the nearest
CMYK printable value for each color. Profiles are not used for color
correction on a file-by-file basis.
Configurator
Software used online to modify an image or product. Usually
used to change the color and/or embellishment on an item pictured in a catalog
or customizing display.
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
The cost of product is calculated as the total cost of
wholesale products actually sold and shipped or retail products actually
purchased at full or promotional price. “Cost of goods sold” replaces “cost of
goods”
Cost of Units Sold (COUS)
In demand manufacturing units are not produced until after
they have been sold. Since there is no pre-financed physical inventory the
cumulative cost per unit is calculated as product is produced. “Cost of
units sold” replaces “cost per unit”
Custom Stock Unit (CSU)
This inventory designation represents a personalized product
appropriate for sale to a specific individual or individuals. In unit
manufacturing there are very few situations where a CSU exists without the
actual sale already in place. Forecast based CSU’s that remain unsold
represent the largest risk of inventory
liability.
Days of Supply (DOS)
The speed of product throughput and shipping determines how
many days of supply the production line needs to manufacture to successfully
manage the consumer available inventory so that at least one of every offered
SKU is available during the selling cycle. DOS replaces “inventory levels”
Demand Sourcing (DS)
Buyer’s restocking order caused by retail sales rate and DOS
Digital Core
The digital core of a product is the descriptive binary data
that never changes whatever process; assembly or logistics instructions are
attached as variable instructions to the digital core. This is part of the
Tech Pack for apparel.
Digital SKU
Once products have completed the design and development
process they are registered with a design number and stored in a digital folder
of SKU marker sizes. Once a production style is in the digital inventory
it is ready to be assign a search path and added to the Virtual Inventory (VI)
for production on demand.
Digital Support Instruction (DSI)
The DSI for a product is all the supporting materials
inventory information required to produce one or many of that particular
SKU. In order for the DSI to be to quickly available to the active
scheduling roster, the integrated GSU status and ERP (see below) must be
current.
Digital Twin
The “Digital Twin” is a sophisticated virtualization model
developed by Black Swan Textiles to compare and facilitate existing
systems. A factory utilizing the Digital Twin methodology has modeled all
manufacturing equipment, operators, and processes, enabling it to simulate the
operations necessary to assemble any particular product.
Direct to Garment (DTG) & Direct to Fabric (DTF)
Printing machines that print directly on finished garments
(DTG) or directly on fabric roll goods (DTF).
“Endless Aisle” Retailing
A retail display using a touch screen, body scanner and
video mirror to offer endless VI choices to a consumer. Displays can
include a try-on product that can be visually customized and produced for
delivery through store pickup or home.
Generic Stock Unit (GSU)
This inventory designation is normally used for items that
can be assembled into a number of different products. Although GSU's are
usually roll goods or parts in their basic form (greige or PFP fabric) the
designation is also used for items, which are partially assembled but still may
be used for many products.
“Grays”
The sewn and finished blanks used to confirm the fabric,
fit, production speed and process steps for a specific silhouette. Grays
are often part of an “endless aisle” display or are used as a merchandising
tool to reduce returns in swimwear
Inkjet Textile Printer Classifications Based on Throughput
Class 1 speeds
of 5–30 linear meters/hour
Class 2
printers with speeds 31–100 linear meters/hour
Class 3
printers with speeds 101– 400+ linear meters/hour
Class 4
single-pass printers with speeds of 1200–6000 linear meters/hour
Integrated Mini Factory (IMF)
One of the key features of an Integrated Mini Factory is
that all of the coloring, printing, cutting, sewing and fulfillment are under
one roof. This allows for the ultimate in “lean” manufacturing because the
minimum can be one custom unit or a multi unit retail replenishment order that
matches consumer sales.
Job Tracker
An optical reader and / or a RFID signal track each job and
piece through the production path.
Landed/Duty/Paid Cost (LDP)
Actual cost of imported products including: materials,
labor, transportation, duties, forwarding, warehousing and internal
distribution.
Linearization
Linearization is an iterative process
used to control dot placement for each color for a particular
device, ink and substrate using software and press settings. This
process balances the primary colors and dot placement. It is performed
before ICC color profiling.
Merchandising Mirror
Also known as a “magic mirror” this is a retail VR merchandising
tool with a large flat screen that visualizes the consumer dressed in product
selected from a virtual inventory and usually carried in the store or available
online. Some “mirrors” also act as scanners to determine the proper size for
the shopper.
Micro Merchandising
Using social media and other online aggregation tools to
identify and target specific silhouettes, colors, fabric and decorations at
special interest individuals and groups.
Point of Asset (POA)
Point in the production path when a GSU is transformed into
an irreversible SKU awaiting sale. Items passing this point are a
liability until finished and shipped even if they are pre-purchased.
Purchase Activated Manufacturing (PAM)
A pre-paid purchase order, usually individualized, that
triggers a production event.
Process Integration
Building the bridges between separate technologies to produce
a demand-based seamless path between product design, sales and marketing,
coloration, cutting, assembly, finishing and fulfillment. Connecting these
developed products requires technology, technique and field experience.
Product Cycle
Once a style folder is registered, the product cycle can
begin, usually with sales samples followed by initial stocking
orders. Replenishment orders follow based on actual consumer “take away”
until the product can no longer sustain the merchandise turns to maintain its
place in the retail store inventory. Depending on the terms of the
replenishment contract the style may remain in a digital catalog for individual
ordering.
Product Performance Index (PPI)
The predetermined index of product velocity (turns) times
gross profit that a current product must meet to remain active (e-tail) or on
the shelf (retail). If a product does not meet this index its “digital
instruction” in the Virtual Inventory is retired but still available on
order. Maintaining a continuous table of PPI tracking by SKU is the key to
increasing sell-through and maximizing profits.
GP x Turns=PPI
Raster Image Processor (RIP)
The RIP is the Raster Image Processor software that
translates the pixel based RGB color on the display screen to printable CMYK
color and resolution for actual production.
Replenishment Contract
The basic document that describes the criteria for
production of a particular style is the replenishment contract. This
document sets the DOS standards for order content and logistics timing as well
as finishing, packaging and order fulfillment.
Single Pass Inkjet Printers
This digital inkjet platform uses a fixed array of
printheads that print as the fabric or media is fed beneath. They are faster
than rotary-screen unit but can cost millions of dollars.
Scanning Head Inkjet Printers
Scanning head inkjet printers print by moving the printhead
carriage back and forth, indexing the fabric after the head completes each
pass.
Style Cycle
Design and development of a Style Group (see below) involves
the traditional process of pattern making and new process of fabric
building. Pattern making is the traditional process of determining the
shape and look of the garment and then the grading and reduction of the garment
to a digital cutting marker for production. Fabric building is the
selection of the white fabric style (silhouette) and the printing of
decorations and colors to determine the print choices, which will comprise the
style group.
Style Group
A Style Group is a single or group of garment silhouettes
that occur in preset graded sizes on the same white fabric. The customer can
choose from preset or custom print or color. Since process color cost is
constant, one of the key merchandising advantages of digital production is the
ability to change colors and prints on the fly without additional cost in a
single style group. This allows the brand sales force to offer exclusive
prints to each retail buyer.
Style Contract
A Style Contract set a total purchase volume then allows a
buyer to change the decoration and color of a SKU within the Style Group on
short notice without penalty. This flexibility allows merchandisers to correct
for a slow or non-selling SKU.
Stock Keeping Unit (SKU)
This inventory designation is the first product cost point
on the consumer side of the POA (see above). Products at the SKU stage can
represent assets if they still can be customized to add significant value, but
they generally represent the first level of inventory liability.
Selling Cycle
The period of time a retail product is on the shelf before
it is retired because it cannot maintain the predetermined PPI.
SMART Book
The Style Marker ART (SMART) book is a manufacturing quality
control tool that contains all the customer approved process samples needed to
check the production quality at each station in the manufacturing value chain.
Tracking ID (TID)
The TID is an order number assigned by the ERP or PLM
schedule software that appears on each piece of a garment and is removed when
sewn. The TID creates a continuous reference to the VI data (see below)
and the product tracking dashboard.
Virtual Inventory (VI)
The VI is the searchable digital warehouse of SKU's and
configurator resources.
This 9/11/2018 update courtesy of definitions contained
in articles by:
Johnny
Shell, Vice President of
Technical Services, SGIA Dr.
Lisa Parrillo Chapman, North Carolina University
Mark
Sawchak, Expand Systems Vince Cahill and Claire Hunter, VCE
Solutions