How to Make a Good and Comprehensive Production File?

In apparel, export manufacturing merchandiser communicates with buyers starting from product development to shipment of the finished goods. Whatever information merchant receives from buyer related to production style, she communicates it to the production team. Most of the organized factories follow a standard procedure for the communication in between merchandising to production department. Production file is such one example. Merchants are responsible for making production file.

Merchant (or Production planning team) conducts pre-production meeting with the production team after getting approval on final sample (usually PP sample). Merchant handovers Production File to the production team with all required information and samples. A clear and complete production file includes all required information needed to make the style as per buyer requirements.

In this article, how to make a good production file has been discussed in detail

A standard production file contains the following items.

1. Checklist (production file) 
2. Technical sheet (Tech pack including measurement sheet) 
3. Production Order sheet (with colour and size break up), cut plan and mini marker 
4. Comment sheets (comment received from buyer on each development samples) 
5. Approved PP sample with buyer comments 
6. Approved fabric swatches of all color ways. If there is any shade band it is also mentioned what lots are accepted and what are not accepted. If there is contrast color combination it is mentioned in the file. 
7. Approved Print strike off and embroidery strike off (if present in the style) 
8. Trim card (Trim card must contain an approved sample of trims such button, lace, sewing thread, main label, acre label etc.) 
9. Post sewing processing details (washing, dry cleaning or dying) to be mentioned with final look. 
10. Packing specifications (if not mentioned in production order) 
11. Other specific information those are very important for the style quality – needle size to be used. 
12. A copy of Time and Action calendar (prepared by Production planning department) 
13. Copy of the PP meeting notes (Minutes of the Meeting of Pre-production meeting) 
14. FPT and GPT report (if available at the of PP meeting)
15. Ex-factory date – at what date shipment to be ready for final inspection and to be ready for the move to the port. 

How to make Production File:

1. Issue a ring binder or paper spring file from stationary department (store). 
2. Take print out of all buyer documents (tech pack, specification sheet, comments, production order and important mail communications) and staple category wise. 
3. Issue few swatch cards (little bit thicker paper) and make trim card. Staple trims on the trim card. Or you can put trims inside small poly pouch and staple the pouch on the trim card. Sign on the trims as your approval. 
4. If you have approved strike offs for printing and embroidery or handwork, staple those approval on the swatch card. 
5.  Punch all documents and swatch cards with punching machine and file them in the ring binder (production file) in a sequence of above list. 
6. Prepare a check list with above and fix it on the inside front cover. In the check sheet mention what is approved, what is awaiting for approval, what are pending to hand over etc. 
7. Insert separator in between the documents (if it is a large file with different type of documents) 
8. Label the file with Style/Order Name, Buyer Name, Merchants name, File hand over date, planned cut date and Ex-factory date.