STUDY ON THE PRODUCTION PLANNING OF APPAREL PRODUCTS - DETERMINING OPTIMAL PRODUCTION TIMES AND QUANTITIES

Three types of aggregate production planning methods for the apparel industry are proposed and the advantages and disadvantages of each are discussed. The methods respectively allow: (I) Changing a production model seasonally and according to inventory requirements, (II) Changing a production model seasonally and follow the actual demands. (III) Maintaining the same production model for several seasons running and production for inventory. Planning with method II is generally considered appropriate for the apparel industry. However, in this study, the profit by simulations of using method I, where the production run is determined maximization of profit, which is found to be as satisfactory as that by using method II. And planning method III enables firms to obtain a profit equal to or higher than that by the others when the product is popular with consumers. This method is particularly useful, there are frequent changes in the product line.