Illustrative scenario

Garments factory: from Excel stock to a live ERP

A woven garments factory that has grown on Excel, paper registers and WhatsApp reaches the point where nobody can say, on any given morning, how much fabric is really in the store. This scenario walks through how such a factory could move to a custom ERP — module by module, without stopping production.

Illustrative scenario (anonymised)

Garments & textiles

A 350-worker woven garments factory in Gazipur producing for a handful of European and North American buyers, running stock in Excel, production in paper registers and buyer follow-up over WhatsApp.

Buyers ask for a status; the answer takes a day

The factory runs several sewing lines for a handful of European and North American buyers. Fabric and trims arrive against orders and are logged in a store register and a shared Excel file that only the store in-charge updates. Cutting, sewing and finishing report output on paper sheets that are typed into another spreadsheet each evening. Merchandisers track buyer orders in their own files and answer status questions by calling the floor.

The result is familiar: fabric shortages discovered at cutting, trims ordered twice, output figures that differ between the line board and the report, and a management team that sees the real picture only after shipment. Compliance audits are stressful because bonded-warehouse records and production records live in different places and rarely reconcile without effort.

Interactive demonstration

Before

  • Fabric and trims stock kept in a store register and one shared Excel file
  • Line output written on paper sheets and re-typed each evening
  • Buyer order status answered by phoning the floor
  • Bonded and general stock reconciled by hand before audits
  • Management sees the real position only after shipment

After

  • Every order carries its BOM; material requirements are reserved per style
  • Roll and lot level store balance, bonded stock separated automatically
  • Line output captured per shift on a tablet, with a live WIP view
  • Shipment status and packing lists linked to the same order record
  • Management dashboard replaces the evening compilation

Implementation process

  1. Audit

    Walk the floor, map the paper trail

    We follow one order from fabric receipt to shipment, list every register, spreadsheet and WhatsApp group involved and agree the first module: the store.

  2. Design

    Data model and clickable screens

    Item, style, order and BOM structures are designed with the store in-charge and merchandisers, and reviewed as clickable prototypes before any code is written.

  3. Build

    Store, orders and production capture in phases

    The store module lands first, then order and BOM, then production capture per line — each tested with real data by the people who will use it.

  4. Migrate & train

    Opening balances and role-based training

    Item masters and current stock are cleaned and imported; store staff, line supervisors and merchandisers are trained in Bengali on their own screens.

  5. Go-live & improve

    Staged switch-over and monthly review

    Lines move onto the system one at a time; a short hypercare period follows, then a monthly review to add reports and shipment tracking.

This is an illustrative, anonymised scenario composed from typical situations in this kind of business — not a published client result.

What AutoProbaho builds

  • Order and BOM backbone

    Each buyer order carries its style, colour-size breakdown and bill of materials; the BOM drives fabric and trims requirements per order, so the store knows what is reserved for which style.

  • Store and bonded-warehouse module

    Goods receipt against purchase orders and LC references, roll and lot tracking, issue-to-cutting slips, and a running balance that separates bonded and general stock for compliance.

  • Production floor capture

    Cutting, sewing and finishing output entered per line and shift on a tablet or phone, with a light offline mode for load-shedding, feeding a live WIP view against the order plan.

  • Shipment and management dashboard

    Packing lists and shipment status linked to the order, plus a management dashboard that shows order progress, material position and stuck points without anyone compiling a report.

Expected business outcomes

  • One answer to "where is my order?"

    Merchandisers, planning and management look at the same order record instead of calling the floor.

  • Shortages seen before cutting

    Reserved-versus-available stock per style makes fabric gaps visible when there is still time to act.

  • Less double entry

    Output is captured once at the line rather than on paper and again in Excel.

  • Calmer audits

    Bonded and general stock, receipts and issues are recorded in one system with a full history.

Frequently asked questions

No. In this scenario the store module goes live first alongside the existing Excel file for a short overlap, and production capture is switched line by line. Nothing is turned off until the team trusts the new record.

Recognise your own factory in this scenario?

Book a free consultation. We will look at how your store, floor and merchandising actually run today and tell you honestly which module should come first.