Quality assurance

In both factories, the washing of jeans is located approximately 30-minutes to 1-hour drive from the sewing factory. Different location for washing means that sewed jeans have to be transported there by car or van, and then back to sewing plant for attaching back labels and finishing. It is more reasonable to transport larger amount or the whole batch at one time. There is no sense in transporting only few jeans in one way or another, which means that some of already sewed jeans have to wait for the rest to be finished before delivery to washing plant or back to sewing plant for finishing.

6.3 Quality assurance

The total quality of customized made-to-measure jeans consists of the product quality and service quality (table 9, next page). Product design includes models, details and constructions, which are tested by samples and in use. Fit combines data from 3D body scanner and developed rules in pattern creation. The fit can be affected for example by abnormalities in production. All materials and fabrics are tested and technical properties are evaluated before purchasing. All production processes affect the product quality. In customized made-to-measure jeans, the service quality is as important as the product quality. Customization process must be clear, and it should not be too complex with too many options. The customer need to be introduced to all options, and how different combinations act together. Re-ordering, customer service, delivery time, and handling of reclamations affect also the total quality.

Table 9. The total quality consists of product and service quality.

In the factories, the jeans are checked after sewing and after finishing before sending to Finland. Sewing mistakes are easier to fix before wash, but are very difficult or even impossible to fix after wash and delivery to Finland. In preventing production mistakes, clear instructions are required. In China, sample models and details are good preference, and in Estonia, detailed pictures and construction drawings are provided. The quality instructions are gathered and requirements clearly presented. Product cards have pictures of all changing details as well as written information.

The stores have to be instructed well to describe the product as thoroughly as possible, and to recommend the best solution for the customer, so that the final product would meet the customer’s expectations. This requires also close co-operation between designer, and pattern master, so that the final models and styles are as designed and described to customers. In addition, clerks need to be instructed to check that there are not any errors in the scans, and manually alter body scan waistlines and crotch point if required, since they are not always automatically correct.

Made-to-measure pattern creation has various challenges. Automatically created perfect fit requires lot of product development and testing, as well as taking all fabric and wash parameters into account. The major part of the quality issues concerns the fit. When

unfitting jeans are returned, they are analyzed and the reason for return should be fixed.

It is not possible to create perfect fit for all body types with same base patterns so changes for different body types are being developed. There will be also database for patterns that have fitted well in the future, but this database is the most useful when the customer is ordering jeans with same fabric and details as before. Different fabrics have different shrinkages in the wash, and this requires alterations in the patterns, since the jeans are washed after sewing. Also different details and models require different patterns. (Elbrecht, Interview 2011)

Quality assurance is more complicated with customized unique products than in traditional mass production, where mostly spot checks are used. Now at the beginning, the products and details are new for the manufacturers. Surveillance of manufacturing is more difficult because of far away locations, so throughout checks for all jeans are required before sending to the customers. In the near future, all quality checks will be conducted in the factories, but before implementing the final quality assurance in the factories, it is done in the headquarters in Helsinki. Jeans are also measured from the waist and inseam to assure the fit and improve pattern development. All details are checked to assure that they are correct. With clear instructions and frequent feedback, the amount of mistakes has been reduced. The final quality checks are combined with packing. Quality Assurance sheet for certain batch (table 10, next page) is used in final inspection, and target fit analysis. This sheet includes also packing and delivery information.

The Quality Assurance sheet has detailed information of each order in the batch. Each pair of jeans is marked according to a batch ID or order number. For packing, there are order numbers, customer names, and delivery method. For the waist measurements, QA sheet has information about selected waist height, target measurement, and a column to write down the actual measurement. For inseam measurements, there is marked the extra length if the customer has ordered it, the target measurement, and a column to mark down the actual measurement. The outseam is also measured in some cases in order to define the waist height more precisely. All the chosen details and materials of a certain pair of jeans are listed. The quality problems are marked with certain colors, and delivery of the jeans is also marked in the same sheet, as well as updated into the Sales Force. By measuring each pair of jeans, it is possible to notice if there is repetition in measurement inaccuracy, for example if certain fabric has shrank differently than estimated from the sample tests. After this kind of analyze, the rules for pattern creation can be altered.

Table 10. Quality Assurance sheet for final quality check and packing.

Problem is that there is no time take all possible measurements, and it is also hard to know how the jeans will fit before the customer tries them on. The biggest challenges are with the crotch point, waist circumference, and waist height. In addition, some jeans have been too tight from the thighs. In some cases, the back pockets have been too low, and this is very hard or even impossible to notice beforehand. One solution for these problems could be a program that would show 3D-model of the customer wearing the jeans. However, this is quite difficult to implement with high accuracy, since after the production, the jeans could fit slightly differently after all.

The usability of the Quality Assurance check sheet should be improved. In the future, RFID tags would make quality assurance process easier as well as improve packing efficiency. A RFID tag would be attached to jeans in sewing. After production, jeans would be put on the RFID reader, and the picture of jeans with target measurements would be shown on a computer screen. Then it would be easy to compare the jeans to the picture instead of looking from long list of details with small print, which increases possibilities for mistakes and requires also excellent knowledge of all details, colors and styles. The measurements would be easy to compare, and written down when there is notable difference compared to the target measurements, and there is requirement for alteration. The delivery address would be printed while the jeans are packed and the system would automatically change the status delivered, and send the post tracking code to customer.

6.3.1 Return handling

Now at the beginning, the amount of returns varies in different the batches. If some kind of pattern mistakes is noticed, it is fixed, but usually about two batches are already in production and will repeat the noticed mistake. At the moment, the return percentage is approximately 20 %, which is very high. The goal is to reduce it to 8 % in the end of the year 2012. Unfitting jeans or jeans with other defects, can be returned personally to the stores or by post. The return handling process is similar to the jeans that do not pass the final quality check at the headquarters before sending to a customer.

The return handling process is described in figure 22 (next page). When the checked jeans are according to order and target measurements, they are delivered to customer or to store to be picked-up. Minor alterations and fixings such as shortening of the hem length can be done in the headquarters before sending. If the jeans are not according to order, and there is for example wrong detail or color, the situation is communicated with the customer, and jeans are sent for fitting or new jeans ordered if required. After implementing quality checks at the factories, amount of mistakes have reduced, but there can still be some mistakes in details. If the actual measurements are not matching

the target measurements, the jeans cannot be delivered to customer, and re-production is required. The reason must be investigated thoroughly.

The problem is usually one of the following:

• Error in the scan, or scan handling

• Error in the production order creation system

• Error in the pattern creation

• Most commonly there are no errors in system or patterns, but the wash and drying processes have differed from the estimated, and the shrinkage can differ slightly from estimations.

Figure 22. Handling processes for returned jeans, and for the jeans that do not pass the final quality assurance check in the headquarters before sending jeans to the customers.

If the jeans are delivered, and the customer is unsatisfied with the fit, the process is quite similar as described before. There can be many reasons for unfitting jeans. In addition, there can be cases that a customer has expected the fit to be different, and in this case there has been miscommunication with customer. For example, at the beginning low waists were really low, and after complains and returns, the low waist

was altered to match more Finnish taste. NOMO Jeans promises to deliver jeans that fit, and everything is done to achieve the customer satisfaction.

When the jeans are returned because of not fitting, the scans are checked carefully, and scan parameters can be altered or re-scan is taken if necessary. Minor alterations for unfitting jeans can be done in the headquarters, or in the tailoring services. If the fit cannot be altered, return details and measurements are entered into the Sales Force, the original order is marked returned, and a new order is created. When creating patterns for re-production, the Pattern Master goes through the return details, and alters the patterns manually if required. The return process is not final yet, since at the moment, all returns to Kamppi store in Helsinki are handled in the headquarters in Finland, but the returns made to Hamburg store are handled at the store. It is better that designated and well-instructed persons handle all returns to reduce mistakes.