A detailed study calculating the cost of preparing a collection

Abstract

Preparing a collection is a costly process when compared with mass production. Although it is a short‐run process, there are high unit costs due to the need for ordering knitted or woven material, and making necessary preparations for print and stitch patterns. All of these factors increase the cost of collection samples. Because the amount of material to be used for the preparation of the collection is small, having the material knitted or woven, or having it dyed, if it is raw, is more expensive compared with mass production. However, if the company trusts its own collection and receives positive feedback from its customers, it may consider using the material for production and keep the orders at a high level, thus decreasing the unit price. The purpose of this study is to put forward methods of calculating expenses for preparing a collection and collection costs. It also presents a sample application using present‐day values to give a comparison of collection samples with mass production samples. This makes it possible to come up with the most profitable production techniques. For this purpose, 40 T‐shirt designs were made; of these, ten models with different production features were carefully selected. Production steps were classified and the cost for each step was then calculated. By adding the cost of each step together, unit model cost was found. The collection cost was determined in the same way. It has been observed that the costs increase according to the raw material, auxiliary equipment, accessories, side processes and labour.