In this guide 6 sections
Group the last two winters’ dispatches by design, size and dealer. Set each design’s quantity from what dealers actually took, not from what the floor likes making. Cut a firm first lot for proven designs, keep a small reserve for new ones, and check the plan weekly against booked orders and unsold stock.
What the dispatch register already tells you
Before orders come in, the best evidence you have is what left the unit last winter. Pull every dispatch for thermals, pullovers, cardigans, socks and mufflers from the sales register, and sort it by design number first.
Most units find that a handful of designs carried the season. The rest sold in odd lots. Write that down. It tells you where a mistake costs most and where a guess is cheap.
Do the same for two winters, not one. A single season can be bent by a cold November or a dealer who over-ordered and returned half in January.
- Design number and yarn blend
- Size split across the ratio sets you dispatch
- Dealer, town and month of dispatch
- Quantity returned or sold at a rebate
- Quantity left in the godown at the end of February
Turn past sales into a quantity for each design
Take the two-year dispatch for a design and subtract returns. Then adjust for what changed: a dealer who left, a new shade, a price shift. The result is a starting quantity, not a promise.
Split it into sizes using your actual ratio sets. If a cardigan sold mostly in the middle three sizes, do not knit equal runs of every size just because the machine setup is easier.
Lock the proven designs early because yarn dyeing and knitting take weeks. Keep new designs small. A reserve you can top up in October is cheaper than a pile you carry into spring.
Which dealers should shape the plan?
Not every dealer deserves the same weight. A wholesaler in Ludhiana who has bought every winter for six years tells you more than a first-time buyer from another state who placed one large order.
Mark each dealer as repeat, new or lapsed. Repeat dealers set the floor of your plan. New ones sit in the reserve until money or an advance arrives.
Ask your three biggest dealers for a rough range early, by design family rather than by article. Even a loose answer beats silence, and you can compare it with what they took before.
- Repeat dealers: plan at last year’s level, adjusted for talk
- New dealers: plan only against advance or confirmed order
- Lapsed dealers: ask why before planning anything
Track the plan against orders booked and unsold stock
One sheet does the job. Each row is a design. Columns run across: planned quantity, orders booked so far, produced, dispatched, and stock in hand. A final column shows plan minus booked.
Update it weekly from the order book and the stock count. When a design is booked ahead of plan, you see it in days and can add a lot. When one lags, you stop knitting it.
Include last season’s unsold stock on the same sheet. Old pieces in the same design count toward supply, and ignoring them is how a unit ends up with two godowns of one cardigan.
Review the season while the memory is fresh
In March, put the final plan beside what really sold. Mark each design as under-planned, close, or over-planned. Note the reason in a line, such as a late dealer or a colour that never moved.
Keep this review with the sheet. Next July it becomes the first page you open, and it will be more honest than anyone’s recollection of the season.
Start this week: export the last two winters’ dispatch, sort by design, and mark the five designs that carried the most pieces.
Winter hosiery season planning sheet
Planning workbook. The main tab gives every design its own row. Columns hold design number, yarn blend, two-year dispatch, returns, planned quantity by size set, orders booked, produced, dispatched, stock in hand and plan minus booked. A second tab lists dealers with a repeat, new or lapsed tag and a rough range given before the season.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
How early should a knitwear unit fix quantities?
Early enough for yarn purchase, dyeing and knitting lead times. Fix proven designs first and hold new designs back. Leave a reserve that you can still top up while orders are arriving.
What if we have only one winter of records?
Use it, but treat it with caution. Mark any dealer or design that looks unusual. Keep quantities nearer to a trial lot and rely on early dealer feedback to correct the plan.
Should returns reduce the planned quantity?
Yes. Count only what dealers kept. A design with heavy January returns looked successful in the register but was not, and the plan should say so.
Can Tally hold this plan?
Tally records the sales well, but a plan against orders and stock by design and size is easier on a dedicated sheet or software built for it.