Apparel manufacturing software: what it is and how to choose it
Apparel manufacturing software is a management system built around the way a clothing company actually works: it handles quantities by size and color, the tech pack for each style, production by stage (in-house or at sewing contractors), fabric inventory by lot and costing for every garment. A generic ERP usually lacks these pieces; Confeccionando is built around them.
By the Kondory Tecnología team. Published on , updated on .
How is it different from a generic ERP?
It understands the garment. A generic ERP handles products and quantities; in apparel manufacturing, every style multiplies into sizes and colors, consumes fabrics and materials with their waste, and moves through production stages that are often handled by an outside workshop.
- Size-and-color quantity matrix across sales orders, production, inventory and shipping.
- Tech pack with fabric and material consumption and the waste percentage for each.
- Configurable production stages, in-house or at sewing contractors (satellite workshops).
- Fabric inventory by lot, color and warehouse.
- Style costing with a markup factor and prices by size group.
What features should it have at a minimum?
At a minimum: tech packs, sales orders by size and color, production orders by stage, fabric and materials inventory, and shipping. Everything else depends on your business model.
| Feature | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Tech pack with sizes and colors | It is the basis for the sales order, material consumption and pricing |
| Sales orders by size and color | Avoids re-keying every size from the sales order into production |
| Production by stage | Shows where each order is and which stage is stalled |
| Contractor management | Shows what each workshop has, what it delivered and what it was paid |
| Fabric inventory by lot | Prevents starting a cut when there isn't enough fabric |
| Garment costing | Shows which styles actually make a margin |
| Barcodes and shipping | Prevents unit count errors when shipping |
How do you compare vendors?
Compare them using a real case from your company, not a sales presentation. Ask them to walk one of your styles from sales order to shipment.
- Can it import your fabrics, styles and sales orders from Excel, or do you have to type everything in?
- Does it handle your actual production stages, including sewing contractors?
- Does it calculate cost with materials at their actual value, or with an estimate?
- Can each person see only what is relevant to their job?
- Does it run in the cloud and on mobile, or does it need your own servers?
- Does it export data to your accounting software?
How do you implement it without stopping production?
Implement it in phases, starting with master data. Once your core data is organized, the rest falls into place.
- Organize your master data: fabrics and materials, styles, processes, clients and suppliers.
- Load it into the system, ideally through a bulk upload from Excel.
- Create tech packs for the styles you are currently producing.
- Enter new sales orders in the system and generate their production orders.
- Move orders through each stage for one full cycle and fine-tune.
- Turn on scanner-based shipping, point of sale and advanced costing once the basic workflow is stable.
Where does Confeccionando fit?
Confeccionando is cloud-based software from Kondory Tecnología S.A.S (Bucaramanga, Colombia) for apparel manufacturers and sewing workshops. It includes tech packs and pattern making, size-and-color sales orders with Excel upload, production by stage with sewing contractors, fabric inventory by lot and warehouse, style costing, barcodes, shipping, point of sale, reports and an AI assistant.
It does not issue electronic invoices to the DIAN (Colombia's tax authority): it numbers each shipment and exports the invoice and inventory to WorldOffice or SIGO, two Colombian accounting systems. If your operation needs a different accounting integration, check it during the demo.