Analysis of Impacts of Production Order Complexity and Lot Size on Apparel Production Systems Using Simulation Technique

In the current practice of production planning in the apparel industry, the decision is mainly based on the primary concerns of avoiding the late completion of contracts and minimizing costs. Production planners do not consider the factors of production order complexity and lot size which are closely related to the performance of an apparel production system. Toprovide more insights into the decision, this paper aims to explore the impacts of lot size and order complexity and their interaction effect on the performance of two distinct and representative apparel production systems, namely pull and push systems, using simulation technique. The results show that there is a significant difference in system performance across all levels of order complexity between pull and push systems. According to the results, no particular production system can outperform in all circumstances and a conclusion is drawn to provide insights into the selection of apparel production systems.