Library of Textile, Apparel and Fashion

PO sheet of Garments Industry

What is PO Sheet?

PO sheet is a Purchase order sheet generated by the customer/buyer for their vendor/ supplier with all information like quantity, unit price, total lot price, purchase order number. A  PO sheet is the most important document to handle garments export orders and shipments. After confirming the order, the buyer issue PO for their vendor. PO sheet contains all necessary information on a specific order lot, need for all departments. Merchandiser does every task following a PO sheet from raw material booking to packing list submission and export documentation. PO sheet needs from order confirmation to shipment. Hope this article will give a clear idea of the Garments buyer purchase order (PO) sheet.


PO Sheet of Garments Industry
A garments PO sheet gives us a general idea about a purchase order. This is an authorized document for garments suppliers handling a lot. Generally, the merchandiser provides a PO sheet to all departments, from warehouse to QC inspection room; some customers have online software that anybody can download PO sheet using user ID and password. 

List of information we get from a PO Sheet
PO sheet varies from buyer to buyer, here I am giving all information here that all may not available in all buyer PO sheets.

  1. Purchase order number/ PO Number- The PO number is fixed by customers themselves.
  2. Size breakdown with order quantity
  3. Lot wise Order Quantity
  4. Shipment Date of Exporter port/ ETD (Estimated date of departure)
  5. ETA- Estimated date of arrival, the date customer may receive goods in their port.
  6. Penalty if a supplier fails to give on-time shipment
  7. Product Unit Cost- FOB
  8. Total Cost of that PO
  9. Factory Name
  10. Vendor/Supplier Name
  11. Shipping Address
  12. Overseas Port Reach Date
  13. Sourcing Agent
  14. Shipment Terms
  15. PO Issue Date- The date buyer generated PO.
  16. LC Number
  17. Fabric Supplier Name and Code
  18. Fabric Content- Percentage of cotton, lycra. Fabrics GSM.
  19. Exit country port
  20. Quantity per case
  21. Trims and Accessories cost- All BOM cost has in some buyers' PO sheets.
  22. Product Category
  23. Season- There is a 3/4 season of a year.
  24. Description- Buyer sets product description from a commercial point of view, as its marketing policy.
  25. Goods Description
  26. Size-wise Order Quantity
  27. Packing Type: Solid or Assort
  28. Transaction Policy
  29. Payment Terms- The signed agreement between Buyer and Garments supplier, Payment terms will be net 40/60/90 days after the Buyer's receipt of a PO product.
  30. Necessary Instruction
  31. Terms and Conditions- If there is any manufacturing agreement between buyer and vendor.
  32. Over-ship Tolerance- The quantity a vendor can ship more than the order
  33. Under-ship Tolerance- The quantity a vendor can ship is less than an order.

(Purchase order sheet varies customer by customer, here I gave all information for your easy understanding. We will not get all this information in every customer PO sheet)

Explanation of a few points of Garments PO Sheet


Purchase order number/ PO Number

A PO number that follows both buyer and vendor for tracking and execution. Every PO generates with a PO number, PO provided by the customer. Customers receive, track, and pay against PO numbers.

Size breakdown with order quantity

Most important information need for merchandiser, warehouse, cutting, sewing, and packing to cut, sew, and pack PO sheet wise. So size breakdown and size-wise order.

Lot wise Order Quantity

A total quantity of an individual PO or lot. Some buyers have different colors in order, so they make color-wise PO sheets keeping the same PO number.

Shipment Date of Exporter port

The shipment date is an important thing that tells us the PO sheet. If the shipment date change, the PO sheet is also updated as well.

Pack Type: - Solid or Assort

PO sheet shows a type of pack that needs to do for a specific PO. It can be a solid pack or assort if solid pack how many pieces per SKU if assort then how many quantities in a per carton which size includes or excludes here.

Penalty if the supplier fails to give on-time shipment

If a maker cannot meet buyer delivery/ shipment date, they have to ship by air at its own cost. There is some alternative penalty, sometimes a buyer wants commission on a product.

Other information in PO Sheet:

All information in the PO sheet is very important as it has order and shipment related all details information. PO is needed for merchandising team, planning team, GPQ team, buyer QC and others.