Leather goods units in Korangi, Sialkot and Lahore have a problem that cotton never gives you: no two hides are the same. A lot of cow or goat leather arrives with a measured area, but the usable area depends on grade, scars, thickness and colour. Two cutters can get different numbers of jackets, gloves or wallets from the same lot. Unless that difference is recorded, the costing sheet is a hope, not a fact.
Where a leather unit loses money
- Hides are bought by area, but nobody checks what area actually went into finished pieces.
- Grades are mixed in the store, so A-grade leather is cut for a low-priced order.
- Offcuts pile up in a corner and are sold by eye, not by weight or count.
- Piece-rate karigars are paid from a register that does not match production.
- Buyer orders carry colour and finish requirements that the store cannot match from what it holds.
Hides and skins in the store
Each lot is received with supplier, tannery, leather type, colour, thickness range, grade and total area in square feet. If you sort into grades after receiving, the ERP splits the lot so the store can say how many square feet of each grade sits on the rack. Issues to cutting are made in square feet against an order, never as a vague bundle. If you buy from tanneries in Kasur or Korangi and run your own finishing, the same lot number follows the leather through finishing too.
Cutting yield and wastage
Yield is the heart of a leather ERP. For each article you set the standard area a piece should need. When a cutter returns his cut panels, the system compares area issued with what the cut pieces should have needed, and shows the gap per cutter, per lot and per article. Some gap is normal because of hide defects; a gap that grows week after week is a training or grading problem. Offcuts are returned by weight or count, so small leather goods or patches can use them and the rest can be sold against a record.
| Method | What you learn | Weak point |
|---|---|---|
| Register by pieces only | How many panels were cut | No idea how much leather they used |
| Area issued vs pieces cut, per lot | Yield per lot and article | Cannot tell good cutters from careless ones |
| Area issued vs pieces cut, per cutter and lot | Yield per cutter, lot, grade and article | Needs one entry per cutter per day, which a phone handles |
Piece-rate pay for karigars
Most stitching and finishing in leather is paid by the piece, with different rates per article and operation. If the floor already enters stitched and finished pieces against an order, the ERP can calculate each karigar's earnings for the week, deduct advances, and print a slip in Urdu or English. Disputes drop when the karigar can see the same entries the supervisor made. Rejected pieces can be held back from the count until they are repaired.
Export orders and the buyer
Most leather goods made in Pakistan are sold against buyer orders with colour, finish and size requirements. The order sets the BOM: leather area by grade, lining, zips, thread and packing. Purchasing then buys only the shortfall against what the store holds. If you also export through traders or ship small orders to many buyers, our guide to software for Sialkot exporters covers the selling side, and garment export ERP covers sizing and packing lists in more depth.
Measure standard areas
For your five best-selling articles, agree the leather area one finished piece should need, by size.
Number every lot
Give each incoming lot a number and record area, grade and colour before it reaches the rack.
Issue by area to named cutters
Every issue to cutting carries the cutter's name, the lot number and the square feet.
Record cut pieces daily
Cutters or the cutting master enter pieces cut per article at the end of each day.
Review the yield report weekly
Look at the gap per cutter and lot every week and talk about the outliers on the floor.
Working with Operix
Operix builds ERP software in Pakistan from Karachi. Korangi and other Karachi units get on-site discovery and training; Sialkot and Lahore units are served online. Every screen is shown to you before it is built, and the first release runs on your own lots and orders. For the wider factory view see our manufacturing industry page and manufacturing ERP in Pakistan. To check whether yield tracking would pay for itself in your unit, talk to us.
Questions people ask
Can the ERP hold stock in square feet and pieces at the same time?
Yes. Raw leather is held in square feet per lot and grade, while cut panels, components and finished goods are held in pieces. Each issue converts between them using the standard areas you set.
Will karigars accept piece-rate slips from software?
Usually yes, once they see the slip matches what they made. Printing it in Urdu and showing the daily entries helps settle questions before payday.
Do small leather workshops need this?
Not always. A workshop with a few karigars and one buyer can manage with a good register. The ERP earns its place once you run several orders, grades and cutters at the same time.
Do you have an office in Sialkot?
No. Operix works from Old Clifton, Karachi. Sialkot clients are served online, with visits when the project needs them.
