Sport Obermeyer – Case Review In this case study we discuss the problems faced by Sport Obermeyer‚ a fashion skiwear manufacturer. Every year the company had to produce a new line of clothing according to the latest trends and fashions. The success of the company depended on how well Sports Obermeyer was able to predict market response to different styles and colors. Intense competition had made forecasting really difficult. The two scenarios that resulted were products in style sold out and the
Premium Hong Kong Manufacturing Economy of the People's Republic of China
Introduction Sport Obermeyer‚ Ltd. presents a successful ski apparel company that is addressing logistics-related decisions that face many businesses today. Sport Obermeyer‚ founded in 1947 by Klaus Obermeyer‚ has continued to lead the ski apparel industry since that time through continuous product innovation and fashion-forward styles. Recently‚ the company has faced increased competition from other winter apparel makers‚ namely Columbia Sportswear. Exhibit 1 presents a SWOT analysis of Sport Obermeyer
Premium Supply chain management Retailing Marketing
1- What makes supply chain management at Sport Obermeyer so challenging? The biggest challenge Sport Obermeyer is facing is uncertainty. The demand for each of the styles is completely un-deterministic and is very hard to predict. At the same time‚ Obermeyer production cycle is very long which is making it nearly impossible to adapt to the market. On one hand‚ if the produced items do not sell‚ Obermeyer incurs the loss of manufacturing cost. On the other hand‚ if we do not produce enough of the
Premium Supply and demand Marketing Supply chain management
data that would provide clear indication how end-consumers would respond to the company’s current line. A good solution would enable Obermeyer to decide on where and when to source each product (China vs. Hong Kong vs. an alternative factory). The Fashion Industry is extremely competitive‚ as well as trendy. Last year Columbia Sportswear‚ a competitor of Sport Obermeyer‚ managed to capture 23% of the Adult Ski-Jacket market. This‚ along with the ever increasing varieties of products and no clear indication
Premium Supply and demand
There were two main driving issues behind our analysis of this Sport Obermeyer case: the measurement and understanding of demand from uncertain and disparate forecasts‚ and the allocation of production between factories in Hong Kong and Mainland China (Lo Village‚ Guangdong). The main challenges facing the company were long lead times‚ little to no feedback from the market before the first production decision (the first real demand signal is at the Las Vegas trade show in March) and inaccurate forecasts
Premium Hong Kong Arithmetic mean Mainland China
Obermeyer Sports‚ Ltd. Introduction Sports Obermeyer‚ Ltd‚ a fashion skiwear manufacturing company‚ faces an array of issues before starting a new production cycle. The right timing for the production decision‚ prediction of production volume‚ associated risks‚ production process key steps that add value‚ and productivity issues are all concerns that must be addressed. The first step of Obermeyer’s decision making is to decide sample production volumes. The sample production (10‚000 units
Premium Risk Decision making Decision theory
2.) The cycle time between initial design of the ski parkas and the final sale to retailers begins in Febuary 1992 and ends in Septembe1993r‚ a total cycle time of approximately seventeen months. This lengthy cycle time is necessary for Sport Obermeyer to develop several attractive designs for the annual Las Vegas trade show where 80% of sales are made and eventually these designs are finalized six months later. This cycle also incorporates several major processes starting with the selection of
Premium Future Material Retailing
Sport Obermeyer‚ Ltd Wally Obermeyer‚ the internal operations manager of Sport Obermeyer‚ a mid-to-high fashion ski apparel company with headquarters out of Aspen‚ Colorado‚ and son of company founder Klaus Obermeyer‚ has two dilemmas at hand. 1) How to forecast demand for specific skiwear items for the 1993-1994 fashion line? 2) Once quantity per item is determined‚ how should production be allocated between factories in Hong Kong and China? Although the case mentions the
Premium Forecasting Future Arithmetic mean
The Sample Problem Objective: To prepare a production schedule according to demand forecasts made by the design committee. Constraints: 1. Minimum order quantity at: Hong Kong – 600 China -1200 2. Total order quantity (1st schedule): 10000 3. Almost Half of production to be done each in China and Hong Kong Expected Safe Margin of Production: Average Forecast – 2* standard Deviation |Style |Price |Average |Std Dev |2 * Std Dev |Safe
Premium Standard deviation Allocation
Wally Obermeyer is facing a challenge in accurately forecasting the market response and demand for the upcoming season. Historically‚ the company founder‚ Klaus Obermeyer‚ relied minimally on forecast data‚ and more on intuition and artistic tastes. In comparison‚ his son Wally prefers to make decisions based on analytical techniques and information gathering. If Wally’s approach proves successful‚ it can change how Sport Obermeyer approaches its manufacturing processes‚ secure its position long-term
Premium Quality assurance Quality control Manufacturing