Sport Obermeyer

Issue Identification

Immediate Issue

- Decide initial order quantities for items being offered without having market reaction and feedback to the skiwear product lines.

- must determine which styles will be produced at the Obersport facilities in China and which would be made in Hong Kong.

Associated Issues

- operational inefficiencies including intuitive forecasting techniques, long lead-times, and manufacturing capabilities result in a long planning and production cycle and lost profit opportunities

- concern over quality and reliability of Chinese operations – poor skill level, larger minimum order quantities, and stringent quota restrictions by the US government.

Environmental and Root Cause Analysis

Qualitative Analysis

Sport Obermeyer is a high-end fashion skiwear manufacturer offering a broad line of ski apparel in numerous styles, colours, and sizes for men, women, and children. They joined forces with skiwear manufacturer Alpine Limited to form Obersport Limited as a way to coordinate production of Sport Obermeyer product in the Far East. Alpine Limited has one plant located in Hong Kong and recently built a $1M factory complex in Lo Village, Guangdong, China.

Introduction of a new line of skiwear requires two years of planning and production and initial orders must be placed without knowledge on how end-users would react to the line. Appendix 1 details the planning and production cycle that is followed to ensure timely delivery of product to the retailers. The design process begins in February and is finalized by September after prototypes have been made and approved for production. By November, samples have been produced for the Las Vegas trade show and an initial production order is placed with Obersport. The fabric and component requirements are calculated and orders are placed based on lead-times and minimum order quantities. When Obersport receives the required materials, they are shipped to the factories and cutting and sewing...