Sport Obermeyer Case Essay Example

time and distance.

Diagram A shows the total progressive time span from product design to sales, which is approximately 27 months. In the initial 13 months, Obermeyer essentially predicts which items will be popular in the following sales season. Once the data arrives from Las Vegas, they have a six-month window to manufacture, deliver and sell their products. However, the risk lies in the final 5 months where production is based largely on forecasted speculation. This could result in an excess of stock which would then have to be sold at discounted prices, negatively impacting the revenue generated from products that were actually ordered, manufactured and sold.

Sport Obermeyer takes charge of the demand-side operations in the international supply chain, managing activities such as overseeing demand trends, designing, distributing and selling clothing. They are based in the United States. At the same time in the Far East, Obersport backs them up. Running activities from Hong Kong and China, they get data from Sport Obermeyer in order to source the fabrics and components needed. They also handle both subcontractors and Obersport facilities in order to meet the quotas provided by Sport Obermeyer. The aforementioned facts are key points in the analysis of environmental aspects and underlying causes.

On the supply end of the business spectrum, we have two distinct entities, Obersport and Sport Obermeyer, despite their business partnership. Diverse company visions, work cultures, knowledge bases, and business perspectives set them apart. Regarding demand management, Sport Obermeyer overly relies on the Las Vegas Show, in contrast to Obersport which is already manufacturing items that often diverge substantially from what the Las Vegas show presents. Case exhibit 6 illustrates the protracted

time periods and high minimum orders associated with fabric and key components.

Obersport is concluding the 93/94 sales year close to 800 SKU's, as indicated in exhibit 3. The same exhibit also displays a decrease to nearly 15 design styles. Despite the consistency in the average of 4 colors per style over the past five years, there has been an increase in the average number of sizes to 8. The US has specific laws protecting its local economy, restricting the importation of Chinese products. This is another aspect that needs consideration while optimizing the distribution of production volumes between China and North America.