2. Overview
• Founded in 1947 by Kluas Obermeyer in Aspen Colorado
• Fashion skiwear manufacturer offering a broad line of ski apparels
including parkas, vests, ski suits, shells, ski pants, sweaters, turtlenecks
& accessories
• Estimated Sales of US $ 32.8 million in the year 1992
• Market Share
– 45% Children's Skiwear
– 11% Adult Skiwear
• Major Production done in Hong Kong and China by partner company
Obersport Ltd.
• Obersport Ltd. was a joint venture established in 1985 by Kluas
Obermeyer & Raymond Tse.
• Obersports is responsible for the raw material sourcing and production
for all Sports Obermeyer’s products in the Far East
3. Structure
Ski Retail
Stores
Obersport Direct Mail
Sport Obemeyer
Retailers
Departmental
Stores
4. Production Process
Design (Feb 92)
Final Design ( Sept 92)
Sample Production
Full scale production (Feb 93)
Las Vegas show( 80% orders)
Place final order with Obersport
Additional orders received
Transport to HO( July 93)
Delivery to retailers by Sept 93
Retailers selling from Sept to Feb)
Later Discount Sale
5. The Order Cycle
Design Design Finalized
Process Begins Las Vegas Designs
Concepts Sketches sent
Trade Show Finalized
1993-94 Lines Finalized to Obersport
• Feb 1992 • Mar 1992 • May 1992 • July 1992 • Sep 1992
Initial
Final
Production Cutting and Las Vegas Show
Production
Order to Sewing 80% orders
Orders
Obersport
• Feb 1993 • Mar 1993 • April-May 1993
6. Challenges to Obermeyer
Long manufacture lead time
No feedback from market until Vegas Trade
Improper Forecasts
7. Issues
How to measure demand uncertainty from forecast
How to allocate production between the factories in
Hong Kong and China.( How much to produce in each
Factory)
8. Production overview
Hong Kong
50% faster then Chinese workers
Expensive
Faster
Flexible
China
Cheaper
Large Lot size
Slower then HKK
9. The Product
Product were offered in 5 genders( Men, Women,
Boys, Girls & Preschoolers)
Segmented according to( Price, Type and Fashion)
Customer were divided into ( Fred, Rex, Beige &
Klausie)
10. Suggestions
Ideally, during Speculative Production, we want to order a
specific quantity of a parka style, and then, during Reactive
Production, we want to “fine tune” the parka’s remaining supply
by ordering as few or However, a large minimum order quantity
for a particular style of parka forces us to order either many
parkas or none.
Thus, a minimum order quantity significantly reduces the ability
to “fine tune” during Reactive Production.
as many as the indicated by the revised forecast after Las Vegas
11. Recommendations
Improve the demand forecasts made internally by the Buying
Committee in November just before Speculative Production.
Instead of using just a simple average of the individual forecasts
made by Laura, Carolyn, Greg, Wendy, Tom, & Wally, use a
weighted average, with the weights reflecting past accuracy.
Obtain market feedback earlier than Las Vegas, thereby
converting some Speculative Production to Reactive Production.
Decrease lead times for both raw materials and finished goods,
thereby allowing more time to utilize existing capacity.
