Insights and Recommendations for Sport Obermeyer's Apparel Production and Order Management
Question
Task: How can Sport Obermeyer effectively manage its apparel production, order management, and sourcing strategies to optimize efficiency and customer satisfaction?
Answer
Answer 1
A parka is a kind of apparel product that is offered by a range of companies working within the cloth manufacturing industry.Analysing the case study it has been identified that Sport Obermeyer is known for offering a range of apparel products including parkas. Parkas are considered one of the most designed components of a collection and it has been identified that Parkas are not that much stylish compared to other products. According to Chan et al., (2022) textile and clothing sector is the key to a strong global economy and it is considered one of the traditional and largest export industries.Because of multiple reasons such as low labour costs, intensive manufacturing etc, some countries are highly dependent on export initiatives. Similarly talking about Sport Obermeyer offering Parka is manufactured in China because of low labour costs etc. It can be said that the manufacturing cost of apparel products is different in China and Hong Kong therefore the recommended initial production for Wally would be 10,000 units and units for each style are demonstrated below:
Answer 2
Order management according to Ilyas et al., (2021) is a matter of concern with a basic reason for current presence to attain inventory at right time right price as a whole. Considering the case of Sport Obermeyer it can be said that it has a long order cycle and has a possibility of high inventory management issues. Some of the potential risks are processing data, planning inventory, maintaining customer experiences etc. Automation can act as a huge measure for the entire order process management. It will assist the company to choose the cheapest shipping possibilities depending on factors such as size, destination, inventory, package weight etc. It will also assist in saving huge amounts and makes the process easier for workers and assist in enhancing customer experience as well.
Answer 3
It is evident that apparel production in China is cost-effective compared to other nations. According to Zhu & He, (2017), the market in China provides a range of opportunities for apparel manufacturing companies to explore the opportunity and make use of it. Similarly, the case of SportObermeyer has highlighted that apparel production in China for a range of its products. It has been found that there has been a practice of production commitments made by the company however it is different from one another. The difference between the two initial production commitments can be identified since changes have been made over time. For instance, previously the company used to have a committee with six members and they used to make production commitments depending on group consensus. There was no thorough market research instead Wally used to ask every member to forecast retailers' demand. On the other hand, the second production commitment was completely based on the assumptions of Wally as these 10 styles demonstrate Sport Obermeyer's 10% total demand.
Answer 4
Operation activity according to Wolniak, (2020) is responsible for developing products and delivering them to respective customers in a certain time frame. It has been identified that the operation Wally conducts both in China and Hong Kong appears to be different and the workers in both these nations appear to be different. For instance, workers in Hong Kong appear to be 50% faster compared to Chinese workers. Therefore it would be better if the company can train Chinese employees as efficiently as Hong Kong workers through different pieces of training and development processes. It will ease some of the operation burdens when it comes to the production of some of the crucial products such as Parkas.
Answer 5
Sourcing raw materials or any kind of products from a particular nation required adequate strategy and policies. For instance, current time consumers are becoming more conscious of the environmental and social ramifications of their buying decision (Dai et al., 2018). Wally needs to be more focused on sustainable and conscientious sourcing both in long and short terms sourcing from Hong Kong VsChina. Wally is recommended to initiate for responsible sourcing policy as it enables complying with current laws, rules and regulations. Moreover, a responsible sourcing policy will make sure the company is stick to fair purchasing practices without encouraging any unethical practices. Through this policy, the possibility of promoting suppliers' own standards is very high strengthening the relationship with the supplier that Wally deals with.
References
Chan, E., Ho, C. K. D., Yip, T. L., & Cheung, J. (2022). The Belt and Road Initiative’s Impact on Textile and Clothing Supply Chains in Asia: Views from Hong Kong Industrial Stakeholders. ResearchGate.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338349675_The_Belt_and_Road_Initiative’s_Impact_on_Textile_and_Clothing_Supply_Chains_in_Asia_Views_from_Hong_Kong_Industrial_Stakeholders
Dai, X., Lin, Y.-T., Shi, R., &Xu, D. (2018).A manufacturer’s responsible sourcing strategy: going organic or participating in fair trade?ResearchGate.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328648717_A_manufacturer’s_responsible_sourcing_strategy_going_organic_or_participating_in_fair_trade
Ilyas, s. M., Shah, A. A., &Sohail, A. (2021). Order Management System for Time and Quantity Saving of Recipes Ingredients Using GPS Tracking Systems. ResearchGate.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352582510_Order_Management_System_for_Time_and_Quantity_Saving_of_Recipes_Ingredients_Using_GPS_Tracking_Systems
Wolniak, R. (2020). (PDF) Main functions of operation management. ResearchGate.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341656435_Main_functions_of_operation_management
Zhu, S., & He, C. (2017).Upgrading in China’s apparel industry: international trade, local clusters and institutional contexts.ResearchGate.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320656128_Upgrading_in_China’s_apparel_industry_international_trade_local_clusters_and_institutional_contexts
