Chinas Reform Essays - Supply Chain Management, Klaus Obermeyer

Chinas Reform Sport Obermeyer Sport Obermeyer is a high-end fashion skiwear design and merchandising company headquartered in Aspen, Colorado. Over the years, Sports Obermeyer has developed into a dominant competitor. Sports Obermeyer's estimated sales in 1992 were $32.8 million. The company holds 45% share of children's skiwear and 11% of adult Skiwear market. Sport Obermeyer produces merchandise ranging from: parkas, vests, ski suits, shells, ski pants, turtlenecks, and accessories. These products are sold throughout U.S. department stores in urban areas and ski shops. With increasing demands and rising competition, Sport Obermeyer needs to have and edge on the market. Starting in 1985 with a joint venture in Hong Kong called Obersport, the company began to increase productivity to meet their new demands. Recently, a number of contractual ventures were added and a new complex in Lo Village Guangdong China have enhance production but increase the level of difficulty on the planning and production stages. The Spo rt Obermeyer case describes the forecasting, planning and production processes of a global skiwear supply channel. The case provides an in-depth description of the planning and production processes Sport Obermeyer and its supply channel partners undergo each year to develop and deliver Obermeyer's product line. The case will emphasis on the nature of the information that flows among the members of the supply chain and the timing of key decisions and events in order to have a successful inventory line. Sport Obermeyer, was founded in 1947 by Klaus Obermeyer. Klaus Obermeyer, a German immigrant began teaching at the Aspen Ski School in 1947. During his time teaching, he observed his students being unprotected by impractical clothing during frigid weather. The clothing worn by his students were less stylish and provided little shielding than clothes made in his native Germany. These experiences led Klaus to introduce a variety of skiwear products. He is credited in making the first goose down vest out of an old down comforter. Klaus also introduced turtlenecks, wind shirts in the U.S. and in 1980 he popularized the ski brake. Klaus products are targeted for serious skiers. Eighty five percent of the Sport Obermeyer's market is a serious skier that utilizes the products for winter activities. Sport Obermeyer's produces manufactures for five different genders: men, women, boys, girls, and preschoolers. Each gender market offers an excellent price/value relationship, where value was def ined as both functionality and style. Sport Obermeyer's focuses on the middle to high-end ski-market. Functionality was critical to the serious skier-products, which had to be warm and waterproof, yet not constrain the skier's ability to move his or her arms and legs freely. Management believed that the effective implementation of its product strategy relied on several logistics-related activities, including delivering matching collections of products to retailers at the same time (to allow consumers to view and purchase coordinated items at the same time), and delivering products to retail stores early in the selling season (to maximize the number of square-footage days products were available at retail). Since the beginning Klaus has been actively involved in the company's management. Klaus management approach was described as, Free of tension. Klaus ultimate goal was to achieve harmony by emphasizing trust to the customers and providing quality and value to all consumers. Klaus's decision-making skills were based on intuition and his overall industry experience. The Obermeyer family was actively involved in making sure new innovating products; color and styles were being produced. Lately, Wally Obermeyer has become more actively involved with the management and production stages. Wally's approach relies heavily on formal data-gathering and analytical techniques. Wally's continues to believe that quality and value are high priorities but as of late Sport's Obermeyer's product lines have not been as successful. Wally decisions are centered on which styles to make in China and which styles to make in Hong Kong. Will production in China constrain Obermeyer's ability to manage production and inventory risks? Wally's decisions are based on the Obermeyer's overall order cycle, supply chain, strategy and structure. Sport Obermeyer's, structure is formulated through a two-year planning and production process. The design process for the 1993-1994-inventory line begins in February 1992. This task involves careful analysis, experience, intuition, and utter assumption. The market's key goal to is

French Gestures ~ Understanding Using French Gestures

French Gestures ~ Understanding Using French Gestures If youve ever been to France or watched French movies, youve undoubtedly seen French people performing some familiar gestures as well as a few unfamiliar ones. While some gestures are vulgar, others are as innocuous as shaking or nodding ones head. In any case, it is as essential to understand this French sign language as it is any vocabulary. These pages include photos, explanations, and register ratings for 45 gestures. Top 10 French Gestures Among the dozens of gestures and facial expressions in these lessons, there are ten that really stand out. French Gestures by Register  (what is register?) Note that some gestures have different names and are thus listed more than once. Normal Informal Familiar Use with anyone Use only with people you tutoie Use only with close friends A peu prs Alors, l Ae, ae Baiser la main Au poil Barrons-nous Cest fini Bises Bisque ! Chut Bof Camembert Jai du nez Bouche cousue a pue On a sommeil Cest nul Cest pas donn Parfait Comme-ci, comme-a Clapet Pardon Dlicieux Coup dans le nez Rptez Faire la bise / le bisou Du fric Se serrer la main Faire la moue Ferme-la ! Silence Gallic shrug Il est cingl Tlphone Je le jure Je men fous Se tourner les pouces Jen ai ras le bol Mon il ! Un, deux, trois Sen jeter un derrire la cravate On se tire Magnifique Pied de nez Motus et bouche cousue Que dalle ! La moue Quelle barbe ! Nul Verre dans le nez On boit Passer sous le nez Poil dans la main Quest-ce quil chante, l ? Vulgar - Offensive Ras-le-bol Use with extreme care Rien Le bras dhonneur Shrug Cocu Sous le nez Va te faire foutre Victoire Zro