Case : L.L. Bean, Inc.

Assignment

Analyze the L.L. Bean case in study groups. Each group is responsible for submitting short answers to the questions below.  Submissions should be posted in the Digital Drop Box by 8:00AM.

• How significant (quantitatively) of a problem is the mismatch between supply and demand at L.L. Bean?

• In the Course Materials section of Blackboard there is an Excel file (LL Bean.xls) that provides demand and forecast data for a collection of items.  Suppose these are the data that L.L. Bean will use to plan for next season.  Consider an item that retails for $45 and costs L.L. Bean $25.  The liquidation price for this item is $15.  The sales forecast for the item is 12,000 units.  What order quantity should L.L. Bean use for this item?

• Assuming that L.L. Bean manages to derive the correct forecast, what do you think of their ordering process?  You may wish to begin with Mark Fasold's concerns at the end of the case.  Also, think about Rol Fessenden's concern about estimating contribution margin and liquidation costs.
• What do you think about L.L. Bean's forecasting process?  Can they do better?

Price: $15.61

Solution: The downloadable solution consists of 8 pages, 761 words and 2 charts.
Deliverable: Word Document