Manufacturing and sourcing – make or buy strategy
To gain operational efficiencies and cost savings, Amer Sports is constantly reviewing both its make or buy strategy and the company’s global production and sourcing footprint. Approximately 22% of Amer Sports’ production value is generated in China, 39% elsewhere in Asia Pacific, 28% in EMEA and 11% in the Americas.
Amer Sports is constantly adjusting sourcing landscape and with growing importance of new countries like Vietnam and Cambodia, but also to low labor cost countries close to main markets.
Manufacturing and sourcing
Amer Sports’ most important production facilities are winter sports equipment factories in Austria, Romania and Bulgaria, ball sports factories in the United States, and an apparel factory in Canada. In addition, we have major factories in Eastern Europe, which are owned by subcontractors.
We manufacture approximately 21% of our products ourselves. Approximately 79% of our total production value is outsourced. This includes manufacturing in all racket sports and golf products, most team sports products and most of the apparel and footwear.
Amer Sports purchases the raw materials it requires – steel, rubber, and oil-based raw materials and components – from a number of sources. These raw materials are used to manufacture plastic components for bindings and ski boots, carbon fibers for use in rackets, and the metal parts used in fitness equipment, binding components and ski edges.
Quality management
Quality specifications and quality assurance are of prime importance to Amer Sports production processes. Products are subjected to quality control tests before production commences and also before they are sold to customers. Quality control tests are also carried out during production processes to ensure that the items produced meet the Group’s quality requirements.
In general, quality control is handled by Amer Sports’ own quality control personnel who carry out extensive testing and inspection procedures. The Group also requires its third-party suppliers to arrange for specific tests to be performed at each manufacturing site. In Asia, the company’s sourcing office in Hong Kong subjects outsourced production to close supervision to ensure that all products and components meet each brand’s product specifications and quality control standards. Should items be returned or recalled, the products involved are analyzed and investigated and Amer Sports liaises with third-party suppliers to ensure that any related problems do not subsequently occur.
In most countries in which Amer Sports operates, the Group companies provide product warranties based on local legislation. The scope and terms of each warranty varies in different geographic markets and product categories.
Global Supply Chain
The Amer Sports global supply chain ensures delivery of the right products, at the right place, at the right time. Amer Sports gathers intelligence from retail customers and consumers, matches it with historical trends and finds consensus between sales, commercial, operations and finance to provide the most accurate plans. Amer Sports then leverages a vast global alliance of suppliers, own manufacturing, distribution centers and transportation networks in an effort to fulfill each customer order on-time and in-full.
From end to end, the global supply chain teams are dedicated to providing the best service delivery experience to Amer Sports’ retail customers and consumers of the wide variety of brands and products within the Amer Sports portfolio.
Distribution and transportation
Our most important distribution centers are located in Germany, Austria, the United States, Canada and France.
Amer Sports’ logistics facilities include factory-specific warehouses and regional or country-specific warehouses. Products are transported from our distribution hubs to trade customers or to Amer Sports’ own stores. Third-party transportation companies are employed to transport the Group products by truck, rail, plane, and sea.