September 1, 2008
MH&L Staff
This case history about GEAR FOR SPORTS comes courtesy of Lightning Pick Technologies. It has been selected and edited by the MHM editorial staff for clarity, content and style.
Company Profile
GEAR FOR SPORTS® has become the leader in custom decorated apparel and sportswear. Over the past 30 years the GEAR FOR SPORTS family of brands has grown to include GEAR FOR SPORTS, Champion, Robert Trent Jones Apparel, Sunice and Under Armour. From t-shirts, caps, fleece, luxury men’s fashions to performance wear and performance outerwear, GEAR FOR SPORTS® delivers their customers’ messages with the finest products available.
The Challenge
GEAR FOR SPORTS is the top brand of apparel sold in college bookstores, golf courses, resorts and military installations. Shirts and jackets are manufactured overseas as “blanks,” meaning that they arrive at GEAR without logos or designs. They are then picked by order and sent to six area manufacturing facilities where college and client logos are screened or embroidered onto the garments to customer specifications.
In 2004, GEAR wanted to improve the overall efficiency of their production operation by applying lean principals to their manufacturing and distribution processes. The goal was to improve the efficiency of their labor, improve productivity and maintain the highest quality standards for their products.