Levis Custom Fitted Jeans

Case built in 1995 for new product concept: Levis custom fitted jeans

1995: women’s jeans $2 Bn fashion category in US, Levi Strauss mkt leader, jeans available in 51 size combinations, $50 per pair

Fashion created product complexity for Levi S, as it was manufacturing and push-based company

1995: 19 Original Levi retail stores, close to customers, Other channels: distributors and/or independent retailers. Total sales: $6 Bn

Levis: Fast with information technology and process improvement, but the supply chain was slow, complex and expensive; used EDI; O2C cycle time: 8 months lag; Industry lag: 12 months

Retail channel less profitable than original stores, but was considered as an investment for understanding the customers better

Experiment: Introduction of personal pair kiosks in 4 original stores; partnership with CCTC; technology firm

New process operation:

1. Trained sales clerks + touch screen PCs
2. Measurements taken through tape and recorded on touch screen; 4224 combinations of 3 measurements
3. Computer flashes the code out of 400 prototypes stocked in the store
4. With 1 or 2 tries, the customer is wearing the best prototype. Tape is used again to determine exact measurements for the customer and to note the length required
5. 4 final measurements are put into the system and order is recorded. 5 color choices offered in both tapered and boot cut legs
6. Customer pays for the jeans and chooses FedEx ($5 extra charge) or store pick up. Delivery within three weeks
7. Money back guarantee on full satisfaction on every order

Customer order is transferred from kiosks to CCTC through modem and then each pair of jeans is individually cut from rolls of denim. Cutting to hand sewing (one pair at a time); loss of WIP at each stage; Several identical pairs made in sequence to minimize change-over time; each pair is individually inspected and packed for shipment