ation is locate in Somerset, WI Covac Co., LTD. will manufacture the foam pads for the base and back of the bindings. Covac Co. is located in Tokyo and specializes in silicon and rubber products. They have an exceptional quality program and are ISO 9001 certified and are locate in Tokyo.For the manufacturing of the boots, Vans Inc. has been chosen. Van’s is a leader in “extreme sports” equipment manufacturing. Van’s is a $200 million maker of active footwear located in Santa Fe Springs. All snowboard boots must be worn with an insert. The inserts will be manufactured by DaleBoot USA, Salt Lake City, Utah. Product Differentiation:The Simmons Extreme Sports snowboard binding/boot combo is one of a kind that has several positioning strategies. First, Simmons has a competitive advantage in that the slide-in binding/boot combo will better serve the customer while simultaneously outperforming the bindings already available on the market. Second, Simmons will be able to offer a superior product with minimal cost. This is done through the outsourcing of the manufacturing of the specified components. Finally, the buyers will be getting a unique product that is far superior to that of the competition.Conclusions:Simmons Extreme Sports snowboard binding/boot combination was developed to cater to a generation of extreme sports activist while at the same time maximizing profits. This being done through the outsourcing of the individual components involved. Knowing first hand of the problems with the existing binding/boot combinations on the market gives better insight to the engineering of a more user friendly binding/boot combination, which has the consumer in mind. One can not forget that the underlying factor is, of course, to make a profit. ...
