LensCrafters 2004 Annual Report Download - page 17

LUXOTTICA GROUP IN 2004
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Luxottica Group offers not only the best brands, with
an array of models that responds to the specific
needs observed in each market, but also delivers and
presents them in the timeframe and according to the
methods that maximize their specific value. It also
provides clients with all-important pre- and post-sales
services.
This approach helps wholesale clients operate under
ideal circumstances, increasing the market potential
for premium optical products and services.
MANUFACTURING
In 2004 Luxottica Group continued its ongoing pursuit
of an increasingly efficient manufacturing structure.
To this end, Luxottica Group’s main objectives
continue to be optimizing the cost of production,
raising the level of customer service, and continuously
improving product quality through research with new
materials and manufacturing methods.
With regard to controlling production costs, the various
manufacturing entities within the Group already
specialized in specific production technology aimed at
maximizing efficiency, increased the development of
staff training on task management and production cost
analysis. The purchasing office has, furthermore, been
reorganized, transferring the responsibility of warehouse
restocking from buyers to the planning area.
Over the course of the year, significant resources were
invested in studying new, even more reliable quality
control procedures of internal and external production;
the same process was carried out for the control and
inspection of raw materials before entering production.
Growth forecasts for injection-mould production led
the Group to launch a research program aimed at
increasing production capacity of moulds, in terms of
quantity and quality.
Customer service has always been a major focus of
the Group. As a result, today Luxottica Group enjoys
product delivery times and post-sales service
standards that are likely the best in the industry.
In the course of 2004, increased product turnover due
to acceleration in consumer purchasing trends
highlighted the need to drastically reduce planning
time in order to maintain service standards without
increasing stock levels.
With regard to manufacturing plants: a new information
technology platform was introduced at Tristar, the
Group’s China-based manufacturing plant; Gazzada,
the plant that had been purchased in connection with
the licensing agreement with the Versace and Versus
brands, was closed and its production transferred to
other structures, to improve efficiency and in line with
the Group’s objective to concentrate specific
manufacturing technologies at each plant.