Nike European Operations has won the Dutch Logistics Award 2014. The jury states that Nike has achieved 'exceptional performance in the field of logistics', in particular by reducing inventory in the supply chain by 22% in a few years.
Aligning forecasting and inventory management
How did Nike achieve this? The brand is constantly concerned with whether there are too many products in the market. If there are too many products, it has to discount and that does not do the brand value any good. The brand has therefore involved the supply chain closer to the commercial side. This creates better forecast alignment and inventory management.
Category organisations
Nike owns that data by setting up category organisations. The pioneer has adapted its internal organisation to those categories (such as Food and Running) in such a way that tailored decisions can always be made. Each category uses a 'Forecast Alignment tool', which aligns demand forecasting between Sales, Finance, Operations and Merchandising.
Full-time S&OP
The brand is thus fully committed to Sales and Operations Planning. Marc den Boogert, manager demand planning and inventory management, believes that it is important to have employees working full-time on S&OP. Based on the available data, they can make quick decisions and thus ensure inventory levels.
Editorial LogistiekProfs
