Over the years, shoppers at Nike stores have not been strangers to shortages. Especially during the pandemic period, Nike has been experiencing supply chain disruptions from the shipping container shortages to lack of workers, which has led to a shortage of the brand products in the market. They have been experiencing increased production timelines and long transit times, which have resulted in high inventory shortages. Ideally, maintaining high efficiency across the Nike supply chain has been challenging, especially when the contractors and suppliers are not working in alignment (Liu, Ma, and Zhou, 2021). In such scenarios, there are chances of wastage of resources, loss of labor hours, and high cost of production.
The main challenge at Nike is maintaining their inventory and ensuring that all suppliers are meeting the company’s demands in terms of supplies. Nike maintains its inventory by handling its supply across the world. The company has relied on huge research and development focused on creativity and innovation across apparel, footwear, and equipment. However, Nike has still been facing problems with low inventory due to inaccuracy, errors, and mismanagement of demand forecasting, which has led to stockouts of their products. Therefore, Nike requires inventory management software to act as a technological solution for their supply chain problems.
Any business can always benefit from having a good inventory management system. An Inventory management software will be effective for Nike to boost their efficiency and solve their supply chain problem. Inventory management allows companies to identify how much stock is remaining and what to order at what time. The inventory management will enable Nike to respond to the trends and ensure adequate stock to fulfill their customer orders and prevent a shortage. Singh and Verma (2018) state that inventory management is crucial for a company’s health since it ensures enough stock, eliminating the stockout risks and incorrect records.
Inventory control systems are technological solutions that automate and integrate all aspects of an organization’s inventory management processes, including shipping, purchasing, receiving, warehouse storage, tracking, and reordering (Chebet and Kitheka, 2019). Inventory management software is used to track and manage items as they move through the supply chain’s various stages. The inventory management software automates asset tracking, better asset visibility, and end-user satisfaction. The inventory management software will enable efficient tracking of stock levels in real-time. For instance, the inventory management software will enable employees to automatically manage their stock inventory and track product usage by sending a request for replenishment notifications to the company.
The major stakeholders involved in the inventory Chief Operating Officer, IT manager, and supply chain manager. The chief operating officer is the senior executive tasked with overseeing with day to day operational and administrative functions at Nike. The chief operating officer at Nike leads a digital transformation, global technology, supply and demand management, logistics and distributions, and procurement. Therefore, the chief operating officer will play a vital role in leading change in the supply chain. The chief operating officer will make the supply chain efficient as possible to reduce the operating and overhead costs.
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IT manager will serve a supporting role and strategic leadership position in implementing the IT solution. The IT manager will approve and execute the requests for new equipment and ensure that the inventory management software is implemented and running efficiently. The IT manager will also be involved in selecting the most appropriate software that will fit the needs of the company supply chain. The supply chain manager manages and oversees the overall logistics strategy and supply chain operations to maximize process productivity and efficiency. The supply chain manager at Nike keeps track of inventory updates and logistics. Therefore, the supply chain manager will collaborate with the vendors and other stakeholders to ensure the selected inventory management software meets safety and quality standards.
Nike will require inventory management software to implement the IT solution that will automate the manual processes in the inventory-related functions. The inventory management software will be tailored to meet the needs of inventory tracking and management at Nike. The inventory management software will manage the inventory stock items and guarantee accurate record keeping. Nike will also require additional hardware pieces such as bar code scanners and computer devices, which will update information in the main database.
Inventory management software is critical for Nike’s supply chain. It will help the company generate and manage inventory requirements for the various products and services. The Inventory Management System (IMS) will help Nike expand the availability of their products and services by building an understanding of the demand for their products in different countries, developing product localization strategies, and measuring sales performance. Being able to manage the inventory effectively means capturing, identifying, and maintaining the right product mix at the right time for maximum returns on investment (ROI).
