In 2001, Nike suffered a loss of sales and declining stock values from a range of 50-55 cents a share to 34-38 cents a share. This caused a decline in third quarter profits and a miss in mid-teens earnings growth expectations for fiscal 2001. How did the dominating market leader of athletic clothing and footwear “Get the Boot”?

There have been two sides of the argument: one side blames it on new i2 technology supply-and-demand-planning application Nike was using that didn’t reach performance expectations (Nike: i2 Software Just Didn’t Do it); the other side argues that the blaming game is just an excuse for the company’s falling profits (Don’t Believe Nike’s “Blame i2” Excuse). However, either way, Nike experienced problems with excess inventory and orders, which caused tardy deliveries and ultimately, a decline in profits and sales.

From reading several more articles, I believe that  Nike experienced problems in it’s Operations Management, and blaming it on the MIS technology of the i2 software wasn’t appropriate. This clearly indicates that Operations Management, the making and delivery of any product or service, is extremely crucial in the success of a company!