Browsing through peer blogs, I came across a post titled “Future forecasts as means to improve supply chain air not easy to foresee…as Nike learned the hard way” posted by Tamara Sachs. This title caught my eye because I am very interested in reading about different companies and how they manage their supply chains, especially after having read about how incredibly Zara manages its supply chain. Being a large and globally very well known athletic clothing company, hearing Nike screwing up in its supply chain is shocking.
The supply chain is indeed very sensitive in the clothing industry, since it is highly dependent on trends.
I have interned in a small clothing company Beyond Vintage during Summer 2010 in Downtown Manhattan, New York City. There, I learned that the person who is responsible for the supply chain is mainly focusing on trends. That person has to constantly be up-to-date with the new trends. Furthermore, he/she has to be able to predict future trends. Hence, the supply chain in a clothing industry basically “operates in the future.” Therefore, it is very difficult to be exact about the supply chains in clothing industries.
Citation: Sachs, Tamara. “Future forecast as means to improve supply chain are not easy to foresee… as Nike learned the hard way.” Tamara Sachs Thoughtful Thoughts. 16 Nov 2011. 21 Nov 2011 <https://blogs.ubc.ca/tamarasachs/2011/11/16/future-forecast-as-means-to-improve-supply-chain-are-not-easy-to-foresee-as-nike-learned-the-hard-way/>