Recommendations

 

Nike has often been facing some difficulty when it comes to their inventory and their scheduling of shipment. Presumably, their data software sometimes displays data errors or bugs, throwing off how much inventory each location should be receiving. At the Jersey Shore location, many cartons are often getting lost and end up reappearing on the next shipments truck with a bundle of other cartons, making the process of storing inventory difficult for the staff because they never are exactly sure of what they are going to get. Being that these Nike locations are limited in space, the staff also has a difficult time when it comes to accommodating the late cartons. These Nike stores can only make room for whatever they do have in stock, or whatever they expect to receive. The lack of some cartons arriving on time has ultimately made the process of tracking inventory efficiently more difficult.
Not only is this discrepancy in inventory frustrating for the inventory manager at their locations, but it has also become costly, as well as a waste in profit. If these lost cartons would show up on time, Nike locations would have a better handle on managing their inventory. They would also benefit from this for the following shipments that are planned to arrive.

Another problem Nike faces with inventory is the excess of items already fully stocked. In many instances, Nike receives shipments of items that the store is not in need of. Along with sending items that they don’t need, they lack refilling inventory that are sold out and have a higher urgency to restock. This situation can conflict with the stores profit. If Nike’s inventory was more efficient, the customers would be able to walk out with the item they wanted, instead of having to wait, or even worse, go to the competition. The stores would also have less of a hard time trying to figure out where to stock all the excess shipment, which ends up just sitting in the backrooms for months until the product eventually runs out on the stores floor.

A possible solution for Nikes inventory issues would be to reevaluate their software and making sure it is working correctly, based on location.  If the software isn’t working properly or efficiently, Nike should switch their system and adapt to a different software. If the software is working properly then the issue might be with the trucking company or the distributers. The trucking staff may not be loading the trucks accordingly, or they are dropping off the wrong cartons at different locations. Solving this inventory issue will ultimately decrease overproduction, and increase Nike’s productivity as a whole.