B O R D E R L E S S A M B I T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N A N D I D E A S

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SUPPLY CHAIN
MOVEMENT
Steve Hochman,
Head Supply Chain Planning
EMEA Nike
The Rise of Social Supply Networks Social
media in the supply chain Supply Chain Map Europe
Napoleon in Russia Supply Chain Agenda of
Comifar Mindmap European operations footprint
Profitably
available is
how you win
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www.supplychainmovement.com
No. 4 | Q4 2012
group
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SUPPLY CHAIN
MOVEMENT

Nike: A relentless, sustainable stream of
performance innovation
Were an almost
invisible force that
makes it happen.
Prole
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Nike, the worlds leading designer, marketer and seller of
athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and
services, sets the bar as high as the sporting superstars
who endorse its products. With the likes of Ronaldo, Iniesta,
Rooney and Torres, adorning the European head ofce walls in
Hilversum, the Netherlands, you cant help but be inspired and
energised. The campus radiates sport, tness and well being,
enhanced by the full size athletic track and other sporting
facilities for the more than 1500 people who work here.
By Helen Armstrong and Edwin Tuyn
Steve Hochman currently lives in Amsterdam with his
family.
Education: MBA, General Management from
Stanford University Graduate School of
Business (1993 1995)
A.B. Earth Sciences, Dartmouth
College. (1985 1988)
Career to date: Oct 2011 to present Head of Planning,
EMEA, Nike
2008 2011 Global Director, Supply
Chain Strategy,Nike
2006 2008 Director, Supply Chain
Strategies, AMR Research, Inc.
2003 2006 Manager (senior director),
U.S. Sales Operations New Balance
Athletic Shoe, Inc.
2001 2003 EVP Marketing and
Business Development
SupplyChainge, Inc.
1999 2001 Founder, lucy activewear
1998 2001 EVP, co-founder Lucy.com
1995 1998 Senior Product Marketing
Engineer Intel Corporation
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IKE, Inc. was founded in 1964 on the handshake of ath-
letics coach Bill Bowerman and student Philip Knight
who together distributed Tiger running shoes. The
company was first called Blue Ribbon Sports. In 1972, it was
renamed Nike after the Greek goddess for victory.
Today Nike is a more than $24 billion dollar global company,
employing approximately 44,000 people worldwide, with the
pledge to bring inspiration and innovation to athletes (read
everyone) everywhere. Its commitment to innovation is what
makes it distinct. Steve Hochman is responsible for the NIKE
Brands supply chain planning in Europe. His team is respon-
sible for making sure the right product is in the right place at
the right time.
Whats your function in the organisation?
I lead the NIKE Brand supply chain planning for all of Europe
The NIKE Brand has six geographies, Western Europe, Cen-
tral & Eastern Europe, Japan, Greater China, North America
and Emerging Markets.
My role covers demand planning (forecasting) and buying
inventory up to the point of an order being placed and flowing
into distribution centre - where fulfilment takes over. A cen-
tral organisation in HQ in Beaverton, USA, is constantly liais-
ing with our factory partners all over the world. Our teams
have a working global rhythm that allows us to adapt dynami-
cally to demand changes and align capacities in the factories
with consumer needs across many thousands of SKUs per
season. I have about 100 people within my extended team -
comprising 38 nationalities. We have one large European dis-
tribution centre, in Laakdal Belgium, supported by two satel-
lite DCs in Russia and Turkey to serve Eastern and Central
Europe.
How do you manage those thousands of SKUs?
Across the company, we bring our assortments together into
the NIKE Brands key categories, which include football,
womens training, athletic training, sportswear, basketball
and running. From sales to merchandising, product develop-
ment to finance -everyone is category focused because that is
how our consumer shops. The general managers are the hub
of these category organizations, and the supply chain serves
all these categories. If you are head of football for example,
you have a virtual team, and a representative from the sup-
ply chain is in the team. Someone from my demand planning
team will sit in the staff meeting of GM football Europe to
enable aligned accurate forecasts and smart buys.

N
Steve Hochman, Head
of Planning EMEA, Nike:
From a supply chain
perspective, its about
finding the best balance
between responsiveness
and efficiency.
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We know were at our best when all parties are moving
in synch with the pattern of consumption.
pens just as much in the channel of distribution as with the
product. We treat e-commerce as one of our top priorities.
Will Nikes strategic partnership with software design company
LLamasoft, Inc., alter the way you do business?
We use a range of support tools to help us analyse our supply
chain to optimise our supply and demand across distribution
centres and manufacturing facilities. Our minority investment
in Llamasoft is just one way we are improving our agility and
precision and broadening the teams capabilities. The benefits
of the relationship are primarily strategic: It provides us with
access to technology, the ability to co-develop innovative solu-
tions, and potentially significantly reduce our supply chains car-
bon footprint.
How do you align the supply chain with Nikes corporate respon-
sibility?
Hannah Jones, Nikes Vice-President of Sustainable Business &
Innovation, and Hans van Alebeek vice-president global opera-
tions & technology, are constantly working on this alignment.
We have taken on the tough issues and have invested in new
ways to make products and share our learnings. We are work-
ing with others in our industry to bring about change. In fact,
the team that manages this work is now called Sustainable Busi-
ness & Innovation instead of Corporate Responsibility. The
teams have dual reporting lines directly into all core business
functions, because we believe innovation with sustainability as
a core criteria, will really help drive the companys growth for-
ward.
A good example of this alignment and business integration of
sustainability practices is our European distribution centre in
Laakdal, Belgium. Windmills on site reduce our energy impact
and its an approach were exploring for other distribution cen-
tres too.
How do you ensure that your corporate responsibility mission is
watertight?
We voluntarily set and report against public targets in exter-
nal impact areas energy, water, waste, chemistry and labour.
These targets are owned by the whole business, rather than the
Sustainable Business & Innovation function, so it is everyones
responsibility to drive continuous improvement against those
targets. We also recently rolled out our Sustainable Manufactur-
ing & Sourcing Index as a new way to measure the performance
of our 900+ contract factories. It adds sustainability perfor-
mance to the traditional measures of cost, quality and delivery.
What challenges does Nike face at the moment?
Nike faces similar changes to other brands in terms of navigat-
ing the global economic challenges and input costs for example.
But Nike is a growth company and we feel confident about our
potential.
How does Nike differentiate itself from the competitors?
We talk at Nike about bringing a relentless, sustainable stream
of performance innovation to market. Being able to introduce
this much innovation and inspiration to the consumer and do
it responsively and efficiently this is what sets us apart. We
master complexity.
How does the supply chain support this stream of innovation?
Think of the supply chain function as the glue that connects
every node in the value chain assuring synchronicity and agil-
ity. To bring such exceptional quantity of innovation to consum-
ers, we carefully choreograph an integrated cross functional
response, tailored to the evolving needs of the consumer and
our own innovation drumbeat.
Our ability at Nike to manage complexity and connect with the
consumer this way is difficult to replicate. Launching the right
product at the right time and right place when and where
the consumer shops - is a major differentiator. We know were
at our best when all parties are moving in synch with the pat-
tern of consumption. Our supply chain teams are a present but
almost invisible force that makes it happen. For those thinking
of supply chain careers, sometimes from the outside it looks
like a paradox because of course people need to receive rec-
ognition for what they do. But day-to-day, not being noticed is
sometimes the best achievement. Its a key indicator that were
frictionless smooth, responsive and efficient, flowing. If we
flow, our consumer wins, and we celebrate. Fortunately, supply
chain is ever more a known pillar of company strategy, and sup-
ply chain career opportunity at Nike reflects this.
With your portfolio changing every season would you not be bet-
ter off manufacturing closer to the market?
The NIKE Brand works with more than 900 contract factories
suppliers most of which are in Asia. However, we are constantly
evaluating this mix as we assess how we can serve consumers
faster and more effectively. We optimise our portfolio of manu-
facturing centres so that the entire supply chain is lined up to
deliver on that promise.
The behaviour of the customer is changing so is it not becom-
ing more difficult to use historical data for forecasting, especially
when launching new products?
We are a product innovation company. The consumer votes on
that innovation with his or her wallet. Our product line spans
multiple categories and price points. We meet customer needs
and grow the marketplace by optimizing our product portfolio
and building compelling retail locations and experiences in our
Nike-owned retail stores and with our wholesale retail partners.
How big a role does e-commerce play?
E-commerce is a key part of our Direct to Consumer business
model and we are seeing strong growth here. Innovation hap-
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What do you find the most challenging part of your job?
From a supply chain perspective, its about finding the best bal-
ance between responsiveness and efficiency. We are developing
planning and fulfilment capabilities toward that end, all the way
up and down the chain. But the most important focus is our
people. To keep winning the way we do, we need to continue to
recruit the best talent, develop and inspire our teams, and sus-
tain our strong culture of innovation and continuous improve-
ment. People development is one of the things we do extremely
well as a company, and a differentiator in its own right. It is also
a race with no finish line.
How important is it for a supply chain professional to have entre-
preneurial spirit?
Very! Entrepreneurship is about problem solving and opportu-
nity creation. You need the entrepreneurs creative mindset in
the supply chain given its complexity, multidisciplinary require-
ment and need for cross functional thinking. I dont see the
supply chain as an operational discipline; I see it as a way to
grow companies. If you approach supply chain not just from
I dont see the supply chain as an operational
discipline; I see it as a way to grow companies.
operational metrics but also from financial and sustainability
metrics youll be more successful within an organisation.
Youve been assigned this position for three years. Whats next?
The Netherlands is a great place to be and Im very passionate
about Nike because the company spends a lot of energy making
sure we have one culture and one set of beliefs all based on
shared experiences. This includes cross-functional rotation up
and down the chain. Ive got two more years here and I dont
yet know what my next step will be. My focus is very much on
todays opportunities and todays team. My ambition is to con-
tribute steadily more and more broadly to the growth of Nike
and the athlete experience. In the meantime, Im delighted to be
a part of the team Im in. I love working in Nikes supply chain
organisation. The company, the team, the mission. These all fit
me perfectly. Im privileged to be a part of it.
Beyond the match in supply chain
Professionals require passion
Executive Search | Interim Management | Recruitment | Executive Coaching
LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN PROFESSIONALS
www.Inspired-Search.com
adv_tango_295x225mm.indd 1 26-04-12 14:23
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Beyond the match in supply chain
Professionals require passion
Executive Search | Interim Management | Recruitment | Executive Coaching
LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN PROFESSIONALS
www.Inspired-Search.com
adv_tango_295x225mm.indd 1 26-04-12 14:23
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No. 1 | Q1 2011
S&OP still hot topic Overview SCM software on
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B O R D E R L E S S A M B I T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N A N D I D E A S
SC
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SUPPLY CHAIN
MOVEMENT
John van Dongen
Electrolux Home Products www.supplychainmovement.com
No. 1 | Q1 2011
S&OP still hot topic Overview SCM software on
IT Subway Map 2.1 Supply chain visibility is
available in a broad variety Analyst on visibility
solutions Manufacturing Lamborghini is all about
people From outsourcing to inshoring
Treat others
as you would
have them
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