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SAP

adidas-Salomonimplemented SAP®Apparel and Footwearas an enabler for worldwideprocess andsystem standardization.To meet the sportweargiant’s growing businessneeds, adidas waslooking for an IT solutionthat would allow it tomanage its businessefficiently and flexiblychange its organizationalprocesses as businessrequirements dictate.

adidas-Salomon implemented SAP® Apparel and Footwear (SAP® AFS), as part of the solutions suite of mySAPTM Consumer Products, to support future organizational needs.

“We are using SAP AFS as an enabler for process and system standardization worldwide,” says Armin von Hanffstengel, head of application development and support services. “We are coming from a fragmented system landscape, with each country owning separate information technology solutions. The systems were a combination of software packages from different vendors and homegrown solutions. They were difficult to adapt to new business conditions and could not meet our growing business needs.”

SAP AFS is providing a solution that not only supports a consolidated global focus, but also is specific to the apparel and footwear industry with its emphasis on seasonal fluctuation, proliferation of design variations and product characteristics, multiple distribution channels and customer-service requirements, and outsourced manufacturing.

“SAP AFS was developed for our industry,” von Hanffstengel says. “In the apparel and footwear business, you have to introduce new articles continuously: prior to each season, during each season, and for special events. It is not recommended to take an IT solution that is not apparel and footwear specific and modify it to handle seasons and sizes for instance.”

That holds true for other apparel and footwear requirements as well.

“SAP AFS can accommodate size, color, and style,” says von Hanffstengel. “This enables us to flexibly manage our product hierarchies and characteristics.”

adidas-Salomon uses SAP AFS not only to manage its complex product structure, but also to make firm promises to its customers and fulfill their orders. Enhanced SAP standard features like the available-to-promise (ATP) check allow the company to view inventory, production, and shipment schedules based on replenishment lead times and compare them against customer order delivery requirements. Specific SAP AFS features like the allocation run optimize the allocation of available stock to customer orders in short-stock situations.

“SAP AFS provides a fully integrated system to enable a single, common view across orders, products, and inventory, enabling better customer order fulfillment,” von Hanffstengel says. “It enables us to manage our business more efficiently and to flexibly change our organizational processes as business requirements dictate.”

WORLDWIDE LEADER IN APPAREL AND FOOTWEAR

adidas-Salomon is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, with some 100 subsidiaries and 13,800 employees worldwide. As a global leader in the sporting goods industry, the $5.3 billion company offers the broadest portfolio of brands, including adidas, Salomon, TaylorMade, Mavic, Bonfire, Arc’teryx and Cliché.

Before selecting SAP AFS, adidas-Salomon evaluated a number of alternatives.

“We made a fundamental decision to buy off-the-shelf software,” von Hanffstengel says. “We do not see the strength and focus of our company in developing software. We also wanted a solution with best practices built into the system. We wanted a vendor with a worldwide presence, and the stability and strength to support us throughout the entire lifespan of the product. Finally, we wanted a solution specific to our industry.”

adidas-Salomon runs SAP AFS on the Compaq Alpha platform with the UNIX operating system and Oracle database. The company has implemented SAP AFS in Europe, Australia, and Hong Kong for approximately 1,300 users. adidas-Salomon used the SAP AcceleratedSAPTM implementation methodology to structure the rollout, as well as SAP implementation accelerators to move the installation forward quickly.

BUSINESS SOLUTION

adidas-Salomon uses SAP AFS to manage the full range of business processes across the company, including sales/distribution, order fulfillment, finance, controlling, and purchasing. The company next plans to evaluate SAP solutions for business intelligence, customer relationship management, and e-procurement.

adidas-Salomon is also considering the mySAP.com® e-business platform as part of its global e-business strategy.

“mySAP.com would enable us to link up electronically with our customers and suppliers to tightly integrate solutions and provide much faster access to information,” says Von Hanffstengel, who is convinced that using the SAP e-business platform will provide adidas-Salomon with a competitive advantage worldwide.