upply chain management is as much an art as it is a science. The central villain in this case involves a computer glitch, but part of the blame must go to human gullibility - the flawed presumption that a software program could magically solve efficiency problems in a global supply chain of staggering complexity. This chain involves the coordination and synchronized movement of raw materials and parts from all over the world, which end up as NikeÆs annual output of 120,000 sportswear products.
Nike is the worldÆs largest and most profitable athletic footwear company with 32% of the global market and ôa $20 billion market cap, more than the rest of the manufacturers and retailers in the industry combinedö (www.cio.com/archive/061504/nike.html). Started on a shoestring in the 1970s by a former track coach and one of his runners, the company made $3 billion in revenues in the fourth quarter of 2002 alone (www.nike.com). Today NikeÆs supply chain employs 660,000 people in 900 factories in over 5
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