Adapt IT gives Nike data a brand new view

26 Jan 2015

Adapt IT Holdings, a provider of specialised turnkey IT solutions and services to the Education, Mining & Manufacturing, Energy and Financial Services sectors was appointed by Nike to implement an optimised and automated Business Intelligence (BI) solution in order to streamline data and business reporting capabilities.

Upon its completion, the project successfully reduced manual workload, while providing a swift and accurate overview of strategic data across Nike's various business functions.

As the demand for a more effective and timeous overview of business data continues to grow across all major enterprises, the successful implementation of the Nike Gross to Net Business Analytics project met Nike's requirements for a full information view from Gross Futures Bookings to the achieved Net revenue.

Nike, as one of the world's most recognised brands, employs more than 44,000 people worldwide, and as a leading wholesaler of footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories, it continues to be extremely popular among South African consumers.

Prior to the implementation of the project, creating a Gross to Net (G2N) view required different data sources to be combined, often resulting in a substantial manual workload. Explains Oliver Karst, BI Analyst at Nike: "We needed a database that combined all the required source information and provided the business with reporting and dash boarding capabilities. Now, with advanced capabilities, we are able to reduce workload in the creation of the required report, which can be used for advanced analysis of the business."

One major advantage of the Nike Gross to Net system, in addition to streamlining the reporting process, is that information is readily available at any time and at any required detail. "Previously reports had to be run out of multiple sources from Teradata and Business Warehouse. Those reports were then used in the creation of manual reports which was very time consuming and dependent on different business functions to provide data and left room for error due to manual input."

The implementation of the project has enabled Nike to leverage data to gain timeous insight into the business, says Corneil Lubbe, Managing Executive at Adapt IT. "Nike is continuously improving its capabilities with tools to intelligently innovate their processes in order to help implement highly effective business decisions. The Gross to Net project with its advanced functionality and high performance is a good match for Nike's exacting standards," says Lubbe.

This project will see immense time-savings at Nike, particularly for the financial function of the business says Karst. "There is no longer a dependency on others to run data reports and report drill-troughs are readily available. This greatly improved visibility and has already reaped huge benefits and will continue to do so."