Reebok 2015 Annual Report Download - page 80

GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT – OUR GROUP
Global Operations
76
2
CREATE ASEAMLESS CONSUMER EXPERIENCE
Global Operations has a strong track record for establishing state-of-the-art infrastructure, processes and
systems that are required to support the Group’s growth ambition. It has been successfully consolidating
and improving legacy structures, thereby reducing complexity and cost for the adidas Group. The function
is focused on innovative distribution and IT capabilities, with the goal of providing the best service by
enabling product availability as the consumer chooses through the Group’s omni-channel approach to
supply chain agility.
By creating higher commonality across the Group’s various channels, Global Operations ensures higher
flexibility at each consumer touchpoint. This, in turn, enables a broader range of products to be available
at the point of sale, including online orders able to be picked up in our own-retail stores or shipped from a
store and own-retail stores able to sell inventory available in other own-retail stores. Through the inclusion
of the Group’s IT organisation, Global Operations is prioritising being ‘insights driven’. Data generated during
product creation, marketing processes and at consumer interactions is being linked to create actionable
insights which the Group makes use of to react more quickly to changing consumer needs.
In 2015, Global Operations focused on further optimising processes in distribution centres. In this regard,
the new distribution centre in Tianjin, China, which officially opened in 2015, was a particular achievement.
Also, 2015 saw the go-live of a new distribution centre in Brantford, Canada. The Russian distribution centre
in Chekhov sustained operations while increasing its speed of service with 180 own-retail stores benefiting
from next-day product replenishment.
Global Operations is developing further IT capabilities to build platforms that support key initiatives which
drive brand desire such as personalised footwear tools. With the close collaboration of Global IT and the
Group brands, efforts are focused on delivering fresh and exciting consumer services with a ‘mobile first’
approach, allowing consumers to connect to the brand at every touchpoint – from own-retail stores to
e-commerce to social networks.
TRANSFORM THE WAY WE CREATE AND MANUFACTURE
Global Operations is driving innovation in new materials, new product constructions and new ways of
manufacturing that deliver consumer value and enable competitive advantage. With the consolidation of
product features and investments in tools that more directly connect design and factory production, Global
Operations is changing traditional models of development to deliver freshness, speed and efficiency.
Through ‘Digital Creation’, Global Operations, in cooperation with Design and IT, has already improved the
creation process from idea to market. With 3D software tools, we look at product the way the consumer
sees it and enable product iterations earlier and more rapidly without increasing the need for physical
samples. In 2015, all business units adopted these tools as the programme expanded across footwear and
apparel. In the context of 3D printing, Global Operations is supporting a cross-functional initiative called
Futurecraft, which places open-source collaboration and craftsmanship at the heart of design to drive
innovation across all areas of production.
see Research and
Development, p. 80