This business plan outlines a proposed strategy for Adidas to develop a customized footwear line modeled after Nike's NikeID concept. The paper covers the project's background, corporate goals, deliverables, and scope, followed by a detailed schedule, responsibility matrix, and budget. It then examines the project implementation plan, including cost and schedule variance analysis, change control procedures, configuration management, and a risk management framework. The plan concludes with a project audit formulation designed to ensure accountability and continuous improvement throughout development. Together, these sections provide a comprehensive roadmap for Adidas to enter the customized footwear market and challenge Nike's competitive position.
The paper demonstrates competitive benchmarking as a justification technique. By consistently referencing Nike's NikeID line as both a threat and a model, the author builds a data-driven rationale for every major decision — from pricing assumptions to delivery timelines — without needing to invent hypothetical market conditions.
The paper divides into two broad halves: a project plan (background, scope, deliverables, schedule, budget, and responsibility matrix) and an implementation plan (variance analysis, change control, configuration control, risk management, and audit formulation). Each section mirrors standard project management documentation, giving the paper a memo/report hybrid structure well suited to a business strategy course.
The competitive environment in which Adidas operates requires the company to establish innovative strategies in product development and marketing. With Nike investing significant resources in product innovation as well as modern marketing techniques, Adidas is compelled to respond to its competitor's strategy in order to maintain its market position — and, ideally, to improve upon that strategy in order to become the leader of the footwear industry.
The necessity of developing a project focused on customizing Adidas footwear is driven by the activity of its main competitor, Nike. The company recognizes that it is more efficient to target several different customer segments with modestly differentiated footwear by allowing customers to customize their products themselves (Nike, 2013). This approach is designed to address customers who are interested in the sports performance qualities of footwear, customers who want their footwear associated with celebrities, and customers for whom footwear represents a fashion statement. In essence, the footwear offered through the NikeID segment has limited variation, but customers can customize it in accordance with their personal preferences.
The reasons behind developing this project stem from Adidas' need to keep pace with its main competitor, Nike. The success of Nike's NikeID product range makes it necessary for Adidas to develop a strategy based on product customization. Such a strategy is capable of addressing several types of customers more efficiently.
The goals that this project must achieve at the corporate level include increasing sales, improving customer satisfaction, and increasing the flexibility of Adidas' product range. In addition, the company intends to diversify the customer segments it targets through this project, and to challenge Nike's position in the market. These goals are supported by financial, technical, and human resources.
The objective of this project is to develop a strategy that allows Adidas to successfully launch a customized footwear line.
The project's deliverables include a supply chain management system aligned with the customized shoe line, an online platform through which customers can customize and purchase shoes, and in-store mechanisms allowing customers to personalize shoes at Adidas retail locations and partner stores.
The efficiency of the supply chain will be measured by the number of days elapsed between receiving a customized shoe order and the customer receiving the finished product. The measures for the online platform will be represented by the ratio of customized shoe orders to orders for regular Adidas shoes.
For regular footwear lines, Adidas establishes its supply chain and inventory levels based on analyses of previous sales and market trend estimates. In the case of customized shoes, however, the production process is longer, as it does not begin until the customer has placed an order and selected the desired design. Production and delivery are expected to take up to four weeks. During this time, Adidas' supply chain must manage customized shoes at various stages of production. It is therefore necessary for the company to develop a flexible supply chain management strategy.
Additional deliverables include the online platform that will allow customers to customize and purchase their shoes, as well as in-person ordering mechanisms available in Adidas stores and authorized retailers.
An important assumption associated with this project is that Nike is likely to reduce the prices of its customized shoes after Adidas' customized footwear line is launched. Initially, Adidas will need to price its customized shoe line higher in order to recoup its investment. Another key assumption is that the project's success can be significantly enhanced if Adidas reduces the lead time between a customer's order and delivery. In the case of NikeID, this period is typically around four weeks — a waiting period that may deter impatient customers, who might instead purchase regular shoes. If Adidas can reduce this lead time, it is likely to attract some customers away from NikeID.
Nike has identified a straightforward strategy for increasing sales and customer satisfaction: customized shoes. This product line satisfies the needs of several types of customers — those interested in fashion footwear, those who want their shoes associated with sports celebrities, and those focused on the technical performance of their footwear. Through this approach, Nike gains new customers. It is therefore necessary for Adidas to develop a comparable offering.
In addition to risks related to tight scheduling, inventory management, cost escalation, product innovation, logistics, and supplier reliability, Adidas must also account for the risk of overloading its production line. Adidas' current production capacity is scheduled to meet existing demand. If the company launches a customized shoe line, demand is likely to increase — meaning that Adidas must also expand its production capacity to keep pace with its innovation strategy.
The customized shoe line requires cooperation across most of Adidas' departments. This is a team effort. In order to reach the project's objectives, it is important that a project team is formed with members from all relevant departments.
The following summarizes how responsibilities are distributed across departments. The Marketing Department holds primary responsibility (R) for project initiation and the overall marketing strategy. The Sales Department shares supporting responsibility (S) for market analysis and holds primary responsibility for the sales plan. The IT Department is primarily responsible for website development and supports the processing of customer requests. The Production Department holds primary responsibility for production line scheduling, managing raw materials, and order fulfillment and delivery. The Research and Development Department leads the analysis of market requirements. The Finance Department is responsible for the financial analysis and shares delivery responsibilities with the Production Department.
Project initiation is attributed to the Marketing Department. The Production Department is responsible for establishing the raw materials required by the customized shoe line, scheduling the production line, and executing the actual manufacturing process. The Sales Department must develop a sales plan consistent with the investment level and return on investment determined by the Finance Department. The IT Department must optimize Adidas' website to support the higher volume of user activity associated with customized footwear orders. The Research and Development Department creates new product designs based on market requirements.
The schedule has been revised since the preliminary stage of the process. Several activities have been added as required by the project's objectives, each assigned to the relevant department.
The project will begin with the Marketing Department conducting a research survey among footwear users to assess satisfaction with the current product offering and to identify preferences regarding shoe customization. Survey results will be shared with the Research and Development Department, which will develop a shoe prototype based on customer needs. Simultaneously, the Finance Department will determine the required sales volumes and pricing needed to recover the company's investment.
The Marketing Department will also develop the marketing strategy designed to help achieve the sales targets established by the Sales Department. The IT Department will expand the online platform so that customers can order and customize their shoes directly on Adidas' website. Each department will assign members to the project team.
Task 1 — Market Study: Duration: 2 weeks. Start: November 6, 2013. End: November 20, 2013. Predecessors: none.
Task 2 — Project Team Creation: Duration: 1 week. Start: November 21. End: November 28. Predecessors: Task 1.
Task 3 — Project Team Discussions: Duration: 1 week. Start: November 29. End: December 8. Predecessors: Task 2.
Task 4 — Production Capacity and Raw Materials Assessment: Duration: 3 days. Start: December 9. End: December 12. Predecessors: Task 3.
Task 5 — Financial Analysis: Duration: 5 days. Start: December 14. End: December 19. Predecessors: Task 4.
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