Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.

Under Armour’s CEO Raises the Bar to Automate Manufacturing and Reduce Human Touches

After Nike recently announced it would start offering customers the ability to make their own sneakers using 3D technology, Under Armour is also raising the bar with manufacturing automation.

Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank said in the company’s third quarter earnings call that footwear and apparel manufacturing facilities have yet to modernize like other industries have. He said it requires roughly 150 people to build a single shoe end-to-end, according to The Motley Fool.

Even Nike CEO Mark Parker said that 3D technology couldn’t make the entire sneaker end-to-end and that human intervention would be necessary in several components.

“After reducing the number of human touches 30%, Under Armour CEO Mark Plank says there is still plenty of room to run.”

Meanwhile, Plank said that Under Armour has already reduced the number of “human touches” by up to 30% from when it first started, but he says there is plenty of “room to run.”

The athletic apparel company is preparing to open a new facility in Baltimore in 2016 called “Lighthouse,” a 133,000-square-foot renovated city garage that will be the start to Under Armour’s new “Project Glory” manufacturing process improvement.

The Baltimore Sun reported that as of last year, UA apparel and footwear were made by 29 primary manufacturers in 14 countries, with nearly two-thirds of products made in China, Jordan, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Plank said during the call that Project Glory will be an “advanced manufacturing innovation hub” that will allow new technologies to be tested and commercialized, then integrated into the company’s existing supply chain.

This, he said, will change the “dynamics of speed to market, pricing, costing and labor.”


MORE LIKE THIS

  • Get the CEO Briefing

    Sign up today to get weekly access to the latest issues affecting CEOs in every industry
  • upcoming events

    Roundtable

    Strategic Planning Workshop

    1:00 - 5:00 pm

    Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process

    Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:

    1. Lack of systematic approach (70%)
    2. Laundry lists without prioritization (68%)
    3. Decisions based on personalities rather than facts and information (65%)

     

    Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns.  They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning.  Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process.  This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented.  If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form.  The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    New York, NY: ​​​Chief Executive's Corporate Citizenship Awards 2017

    Women in Leadership Seminar and Peer Discussion

    2:00 - 5:00 pm

    Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations. 

    Limited space available.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $495 will be added to your total.

    Golf Outing

    10:30 - 5:00 pm
    General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
    Sponsored by UBS

    General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.

    The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $295 will be added to your total.