Storytelling

I am adding pictures here.

In front of Feng Tay factory, (left to right)
CH Wang, Ron Nelson, Phil Knight, Steve Bence, Del Hayes

The year 1978 was a turning point for Nike manufacturing.

“Our factories in Taiwan and Korea are humming along,” Phil said at the time. “Industry watchers point to our new factories, and our sales, and say we are unstoppable.” Phil and his leadership were delighted with how everything was going.

When I arrived in Taiwan, I knew we had to focus on price, quality, delivery—and we did. But the job got bigger and the focus grew to Price, Quality, Delivery with capital letters. Solving problems required tracking down root-cause issues that led us to negotiating contracts with shipping companies, more engagement with key raw material suppliers, and a deeper understanding of the key drivers of cost in a pair of shoes.

We met with government officials, expanded the product development capability, shifted away from quality inspection to a quality audit, and searched for new factories to handle our growth.

Nike had only been in Taiwan for about three years. It was apparent that the country was quickly developing as a nation. Local labor was moving to more advanced products, and within five to ten years—just as happened in Japan—footwear manufacturing would have to move from Taiwan to other countries as well.

There was plenty of work to do; Woody and I divided up the responsibilities.

“There’s no play book,” I told Woody. “We’ve got to figure this out as we go.”