At A Glance: Spalding is the oldest, full-time sporting goods company in the United States. For 100 years, beginning in 1876, Spalding manufactured the official baseballs used exclusively by the Major Leagues. Spalding is also the official basketball of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Spalding and the NBA have had an excellent relationship since 1983. Spalding is determined to continue as the leader in innovations in the sporting goods industry, development programs in the business. Spalding believes that to remain successful in the sporting goods industry it’s essential to deliver consistent quality to remain ahead of the competition.

The Client’s Challenge: Spalding World Wide Sports was also a leader in the Golf Industry. They were so successful that Golf became two thirds of their business and it was decided to spin that off into what became the Top-Flite Company. The inflated ball portion retained the Spalding name and in May of 2003 was acquired by the Russell Athletic Company. The “New” Spalding division was now faced with implementing a demand planning solution. The Director of Demand Planning and Inventory Management, Tim Bishop, had several options to choose from. He could continue to use the same solution that had been in place at Spalding Worldwide or he could adopt the system the new parent company had for sales forecasting and demand planning.