ARMONK N.Y. and Beijing July 9, 2020: Anta Group, a multi-brand sporting goods group specializing in the design, production and sale of sports equipment, has launched a group wide digital platform based on SAP S/4HANA®. Designed and deployed by IBM Services (NYSE: IBM), the new platform integrates data management from brand sales, production management, supply chain and logistics to group finance.

This initial step in Anta Group’s digital transformation to full intelligent workflows was completed in January 2020 and has allowed the group to more quickly adjust its retail operations by switching to promoting sales through online channels during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anta has always been focused on the consumer-centric value segment, rapidly developing new brands and business models to meet the evolving needs of its customers. As a result, the company has grown quickly in the past few years, and with this growth, came the need to upgrade to a group-level management platform to help the business run more efficiently across its business chain of ordering, supply, production and sales. Implementation of SAP S/4HANA is powering the modernization of these processes with the delivery of data driven insight and the company leadership now has a single view of current data from brand sales and supply chain through to shoe and clothing production information to ensure that production and sales are optimized.

In addition, the platform assists the supply chain to place orders through automatic calculation of sales delivery, supply chain delivery, and online feedback mechanisms, helping efficiency increase by more than 80% and reducing delivery times which has further fueled business growth.

To increase data insights and intelligent decision-making, IBM Services helped Anta to integrate various data flows from retail stores, multi-brand products, different channels, customers, suppliers and financial centers. Integrating this data into one platform helps the management of the group's business and finances which can help Anta to settle accounts quickly and issue business analysis reports for different entities as well as displaying the overall picture of the operation.

Ding Shizhong, chairman and CEO Anta Group said, "In the digital age, the best way to win and gain customer loyalty is to establish the most trustworthy and best quality in the market. Anta has always been committed to using technology to promote the core change of management. As we look to the future to drive more direct to consumer interaction, we’re using data insights and will use AI and automation to make our workflows more intelligent in order to meet and exceed consumer preferences as they continue to evolve.”

Stephen Laughlin, General Manager, Global Consumer Industry, IBM said, "The creation of the new digital platform has helped improve efficiency in product distribution and can shorten decision time for product replenishment across the Anta Group. It can also lay a solid foundation for Anta's next phase of digital transformation on their path to become a cognitive enterprise and to further support multi-brand, omni-channel and global development.”

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About Anta Group
Anta Group is a comprehensive, multi-brand sporting goods group specializing in the design, production and sale of sports equipment, accessories and other sports equipment. The company was founded in 1991 and was listed in Hong Kong in 2007. In 2019, Anta Group's revenue was nearly 34 billion yuan, an increase of 40.8% year-on-year. It was the best performance in its history and has maintained rapid growth for six consecutive years. After nearly 30 years of development, Anta Group has transformed from a traditional private enterprise into a public company with a modern governance structure and international competitiveness. Since 2015, Anta Group has been China's largest sporting goods group, with a market value exceeding 200 billion Hong Kong dollars in October 2019. In December 2019, Anta Group's global retail center landed in Shanghai, taking an important step towards globalization.

Contact:

Ken Saunders
IBM Media Relations
SAUNDKEN@uk.ibm.com