Under Armour is focused on high quality-innovative performance athletic apparels. The products of Under Armour performance apparel have become the top choice for athletes to wear under their uniforms or during workouts to keep them cool and dry. Under Armour's mission is to empower athletes and “make them better through passion, design, and the relentless pursuit of innovation” (ua.com). This promise to increase athletic performance differentiates the company from other competing sports apparel companies such as Nike and Adidas. The founder of Under Armour, and former football player Kevin Plank, revolutionized the sports apparel industry by creating apparel that used synthetic materials that handled perspiration most efficiently. However, Under Armour did not stop there. Further research allowed Under Armour to create footwear, pants, hats, headbands, and other accessories in order to keep athletes cool, as well as special clothing that could keep athletes warm in colder climates. To understand what steps the organization has taken to help build them into a success, one must look at how they have targeted their consumer base and their overall operational strategy. Under Armour’s ability to target their products to a wide range of potential clients has enhanced their ability to continue to grow within the athletic marketplace. UA has the opportunity to market their products to official sport organizations. Providing their products on a professional level gives the company additional opportunities to increase their public exposure and increase their overall success. In order to keep up with competition and customer demands, UA is constantly focusing on quality and innovation. UA regularly upgrades its products as better performance characteristics become available and as the needs of athletes and targeted consumers change. It has grown from being small east-coast based company to a common household name nationwide. With only a few thousand employees, UA believes in quality over quantity when it comes to their employees as well. They hire only the best employees and train them well to ensure top research and development, not to mention top customer service. A solid research and development team has allowed for the innovation of new products to gain an advantage over their top competitors. Under Armour’s goal is to work as a cohesive unit where each department knows how it fits into the company’s larger picture. Within the supply chain, Chief Supply Chain Officer Jim Hardy says Under Armour has broken down barriers and put in lines of communication. Before he joined Under Armour, its’ supply chain was divided into different functions that reported to different leaders. Now it’s consolidated into one leader and they are able “to drive more integration” into the supply chain. They operate as one team with a common scorecard and common metrics. In doing so they are setting priority strategies to drive the supply chain to higher levels for performance and efficiency. By understanding the implications of the metrics, they are then able to predict success downstream in the supply chain. They are able to anticipate business needs and as a result can detect problems faster and sooner and this gives them enough time to react. Under Armour implemented Logility software to organize its planning system. (http://scw-mag.com/index.php/sections/manufacturing-retail/205-under-armour-inc) One of the strengths for Under Armour is the fact that the supply chain allows the company to give 12 to 18-month forecasts to third-party manufacturers who handle all of Under Armour’s