Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) aims to balance supply and demand, minimising the inherent variability within the system and the likely financial impact.
The S&OP is a managerial process for business planning, measurement and management, which ignites cross-functional communications and enables effective decision-making. This is based around a dedicated team that must be representative of all relevant organisational functions and be supported at a senior level.
There are five guiding S&OP principles which drive effective business planning, focus performance measurement and enable efficient business management:
- Integrated: All functions are aligned to critical business objectives
- Flexible and Dynamic: Plans and contingencies are based on marketplace realities
- Transparent and Visible: Processes, assumptions, issues and decisions are shared with the whole of the organisation
- Comprehensive and Focused: Metrics identify relevant issues, and are resolved on an exception basis
- Accountable and Self-Regulating: Ownerships are established to drive accountability and implementation
Forecasting is a fundamental piece of an advanced S&OP process, integrating supply and demand plans into a single operating plan for the company.
A rigorous S&OP process will enable improved coordination among Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, Distribution and Finance. In our experience this can be achieved with a 'learn by doing' approach which can drive early high-impact results, and includes the development and testing of customer requirements.
For more information, please contact us at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
