• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • BLOG
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » You Need Sales & Operations Planning for Alignment and Agility

You Need Sales & Operations Planning for Alignment and Agility

JanFeb2014_CoverArt_48.gif
March 14, 2014
SupplyChainBrain

Sales and operations planning processes are now in their fourth decade of maturity. The processes are growing more complex. Progress is being made slowly. Process maturity matters. In our research, we find that companies with S&OP maturity have 2X the level of agility and alignment. As we enter into 2014, S&OP will grow in importance with more and more solutions emerging to support the evolving processes.

Sales and operations planning aligns and connects the functions of the company. It is one of four horizontal processes that are essential to becoming market driven and building effective value networks. The other, complementary processes are revenue management, supplier development and corporate social responsibility. In mature organizations, these four processes form the fabric for decision making for the end-to-end supply chain.

Unfortunately, in many organizations, the term supply chain is a "politically-charged word."  When supply chain is defined as a function versus an end-to-end process, there is an endless debate on the role of supply chain in driving S&OP excellence. S&OP helps guide organizations in an uncertain world. It enables the visualization of risk and yields a cross-functional understanding of opportunities. When respondents were asked about their individual "pain" in the management of S&OP processes, demand and supply volatility tops the list. Globally, organizations are struggling with how to align to improve reliability of business results in the face of increased market volatility in both channels and supply. S&OP helps.

To drive maturity, the process must be carefully architected with the goal in mind. Most organizations are not conscious of the choices and the nuances of the process evolution.

The maturity of an S&OP Process can easily be easily determined by answering five questions:

• What is the S&OP goal?

• How is balance achieved between demand and supply?

• How are decisions made?

• How does the organization measure success?

• How is S&OP planning tied to execution?

In the evolution of S&OP technologies we see three trends emerging:

• Cloud-based Technologies: Line of business users favors cloud-based solutions to visualize the output of the multiple S&OP processes. This is a trend that we expect to continue.

• Advanced forms of Analytics: The solutions to use deeper analytics to understand the probability of demand and supply. It is about much more than tight integration of a set of numbers.

• Collaborative Workflows: Social technologies are being adopted into enterprise solutions. One of the first places for adoption is in S&OP processes.

                                              The Outlook

Today, we do not have your father's S&OP processes. It has changed. The processes have risen in importance with new forms of analytics emerging to support growing complexity. This is a good thing that should be embraced by organizations. It is worth wading through the myriad of technology options to drive differentiation.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Technology Cloud & On-Demand Systems Sales & Operations Planning Forecasting & Demand Planning Consumer Packaged Goods
KEYWORDS CEO and Founder Cloud Cloud, SaaS & On-Demand Systems collaboration consumer packaged goods Demand Planning forecast accuracy Forecasting & Demand Planning Lora Cecere S&OP Sales & Operations Planning Supply Chain Insights supply chain management: sales and operations planning Technology
  • Related Articles

    Intro to Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP): Discover the 7 Critical Factors for Driving Collaboration and Organizational Alignment

    Taking S&OP Out of ERP - Turning to Cloud-based Technology for Sales and Operations Planning

SupplyChainBrain

100 Great Supply Chain Partners Issue 2009

More from this author

Get regular updates!
Subscribe to our newsletter

Enjoy curated articles directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • 1209_themarketforlogistics

    How an Investment Banker Views the Market for Logistics and Supply-Chain Tech

    Technology
  • 1115_chinarareearthminerals

    Podcast | Can China’s Monopoly on Rare Earth Minerals Be Broken?

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • 1206_howglobaltradersplan

    Podcast | How Global Traders Can ‘Plan for Crazy’

    Global Trade Management
  • 1210_cultureoffeargripsups

    ‘Culture of Fear’ Grips UPS: Workers Say Injuries Are Underreported

    Logistics
  • 1125_themodernfactory

    The ‘Modern’ Factory Remains a Dream for Many Manufacturers

    Technology

Digital Edition

55746

Subscribe today and receive the latest issue

Start Your Subscription

Case Studies

  • Energy Storage Company Saves $50 Million With Demand Planning

  • Locus Robotics Helps E-Retailer Deliver During Holiday Peak

  • Manufacturer Slashes Shipping Costs With AI Packaging Solution

  • Apparel Retailer Saves $45 Million With Reverse Logistics Solution

  • QuestaWeb Configures Fragrance Company’s Complex Procedures Into Its Advanced FTZ Software

Visit Our Sponsors

  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • Webinars
  • The Magazine
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • Resources
    • Newsletters
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us

All content copyright © 2016 - 2018 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing