As the sales and operations planning (S&OP) leader, there are a few principal responsibilities: setting priorities, planning and executing your supply chain strategies, driving incremental improvements while quickly adapting to changing market and customer requirements, and linking changes in demand to changes in supply while keeping in mind the financial results. But that's just within the average day-to-day activity – it is also expected that advance changes in thinking and execution will be developed to help solve S&OP limitations.
How should companies approach the challenge of end-to-end transformation? What exactly does the process encompass? And what are the benefits of a successful initiative? Michael Albritton, director of AlixPartners, supplies the answers.
With a new year comes a renewed focus on inventory and how to manage it. All systems and aspects of the supply chain must match up with customer demands in the ever-present and evolving omnichannel environment. After all, customers can order goods from anywhere on any smart device, and their expectations are that they will pick up their goods, or have their merchandise delivered to any place – on their terms. People want quick results – or else they will find another outlet from which to shop.
Analyst Insight: When it comes to supply chain management, logistics has long been something of an afterthought. As companies look for more ways to win in the marketplace, and customers step up their demands for better service and delivery transparency, superior logistics is becoming a competitive differentiator. – Brett Cayot, Principal, PwC Advisory Practice; Sandra H Gosling, Director, PwC Advisory Practice; Thornton Hughes, Principal, Strategy&
Analyst Insight: Companies today face a wide range of security risks to their supply chains as well as to their sources of supply. In order to overcome vulnerabilities, they should have a deep understanding of their internal and external supply chains, and be able to quantify the likelihood and impact of security threats. – Glen Goldbach, Director, and Kelvin Harris, Director, PwC's Advisory Practice
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) represent a rapidly growing sector of the U.S. economy – creating 30 million new jobs, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Exporters benefit from even faster growth, create more jobs and pay higher wages. Yet SMEs, which account for 99 percent of U.S. businesses, represent a mere 13 percent of the total U.S. export value.
From new regulations to the growth in large-molecule temperature-sensitive products to the frequency of disruptions, healthcare companies are operating in a risk-inherent environment that is at the same time rich with new opportunities. There are favorable demographics on the horizon as populations age, become more affluent and expand in a diverse set of geographies. Meanwhile, the supply chain must stretch to accommodate new distribution channels, product specialization and innovation.
Richard Bank, director of the Sustainable Supply Chain Foundation, supplies an update on the organization's efforts to instill voluntary standards for sustainability in the warehouse, as well as other logistics processes.
Analyst Insight: When it comes to supply chain management, "Big Data" has generated more in the way of buzz than it has real benefit. Awash in a rising sea of data, companies still struggle to use it to make better decisions. - Brad Householder, Principal, PwC's Advisory practice; Anand Rao, Principal, PwC's Financial Services Advisory practice; Syed Mukhtar, Director, PwC's Operations practice