It’s budget time again (already!) and for many managers that means a mad scramble chore to get their inputs into the roll-up. “Where is last year’s budget?” “Let’s take that, apply some factor, and be done with it.” Maybe that works for a while, but how many years in a row can you get away […]
Tips for Launching Your S&OP Project
Okay – you and your decision makers have decided to take the plunge on S&OP. You know it’s the right thing to do, it’s going to help your company, everyone can feel it. So now what? It’s time to put your money where your mouth is and make it happen. Where do you start? […]
Sales & Operations Planning/Integrated Business Planning Isn’t Just For Manufacturing Companies Anymore
The terms Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), and Integrated Business Planning (IBP) are more and more becoming interchangeable. As S&OP has evolved to encompass more than just balancing supply and demand at an aggregate or product family level, the term IBP is becoming more widely used and is perhaps better suited to non-manufacturing environments. Hopefully […]
Five Ways to Excite Your Executive Team About S&OP
We’ve all heard that S&OP is an executive process, but how do you get their interest and support? By S&OP, I mean the monthly meeting flow that coordinates demand, supply, and financial planning to operationalize a company’s strategy. This process culminates with the Executive S&OP Review that is led by the company’s or business unit’s senior executive. […]
Designing an Effective Supply Chain Organization
Corporate events such as mergers, acquisitions, restructures, and performance improvement programs often bring about a need to examine how supply chain functions should be structured. At one extreme, and still prevalent in many organizations, supply chain duties are scattered throughout the company and have evolved due to the absence of a proactive design effort combined […]