Integrated Business Planning

Let’s Rethink How We Manage Business

 

IBP is provocative, challenging, and, at times, contentious, yet the benefits are unquestionable. We have experience navigating the dynamics which impede IBP implementation in a variety of different businesses. This experience affords us the opportunity to help others take the concepts of IBP and provide pragmatic operational solutions, avoiding rabbit-holes, minefields, and some of the frustration associated with the deployment.  This site is created to provide online support, answer questions, and help others on their IBP implementation journey.

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Operations

Navigating the Complexities of S&OP: Beyond Demand Planning

In the realm of Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP), demand planning is often portrayed as the primary culprit when things go awry. It's easy to assume that inaccuracies in forecasting and demand projections are the root causes of S&OP process challenges. However, in reality, demand planning isn't always the problem. This article aims to shed light on why other factors within the S&OP process can also contribute significantly to its success or failure. Supply Chain Disruptions While demand planning focuses on forecasting customer demand, disruptions in the supply chain can derail even the most accurate demand predictions. Factors like natural…
Debbie Evans
September 21, 2023
Integrated Business Planning

Basics

IBP, Integrated Business Planning, the most wanted yet unwelcome process ever devised! In most circumstances, IBP enters the enterprise to resolve issues associated with supply and demand; demand plan bias, poor service levels, excessive inventory. In reality, many issues of supply are the manifestation of decisions made elsewhere in the business well before manufacturing and distribution are called upon. Ironically, it’s arguable the challenges thrust upon manufacturing and distribution by the broader business consume every ounce of resource, in doing so prevent Supply identifying and addressing deficiencies in their own operational capabilities. So here’s where the promises of IBP improving…
Kim Britton
September 21, 2020
Integration

Two Face of Demand Planning

In ancient Roman religion and myth, the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings was Janus. Janus symbolized change and transitions such as the progress of past to future, from one condition to another, and from one vision to another. He represented time, simultaneously looking into the past with one face and the future with the other. Why the lesson into Roman myths; demand planning performs a critical pivot regarding the connectivity and integration between the forward-looking commercial outlook of an enterprise and short term, detailed supply/production planning. Positioned at the 3-month horizon (nominative cumulative lead-time) the demand plan looks…
Kim Britton
October 20, 2020
Managment

Leadership Accountability

Supply chain leader and a market leader are sitting at a bar, looking somber and frustrated. Supply Chain Leader: "We need to figure out how to explain our nonperformance to leadership. Any ideas?" Market Leader: "Yeah, we need to come up with something convincing." The supply chain leader starts brainstorming, looking stressed. Supply Chain Leader: "Maybe we can say there were delays in the supply chain due to unforeseen circumstances?" Market Leader: "No, that won't work. We've already used that one before." The market leader takes a sip of their drink, looking pensive. Market Leader: "What about blaming it on…
Debbie Evans
April 9, 2023