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Business

man reading newspaper while sitting near table with smartphone and cupBusiness

Navigating the Acronyms: Understanding the Differences between S&OP, SIOP, and IBP

In the world of supply chain management, acronyms abound. Three of the most frequently used, and often confused, are S&OP, SIOP, and IBP. While they all share common objectives in optimizing business processes, they are distinct in their approaches and scopes. In this article, we will delve into the differences between S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning), SIOP (Sales, Inventory, Operations Planning), and IBP (Integrated Business Planning), shedding light on their unique characteristics and how they contribute to the success of an organization.  If you asked 10 people to describe the differences, you likely will get 10 different answers.  Here are…
Debbie Evans
September 24, 2023
Business

Navigating Success: How Integrated Business Planning Can Propel New Businesses to Prosperity

Starting a new business venture can be an exhilarating yet daunting journey. Entrepreneurs often wear multiple hats, juggling countless responsibilities while striving to achieve sustainable growth. In this dynamic and competitive landscape, the concept of Integrated Business Planning (IBP) is often thought of as something for more mature businesses, but nothing can be further from the truth.  IBP is the valuable compass that can steer new businesses toward success by aligning all functions towards those strategic growth ambitions. Understanding Integrated Business Planning At its core, Integrated Business Planning (IBP) is a holistic approach to business management that aligns various organizational…
Debbie Evans
September 4, 2023
pexels-photo-704767.jpegBusiness

Aligning Business Chaos with Integrated Business Planning

I have a business with a great product and tremendous opportunity with a great team, however I am concerned with our ability to achieve our aggressive growth targets. It seems like we have so many issues with just getting through the month on plan that I am concerned our longer-term goals just won’t happen.  Our current sales plans continue to decrease each month and yet supply chain backorders continue to increase.  My sales team is suggesting that revenue growth will turn around next quarter, but our supply chain continues to struggle with the current demand claiming that the forecast is…
Debbie Evans
May 31, 2023
Business

Monte Carlo Simulation in Supply Chain Management

Monte Carlo simulation is a statistical technique that involves generating random samples from probability distributions and using these samples to simulate a wide range of possible outcomes. In supply chain management, Monte Carlo simulation can be used to model various aspects of the supply chain, such as demand variability, lead times, and inventory levels. The following steps describe the Monte Carlo math in detail for supply chain management: Define probability distributions: The first step in Monte Carlo simulation is to define the probability distributions for the variables that are uncertain or variable. In supply chain management, these variables can include…
Sriram Parameswaran
May 7, 2023
BusinessIntegrated Business PlanningManagment

Outliers in Demand

Identifying outliers: The first step is to identify the outliers. This can be done manually or by using statistical methods. Some common methods for identifying outliers include: The interquartile range (IQR): The IQR is a measure of the spread of data. To calculate the IQR, first find the first and third quartiles of the data. The IQR is the difference between the third and first quartiles. Data points that are more than 1.5 times the IQR away from the nearest quartile are considered outliers. The z-score: The z-score is a measure of how far a data point is from the…
Sriram Parameswaran
May 3, 2023
Business

Integrated Business Planning for New Start-up businesses

Integrated Business Planning (IBP) is a comprehensive planning process that aligns business strategy with operational plans and financial forecasts. It is an essential tool for any business looking to achieve its goals and objectives. While IBP is often associated with established businesses, it can also benefit new start-up businesses. In this article, we will explore the benefits of integrated business planning for a new start-up business. Provides a framework for growth: IBP provides a framework for growth by aligning business strategy with operational plans and financial forecasts. This helps start-ups to identify areas of growth and to create a plan…
Debbie Evans
May 1, 2023
BusinessPlanning

Multi Echelon Inventory Optimization Models

Safety stock is a level of inventory that is held to protect against unexpected demand or delays in supply. It is an important part of inventory management, and it can help to prevent stockouts and lost sales. Multi-echelon inventory optimization is the process of determining the optimal level of safety stock to hold at each level of a supply chain. This can be a complex task, as it involves balancing the costs of carrying inventory with the costs of stockouts. There are a number of factors to consider when optimizing multi-echelon safety stock, including: The demand for the product The…
Sriram Parameswaran
May 1, 2023
BusinessPlanning

Why do machine learning algorithms need training data set before predictions?

Training data is a crucial component in the development of machine learning and data science algorithms. It serves as the foundation upon which models are built, and allows the algorithms to learn patterns, relationships, and rules that they can then use to make predictions or classify new data. In more technical terms, training data is used to train a machine learning model, which is essentially a mathematical function that maps input data to output data. During training, the algorithm iteratively adjusts the parameters of the model based on the input data and the desired output, so that it can make…
Sriram Parameswaran
April 26, 2023
Business

Why deploying Integrated Business Planning is so hard..

Conceptually, integrated business planning isn’t complicated to discern and as a result, many organizations readily take on this journey of enlightenment. This prospective planned utopia of enlightenment that provide a regular cadence for aligning plans between our product portfolio, commercial demand and supply chain that enables business leadership to orchestrate the necessary business decisions for the achievement of strategic growth over the long horizon.  How hard can it be, right?  Unfortunately, for those that have led an organization through such a journey, it is by far one of the most challenging roles to undertake and definitely not for the faint…
Debbie Evans
December 1, 2021
Business

Finance and Integrated Business Planning

The real value of integrated business planning (IBP) is the ability to establish credible plans that enable the business leadership to make the appropriate tactical and strategic decisions that aligns with the business’s ambitions over the long-term horizon.   To accomplish this, the IBP process requires transparency of bottom-up plans with credible assumptions that can be financialized that leadership trusts.   Unfortunately, integrating finance into the IBP process can be challenging for an array of reasons that often result in financial leaders becoming frustrated.  This frustration is recognized when you hear comments such as, “the business doesn’t know how to plan”, or…
Debbie Evans
June 1, 2021