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Operations

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
S&OPOperations

Order Control Gone Haywire: A Hilarious Guide to managing orders during a constrained supply situation

One of the challenges in the Integrated business planning (IBP) process is aligning the outcome of the monthly IBP process with the short-term tactical horizon.  It happens like this:  The demand review from the commercial team provides an unconstrained demand plan.  Supply Chain review responds with their known constraints that cannot be overcome, it is decided that the commercial team is then forced to constrain the demand plan and then supply chain is able to develop a supply plan that is both realistic and achievable.  The process works great! Right?  But not so fast, the customer, aware that there is…
Debbie Evans
July 12, 2023
BusinessIntegrated Business PlanningOperations

The Importance of Capable People in the IBP Process

Integrated business planning facilitates a systemic cadence that enables leadership to make the appropriate business decisions to achieve their long-term ambitions.   This is accomplished by aligning plans, understanding assumptions, evaluating opportunities and vulnerabilities, and perpetually reviewing the different scenarios for optimization.  Too often during an IBP implementation, the process is focused on establishing the various reviews centered on the mechanics of the process rather than the intent.  The process itself will not yield the desired results for the business, it is dependent on the right capability of the people to be thoughtful about what is important for discussions.  Consider…
Debbie Evans
September 24, 2020