Do your operations folk trust the sales team to provide a high quality forecast, one that can and should be used for operational planning? Does the sales team generate a sales forecast for which it wants to be held accountable? Or does one side second guess the second with finance left to pick up the pieces?
Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) is a supply chain tool that has been around for decades, but too few manufacturers use it well even today. If your business wants to increase alignment within and with outside customers and suppliers, S&OP is a great tool to do just that.
The process is solid in theory, and implementation in your organization can be challenging. Understand the how and why of the process and your implementation becomes easier and faster. The goal is one set of numbers that the entire organization accepts and acts upon. No more second guessing.
An effective S&OP process leads to improved performance in every area of the business.
If you are unfamiliar with the process, I encourage you to read an old book by two friends of mine, Bob Stahl and Tom Wallace: S&OP, the How-to Handbook. If you are familiar with the concept, but don’t know how to get started or how to make it actually work effectively in your business, reach out.
Rebecca Morgan
Fulcrum ConsultingWorks, Inc
www.fulcrumcwi.com
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