Steelwedge Software

Steelwedge Software


S&OP Beyond the Basics: Q&A Part 2

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 01:37 PM PST

As part of our commitment to drive engaging dialogue in the industry around the best and 'next' practices, Steelwedge recently teamed up with Sales & Operations Planning expert Tom Wallace to host a webinar. 'Taking S&OP to the Next Level' is based on the new book, Sales and Operations Planning: Beyond the Basics. You can watch a recording of the webinar here if you missed the live event. Given that S&OP is a top priority for companies to tackle volatility, the Steelwedge webinar drew a huge attendance and just as many questions! Due to time constraints, our experts couldn't answer all of them. In this blog post, Tom Wallace answers some key questions from his perspective. Q. Is S&OP ideal for large organizations which have their own manufacturing, inventory & products? Is S&OP applicable to a service company? Yes to both. Some of the most successful users of S&OP are large organizations with manufacturing, inventory and product: BASF, the largest chemical company in the world; Procter & Gamble, the largest consumer packaged goods company; and Staples, a very large on-line retailer. S&OP has been shown to work well in organizations that don't make physical products as well: banks, central engineering staffs, IT departments and the like. Q. Should the same forecast drive both manufacturing and profit and loss? Absolutely. The forecast, once authorized, becomes the one and only one statement of future demand. Only with this can you achieve a "one-number process," which means running the business internally with one set of numbers. Q. How do you balance continuous improvement to the S&OP process against over-engineering the process? Listen to the people actually using the process, including senior management. The best way I know to drive continuous improvement is, at the end of each…

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