As the owner of a sustaining S&OP process, it is my role to hold steady our organization’s operational values in the wake of changes such as these. To maintain process stability, I often train coworkers when they transition into their new S&OP roles. ......Read More

The best supply chain managers are also effective negotiators. Sure, negotiation skills are essential to purchasing — but they also play an important role in inventory management and transportation and logistics. Interestingly, some of the most essential negotiation skills also happen to be displayed each week on those reality TV shows about world-famous pawn shops. If you’re unfamiliar, basically, the programs depict a pawn shop staff’s interactions with customers, who bring in a variety of artifacts. Viewers watch as the players haggle over price and debate each piece’s historical background.......Read More

The demand consensus meeting is one of the most important steps in sales and operations planning (S&OP), with the resultant demand plan serving as a critical input for all other S&OP process meetings. Without a demand plan as a starting point, not much else can happen in the cycle. There would be no supply and demand balancing exercise, plan valuation, or scenario planning. In fact, when I worked as an S&OP consultant, the demand consensus meeting was the only S&OP process element universally employed at every company I encountered. Some of them also conducted supply review meetings, and a few held formal portfolio review meetings. But every single one had a consensus meeting.......Read More

I am currently shopping for software. No doubt many of you just cringed at those words — and your empathy is appreciated, but I really am excited to be leading this effort. It’s not often that supply chain management professionals get to choose and implement a new, high-impact suite of supply chain planning software that will advance the global sales and operations planning (S&OP) process.......Read More

Increasingly, company executives are viewing supply chain functions as critical to business success. This shift has driven initiatives across organizations that aim to improve performance, lead to more effective decision-making processes, and balance and align supply and demand. ......Read More

Spanish clothing and accessories retailer Zara has been mentioned in this department frequently in the past few years. The company is famous for being able to receive an idea from a retail store manager and, as little as two weeks later, have the new product available for purchase. This continuous flow of new designs — rather than characteristic seasonal releases — is transforming the fast-fashion industry.......Read More

One of my master planners recently asked me: “Are lean and six sigma supportive of each other? And how do they work within a sales and operations planning (S&OP) process model?” Despite its thorny nature, I loved the inquiry.......Read More

Many years ago, when I was an automotive industry plant materials manager, I faced a big challenge. My company’s enterprise resources planning (ERP) system was failing us miserably with regard to our expendable packaging. Although we had initially been very successful at implementing a fully integrated ERP system driven by forecasts, material requirements planning and bills of material, it was discovered that pallets, corrugated boxes, dunnage and other packaging items were essentially impossible to plan for.......Read More

White Plains, New York-based personal care company Combe is fresh off the battlefield of the recent launch of its first consumer-facing omnichannel portal for the Just for Men hair care product line. The following case study highlights the major challenges, strategies and lessons learned, particularly with regard to the company's S&OP process.......Read More

Integrated business planning (IBP) transformation has become a strategic mandate at many of today’s most successful companies. IBP is a best-practice model that extends the principles of sales and operations planning to delivery a seamless management process.......Read More

A properly conducted exercise using QFD enables businesses to determine the degree of product customization required, the necessary lead time, feature and function combinations, the degree of integration and other differentiators needed, and more key information about potential products and services......Read More

You can’t predict the future. However, you still can—and definitely should—forecast. Even though reality often varies from the forecast, the variation usually is very slight, so only modest adjustments are required. This means that your plans need to be good, not perfect.......Read More

At a recent APICS event, I unwittingly walked into a debate about the duration of a typical sales and operations planning (S&OP) implementation. Apparently, some of the conference participants had heard conflicting information from speakers—as well as colleagues and peers—about the correct duration. Viewpoints ranged from a 90-day focused implementation to a two-or-three-year gradual implementation to the catchall “you are never done implementing S&OP” philosophy.......Read More

Delivering value to your customers hinges on the end-to-end, interdependent supply chain. The scope of this network includes some elements that you command, but it also demands reliance on partner organizations that extend far beyond your direct control. ......Read More

Early in my career, I was given some arm-around-the shoulder advice by a mentor. He said, simply, “Question everything.” When I asked what he meant, he smiled and responded, “You’re learning.”......Read More

I look forward to APICS magazine’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) issue every year. It’s a chance to write about the practical aspects of my two professional passions: supply chain sustainability and sales and operations planning (S&OP).......Read More

More and more, companies that used to treat capacity tactically are beginning to view it as a fundamental business strategy. When determining how to best approach capacity, there are three basic strategies to consider.......Read More

My inspiration for the “Sales and Operations Planning” (S&OP) department often comes from questions asked by coworkers over lunch or dinner, industry colleagues at a conference, or LinkedIn contacts. When a topic achieves a critical mass, I will send myself an email containing a few thoughts and file them in a folder aptly named “Future Articles.” Interestingly, the question people pose most often does not concern any of the more challenging mysteries of the S&OP universe. Instead, it focuses on a very narrow, yet very pragmatic, topic: What does a typical S&OP meeting agenda look like?......Read More

Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) has 28 locations worldwide producing weapons, sensors, and integration tools that support mission-critical areas including air and missile defense; land- and sea-based radar; naval ship operating systems; command, control, communication, computer, surveillance, reconnaissance, and intelligence systems; and other advanced technologies. In addition, IDS offers air traffic management solutions, sonars, and torpedoes.......Read More

I have spent a large part of my career helping business leaders derive greater value from their supply chain operations. Whether working as an operations analyst, a manufacturing systems consultant, a director of supply chain planning, or a sales and operations planning (S&OP) process lead, I have enjoyed improving the operations of clients and employers alike.......Read More