How to Execute a Successful Sales & Operations Planning Process

Learn how 20-year Demand Solutions Sales & Operations Planning (DS S&OP) user has experienced success with the process and the software. Process will reduce inventory, increase fill rates and establish good communication throughout the company.
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Most companies have some kind of a sales planning process and some kind of a requirements planning process and most of the time that comes together in the middle of the month in this famous meeting we all call a sales meeting where everyone points fingers at one another and no one really understands what’s happening with the business. The real goal of having a sales and operations planning process in place is that on a regular basis you bring executive level people together to discuss the business, the sales plan, profitability and the inventory plans and by discussing and agreeing on a single number the company is able to move forward in a single direction and achieve the business results that are required. While companies are very busy on a day to day basis dealing with issues, a lot of those issues are only needing to be dealt with because they haven’t done a good job with the long term planning of the company. By putting in place a Sales and Operations Planning process the inventory issues, the lack of sales, or the excess sales are all discussed and agreed with at management level, then the company puts plans in place to resolve those issues before they become major problems. The second key part of the time savings that is the result of a Sales and Operations Planning process is that most companies start in October and probably spend three months trying to pull together a budget, if an S&OP process is in place on a month in and month out basis then all that extra …