Efficient sales and operations planning is essential for an organization to meet its production targets and fulfill demand at all distribution sites. This requires the ability to quickly analyze the purchasing patterns of customers.
If a business has disorganized sales and operations planning, it is more likely to experience issues such as inaccurate forecasts, missed sales opportunities, excessive stock levels, and surplus inventory at various distribution sites. This flaw can have a negative impact on the overall performance of the business. Therefore, it is crucial for businesses to adopt efficient S&OP software for effective sales and operations planning to mitigate these problems.
S&OP, or sales and operations planning, is a comprehensive planning process that aims to synchronize demand, supply, and financial planning as part of a company’s overall master planning. Its purpose is to assist executives in making informed decisions by providing a workable and profitable material and financial plan.
Starting with a worldwide, consolidated demand estimate, the sales and operations plan evaluates the available supply of resources, such as machinery, personnel, and material capacity. Through this analysis and the presentation of various trade-offs, the executive team can grasp the decision criteria and agree on a plan that the company should pursue.
Sales and operations planning are crucial components of both strategic and tactical planning for a company. From a strategic standpoint, it provides valuable insights into potential shifts in demand for specific products or regions that can inform decisions related to expanding or reducing manufacturing capacity, adjusting the workforce, or managing suppliers over a longer period. On a more tactical level, the S&OP process generates a production plan that is approved by executives and utilized to develop a master schedule and material requirements plan.
AI and ML in S&OP
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology is becoming increasingly prevalent in supporting automatable decisions within the sales and operations planning process. For instance, machine learning algorithms can be utilized to forecast available capacity, thereby facilitating promotion planning. Similarly, such technology can be employed to swiftly detect and suggest that no changes are necessary for highly stable and well-established product planning, thus reducing the time spent on analysis.
IoT technology has the potential to enhance the efficacy of sales and operations planning in various emerging supply chain management applications. By employing IoT, executives can leverage predictive maintenance to gain insights into the reasons behind the deployment and withdrawal of capacity and formulate contingency plans to ensure continuity.
By integrating advanced analytics solutions with supply chain execution in logistics, manufacturing, and order management, a greater volume of data is available to supply chain managers, enabling them to make more informed decisions related to performance-to-plan criteria. As a result, decision latency is reduced, eliminating the need to wait for the next S&OP planning cycle to make adjustments.
Steps in S&OP Process
1. Data Collection: The initial gathering in the sales and operations planning process aims to gather information for an accurate estimation of the future. During this meeting, future forecasts are assessed by analyzing historical sales data and industry trends.
2. Demand Planning: The successful completion of this phase necessitates cooperation among multiple departments. Drawing on the information gathered in the previous stage, sales, operations, marketing, and other executives collaborate to adjust inventory levels, marketing and sales strategies, and customer service protocols.
3. Production Planning: Subsequently, the leadership of the organization evaluates the effectiveness of their supply chain by appraising the adequacy of the current configuration, which encompasses personnel, equipment, suppliers, and other related factors, in relation to their anticipated requirements. The decision reached this stage is utilized to establish a supply strategy.
4. Pre-SOP Meeting: During this stage of the S&OP process, leadership professionals from diverse departments convene, collaborate, and evaluate the financial ramifications of the anticipated demand planning and supply planning.
5. Exec S&OP Meeting: Following that, executives from sales, operations, marketing, and finance convene once again to review all the information gathered and develop a viable plan for executing the sales operation.
6. Finalize and Implement S&OP: After being developed and authorized, the sales and operations planning is put into action and evaluated for its effectiveness.
By conducting each of the meetings outlined above, your company can effectively execute a prosperous sales and operations plan.
Best Practices of Sales and Operation Planning
Involvement of executive in S&OP
To ensure a successful sales and operations planning process, having clear direction and guidance is crucial. Executive leaders, including the CEO, general manager, and business owners, should be present in every meeting. A designated leader is necessary to ensure that all departmental discussions are taken into consideration, and any disputes between department heads are resolved respectfully.
Make it Simple
Keeping the planning of sales and operations simple, especially in terms of key performance indicators (KPIs), is crucial. Having too many metrics can create confusion and hinder the creation of a straightforward and feasible plan. The primary goals of the sales and operations planning process are to forecast future sales and establish an efficient plan to meet those sales.
Documentation
To ensure the effectiveness of the sales and operations planning process, it should be documented as a continuous procedure. Past sales records should be examined to identify patterns and trends in demand, which can inform future planning decisions. Therefore, having a comprehensive report on previous sales is crucial for learning from them.
Cross-functional alignment
To achieve success with the sales and operations planning approach, collaboration and cross-functional alignment are essential. The involvement of each department leader is necessary for the organization to prosper. Taking input from each department head into account is crucial. Working with other teams will help achieve the objectives faster.
About the Company
Fountain9 offers robust S&Op Software that enables retail and direct-to-consumer businesses to set their objectives using a combination of human ability and automation. The AI-powered S&OP software, helps in real-time collaboration with multiple departments to determine production plans, promotions & pricing strategy by offering insightful analytical knowledge. Companies may swiftly improve their performance by integrating data and tactics from the finance, sales, production, supply chain, and marketing departments. It also helps companies maintain well-stocked inventories with high availability to meet customer demand. You can use the software to continuously check inventory levels for thousands of SKUs of goods and automate replenishment orders in response to changes in demand.