Sales and Operations Planning

We increase your forecast quality and delivery reliability.


Services in the area of supply chain
Services in the area of supply chain

Optimal alignment of supply chain networks

Improved planning and higher delivery reliability through coordinated sales & operations planning

End-to-end operational planning – Sales & Operations Planning – is required to control and target complex supply chain networks.

Against the backdrop of ever greater fluctuations in sales and procurement markets, delivery reliability with simultaneous cost efficiency cannot be maintained without overarching planning. We help you to introduce and implement an S&OP concept.

S&OP Tools and Software

Consulting

If the S&OP processes are successfully implemented, the sales data is compared with the production data on a rolling basis. There are various approaches to supporting this process via software. We will be happy to provide you with independent advice on the current solutions on the market.

What are the reasons to get involved with Sales & Operations Planning?

Supply Chain Excellence encompasses the active development and coordination of stable and agile supply chains along the entire value chain stages of a product or service.

The goal is to improve the long-term performance of individual companies and the entire supply chain, as well as to achieve value-added benefits.

Supply chain management has increasingly come into focus due to the tendency to concentrate on core competencies and reduce vertical integration. This has led to an increasing number of supply segments based on division of labor, which have to be coordinated and controlled.

What is our understanding?

Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) is a holistic process for corporate management across departments and locations. The result is a binding production and delivery plan coordinated with all areas. The planning frequency and planning horizon depend on the specifics of the industry. Short product life cycles and high demand volatility require tighter S&OP than products with constant consumption. When successfully implemented, the S&OP process also enables effective supply chain management.

S&OP can be pursued through three levels: operational, tactical, and strategic. An exchange of information, decisions and data takes place between these levels.

We support you in the development of an individual S&OP concept

  • Conceptual design of an individual S&OP process
  • Introduction and piloting taking into account the process-related and organizational framework conditions
  • Digital transformation of S&OP and digital interfaces
  • Vendor-independent software selection and implementation

Factors of success

What are the biggest advantages of a functioning S&OP?

  • A higher delivery reliability with simultaneously lower finished goods inventories for make-to-stock companies
  • A higher delivery reliability with simultaneously lower backlogs and shorter delivery times for make-to-order companies
  • More stable production rates and less overtime, resulting in higher productivity
  • Increased visibility of future capacity issues
  • Improved cooperation between the responsible areas (sales, operations, controlling, product development)
  • Regular and joint updating of planning results in a consistent, improved and more reliable forecast.

S&OP

Take away

S&OP’s digital transformation is critical to targeting and impact. Cross-departmental analysis and digital reporting then lead to a coordinated production and delivery plan.