IMPLEMENTING S&OP
Lack of a long-term action plan, which can be translated into tangible tasks, and the focus of individual company departments on fulfilling their own tasks, is the most common cause of problems in a company. An effective way to control deteriorating communication and internal conflicts of interest is through integrated planning, specifically one of its elements: the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process.
S&OP enforces a strict sequence of reviewing plans (from new implementations, through sales planning, production planning and inventory, to financial projections) and helps to base decisions not on opinions or intuitions, but on numbers and facts.
In many companies, S&OP is in place, but its operation significantly differs from best practices. One of the reasons for the inferior performance of the S&OP process is its incorrect implementation and misunderstanding of its essence.
How do you properly implement the S&OP process? We propose our method consisting of three steps, which include:
Step 1. SCM Training (Supply Chain Management)
Step 2. S&OP Workshop
Step 3. Implementation Workshops
Skills you will acquire:
- Implementation of business strategy
- Product grouping, production planning, and inventory management
- Verification of overloaded resources
- Ways to encourage employees to actively participate in S&OP
- Organizing planning processes to ensure rapid availability of a wide range of products
STEP 1. SCM TRAINING (SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT)
GOAL: ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE AND OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
The first step towards implementing changes is to make employees aware that we can achieve more with significantly less effort. During the SCM training, your team will learn, among other things:
- How the S&OP process can proactively plan for increased production capacity, ensuring demand seasonality is anticipated.
- The essence of integrated planning and the benefits it brings when executed effectively.
- How the S&OP process can translate the company's strategies into tangible actions.
The training will also provide a checklist that you and your team can use to assess the level of integrated planning in your company. This assessment will indicate the starting point for the modernization process.
After the training, select 2-3 of the most engaged individuals from your team to become process leaders and proceed to step 2.
STEP 2. S&OP WORKSHOP
GOAL: Understanding a proven method for building the S&OP process
The workshop serves as an excellent introduction to building the S&OP process in your company. During the session, participants will engage in all three stages of implementing Sales & Operations Planning, including practicing:
- Effectively forecasting and assessing the maturity of the S&OP process to visualize a common goal and understand mutual dependencies (the first stage of S&OP implementation).
- Preparing for S&OP meetings to maximize their effectivenessP (the second stage of S&OP implementation).
- Preparing for unexpected events and efficiently adjusting or improving schedules to align with company needs.
Reach out to us to tailor a workshop program perfectly suited to your company's needs.
STEP 3. S&OP IMPLEMENTATION WORKSHOPS
GOAL: Understanding the practical side of S&OP implementation
The workshop is a pivotal moment where our consultant steers your team through each step of the process. From product grouping and defining units of measure to crafting production and inventory plans, every aspect is carefully examined. We delve into critical questions: Can we rely on the forecast? How do we flag demand-related risks? Which resources are overstretched? What is the financial outlook? Are we on track with our goals? And, what steps are needed to align the process with true S&OP principles?
The workshop concludes by outlining a plan of action, serving as the foundation for subsequent coaching sessions. In these sessions, an MPM consultant meticulously monitors the implementation of tasks devised during the workshop and ensures that S&OP is progressing as a cohesive mechanism for strategy implementation.
If you require personalized coaching support, individual coaching sessions are available as an option.
Curious about whether this approach aligns with your company's needs?