Perspectives on Sales & Operations Planning

Thirsty Horses and S&OP

If you had the perfect S&OP tool, would you use it?

I recently presented at the Demand and Sales Forecasting Forum at the University of Tennessee. More evident than ever, Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) has become the number one topic of discussion. The S&OP discussion typically touches these three areas:
1. Tools
2. Training
3. Adoption

An executive once said to me, “what’s tough about adoption? Just tell them they have to do it!” While top level executive support is crucial, dictating collaboration is like mandating world peace.

There’s an old idiom, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” When it comes to S&OP, having the right tools and training is not enough. Users must welcome the change as an improvement for the company, their department or themselves.

Selecting the right collaborative planning solution is critical. Steelwedge has been the market leader for years and understands that the tool alone is not sufficient. Users must be trained in both the use of the tool and how it fits in their process. Too often, new tools and training are abandoned by users because they did not adopt the tool as an integral part of their process. And why did they resist the tool? It was either too complex or not complex enough. Yes Goldilocks, the bed was too hard AND too soft! The paradoxical answer is that the tool must be BOTH simple and powerful.

Herein lies the true challenge of S&OP. Cross-functional collaboration. How do you get disparate groups of individuals to agree on the tools and processes necessary to drive successful S&OP? The answer varies for each organization. Yet, we see repeatedly that organizations must:
1. Define effective and efficient collaborative processes
2. Select tools that support simplicity and complexity of varied participant needs
3. Provide essential education and training
4. Support individual growth and participation
5. Monitor performance and usage

S&OP champions are thirsty for participation from all organization levels and departments. S&OP participants are looking to lessen their loads and achieve their objectives. In the end, the S&OP champion will get participation when participants see the S&OP process as time well spent.

Will participants drink from the S&OP trough? Yes, if they’re thirsty!

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Tags: collaborative S&OP, Demand Forecasting, S&OP, sales and operations planning, steelwedge, steelwedge software