S&OP: The need for automation
S&OP continues to gain visibility among global manufacturing companies as a key process to drive improvements in revenue, profitability, customer service and competitive advantage. Unfortunately, many companies are confused about what it is and where it fits. Executive S&OP is focused on the medium to long term planning horizon based on product family volume versus SKU level unit mix. Engaging executive management in a monthly review for a 1-2 hour meeting requires a more aggregate level of planning to drive strategic level decisions around balancing supply and demand.
The types of decisions addressed in Executive S&OP are as follows:
– How much to increase or decrease plant capacity Should we add or delete operational shifts?
– Do we need to pursue alternative global sources of capacity?
– Does our pre-build inventory strategy support our needs looking out 3 quarters?
– What is the best timing for a major new product introduction?
– How does reducing our capacity by 25% impact Revenue and Margin?
Is it practical for executives to log onto an SAP or Oracle ERP, CRM, Demand Planning, Supply Chain Planning, or Business Intelligence application to get answers to the above questions? Do these applications provide the appropriate level of detail in one solution to support strategic level decisions?
Most enterprises do not have a single application with the appropriate level of detail to support Executive S&OP. The primary application used to support the process is desktop Excel, which has many short comings including: manual data consolidation, lack of security, limited version control…
Steelwedge Software (www.steelwedge.com) is purpose-built for Executive S&OP. The application is designed to consolidate data from multiple applications and provide multi-level aggregate views needed for cross functional collaboration and Executive level decisions. Companies that implement Steelwedge have a single application with built in workflow, user security, catalog management, excel user interface, and performance management.yes;”>While Executive S&OP has existed as a concept for many decades, for today’s complex, data-rich, highly collaborative global organizations, application-driven Executive S&OP is no longer a luxury but rather a necessity.
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