Story
A man was walking with his four year old daughter. The girl was full of energy, her attention easily caught by many interesting street activities. The father instructed the girl to stay on the sidewalk. After the girl repeatedly roamed off the sidewalk, the father became quite stern, scolded the child and demanded that she follow his instruction. The girl, tears in her eyes, turned to her father and asked, “what’s a sidewalk?”
Clear Expectations
Do the members of your organization really understand what is Sales and Operations Planning? Do they have the tools needed to efficiently and effectively run S&OP?
The Strategic Se
rvices team at Steelwedge Software has experience with a wide range of companies. Some companies say they have an S&OP process but it may consist of a Sales forecast thrown over the wall to Operations. Others say they do not have an S&OP process yet they have many elements that make up the foundation of successful S&OP.
Top 10
Here are the top 10 most critical elements we see in building a productive S&OP process.
10. Cadence – Defined monthly process with consistent participation
9. Top Management Support – Executives mold, participate and highlight importance of process. Executives should refrain from dictating the process and expected outputs.
8. Product Lifecycle Management – New product and end of life modeling; timely visibility to new product launch dates and resource implications
7. Performance Measurement – feedback loop enabling continuous improvement
6. Analysis – Using resource time for analysis rather than data gathering and manipulation
5. Easy access to critical information – one repository with frequent updates and quick access
4. Units and Dollars – Aligned unit and revenue projections; agreement on unit of measure conversion method
3. Tool Enabled Collaboration – a forecasting and planning platform that allows individuals to see exactly what they need while contributing to the consensus driven process
2. Collaboration – a willingness to place organization goals ahead of personal goals
1. Clear Expectations – clearly defined objectives, roles and responsibilities
How does your organization stack up? Do S&OP participants know what’s expected? Do they really understand what is a sidewalk?
