As the world grapples this month with the ripples from Europe’s debt crisis, the political turmoil in the Middle East, and the flooding in Asia, companies can’t ignore the imperative to plan for all those scenarios they’d never want to plan for. But have you?

What used to be an annual spreadsheet event is no longer an option for global businesses that have to navigate and course correct for the daily onslaught of economic, political and environmental events that could derail the best laid plans.

Supply chain complexity is multiplying as businesses become more global and interconnected. To remain competitive, organizations are changing how they source , sell and develop products. The rate of product obsolescence in consumer electronics market alone puts business agility to the test. Add to that the disruption and risk that is part of the volatile global marketplace, and business leaders recognize that the “new normal” is likely nothing like last year…or even last month. Agility is imperative; and it is keeping business leaders up at night.

Next week, On December 7th, I look forward to leading a discussion at the Supply Chain and Logistics Summit in Dallas in a workshop I will be presenting there: “S&OP: Enabling Agility and Flexibility in a Global Organization.” Sales and Operations Planning is the ammunition companies require today to combat complexity, respond to market events faster and manage risks. In this session, we will look at how companies need to create an S&OP plan, ensure that it is executed well so that the desired business performance is obtained to gain profits. In other words, S&OP is not only about the strategy but also about how the strategy can be executed.

I hope to see you in Dallas at my session or at the Steelwedge booth ,#9, to…

I’m very pleased to announce that Steelwedge has reached an important milestone today in our growth as a company.  We’ve received a $16 million growth equity investment led by Mainsail Partners, accelerating our efforts to serve our rapidly expanding customer base while continuing to build breakthrough sales and operations planning (S&OP) and integrated business planning (IBP) products.

It was important to find an equity partner that could help us beyond simply providing capital.  Jason Payne and his Mainsail team have a strong track record helping “boot strapped” companies evolve into world-class companies.  They have a wealth of operational expertise working with next generation software providers and bring to bear an extensive network of technology professionals.

This investment will help us to facilitate global sales growth and ensure seamless support to our current portfolio of global customers. Our customers will have access to the leading edge technology, including an enhanced IBP platform. I’m especially pleased that Mainsail’s strategic vision complements our long-time goal of building best-in-class solutions that exceed the expectations of our customers.

Read the press release here: http://www.steelwedge.com/news/details.php?relid=109

In her post, “ENOUGH!”, Lora Cecere states that Integrated Business Planning (IBP) and Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) are in a “battle of acronyms” and that this “holy war cannot be won”. I agree, let’s not get stuck on names. At the same time, the S&OP/IBP debate is a happy consequence of the fact that S&OP remains a living organism that is maturing quickly. Firms like Oliver Wight and Aberdeen Group have lobbied for the adoption of the new term, IBP. The push to change the name is meant to highlight the importance of adding new elements to the S&OP equation such as demand sensing and steering, financial integration, robust modeling and scenario planning, and profitable demand and supply decision making.

At Steelwedge, we agree that IBP developments are fast becoming imperatives and that S&OP must not be viewed as a mere supply chain activity but as a strategic management process that considers all elements of the business across a 24-month planning horizon. In fact, by its current definition, many of our S&OP customers are enjoying the full benefits of best-in-class IBP with the help of our technology. Although we see IBP as a logical next step for many companies practicing S&OP, we remain focused on helping our clients design, automate and support processes that are the “right fit” for their business. Adherence to best practices and industry norms is important, but we recognize that some companies can meet their goals with entry-level S&OP while others operating in highly complex and competitive markets may require much more.

Despite the occasional confusion, we see the enthusiasm of business practitioners, consultants and technology providers as a hopeful indicator for long-term prospects of S&OP/IBP. Avoid the war and get on board with S&OP, IBP or whatever you want to call it!

Looking back over the year that was 2010, I jotted down several terms which struck me as interesting twists on some familiar terms.  Some of these twists were intentional mutations while others were totally unintentional.  My favorites tend to be of the unintended variety.  Here’s my Top 10 S&OP list of terms from 2010:

10.  Key Performance Medics:  Specially trained analysts who come to the rescue to turn around poor performance indicators

9.   Strategery:  a plan, approach, line of attack (very similar to strategy)

8.   Regression Forecasting:  Reverting to an earlier, more accurate forecast to give the impression of better forecasting

7.   Imperial Forecasting:  The ultimate Top Down forecast, dictated by the ruler of the kingdom

6.   Reactive demand shaping:  coming up with a marketing promotion during the month in which additional sales are needed rather than planning ahead as part of an overall strategy (or Strategery)

5.   Tough Luck Capacity Planning:  Similar to Rough Cut Capacity Planning; however, with Tough Luck, capacity is fixed so the supply plan drives the demand plan

4.   New Product Insanity:  The attempt to forecast new product launch dates

3.   Higher Keys:  Rooted in the data structure concept of hierarchies, this mutation is the idea that key groups are formed through aggregation

2.   Moving Adage Forecast:  A twist on moving average, continually changing forecast caused by management mood swings

And the number 1 term…

1.    Disaggravation:  The Steelwedge disaggregation functionality which enables users to enter forecasts at higher levels of aggregation, reducing the number entries and thus, reducing user aggravation.