S&OP Archives | ToolsGroup

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How Supply Chain Planning Can Create Profit in a Declining Market

19 March 2019

When a business finds itself in a declining market, failing to stay in lock step with customer demand poses an existential threat. Trends and other market forces that impact commercial opportunities need to appear on the planning radar. Therefore, traditional[...]

9 October 2018

Can S&OP Become More Continuous? Automation is Key.

Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP), a process often focused around a monthly meeting, is evolving into a more continuous process. A recent whitepaper by supply chain planning and optimization firm Optilon explains why and how. S&OP is a process where decisions are traditionally made[...]

11 September 2018

Decoding the Language of S&OP

Since demand forecasting has developed many “personalities” over the decades, I recently wrote a blog that “decoded” the language of demand. That got me to thinking about decoding the language of Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) which, like demand forecasting,[...]

9 January 2018

Analysts Support a Single Model for Sales and Operations Planning

A new report from Nucleus Research, Value Drivers of Single Model S&OP, concludes that the historical disconnect between planning and execution in Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) is best bridged by a single unified data model that allows companies to[...]

11 July 2017

Avoid “Lost in Translation”. Monetize S&OP to Include Finance.

Finance speaks a different language than supply chain. But by monetizing Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), supply chain planners can speak the language of finance while developing S&OP into a more mature process. In its report Partner with Finance to Monetize the[...]

27 June 2017

Gartner says “Add S&OP to your Financial Planning”. Here’s Why.

“Based on our research, every organization which aligns top-down financial plans with bottom-up demand plans, as part of their S&OP, sees an improvement in the accuracy and predictability of their financial forecast.” - Matthew Spooner, Research Director at Gartner In Real[...]

10 May 2017

Gartner Releases a New S&OP Magic Quadrant

Gartner Research just released its new Magic Quadrant for Sales & Operations Planning Systems of Differentiation (S&OP SOD). They say that compared to just two years ago “there have been significant shifts in the relative positions of several vendors.” Gartner says that the[...]

22 March 2017

Why S&OP Needs In-Memory Computing

Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) or Integrated Business Planning (IBP) has a problem, and in-memory computing offers an answer. Gartner says that, “The No.1 challenge among manufacturing companies is connecting S&OP to operational plan/execution.” There is a disconnect between: financial[...]

7 February 2017

A Nobel Prize-Winning Economist’s Four Steps to Minimize Forecast Bias

A problem with Demand Collaboration is that we humans naturally tend to overestimate our own forecasting skills and underestimate or even distrust computer generated statistical forecasts. We ignore the statistical probabilities of outcomes and assign great significance to the few facts we[...]

18 October 2016

Sales & Operations Execution (S&OE) vs.S&OP

S&OP (Sales & Operations Planning) and SI&OP (Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning) are two well know acronyms, but now Gartner has added an acronym with a distinctly different twist, Sales and Operations Execution (S&OE). In supply chain, as in life, what[...]

19 April 2016

Increasing S&OP Clarity by Adjusting “Depth of Field”

In last week’s blog we talked about the fundamental challenge of connecting tactical S&OP down to detailed execution. Here we look in the other direction and examine the challenge of connecting tactical S&OP up to the strategic plan. S&OP creates a common[...]

12 April 2016

What’s Wrong with S&OP?

“The No. 1 challenge among manufacturing companies is connecting sales and operations planning (S&OP) to operational plan/execution.” – Gartner Research1 There are few competencies more core for a company than the ability to coordinate sales with supply chain in order[...]

Sales & Operations Planning Software S&OP provides the critical link between inventory, customer service and business performance by enabling cross-functional planning and bridging the gap between strategic planning and operational execution.

Promotions Planning Software Promotions Planning gives cross-functional teams the visibility to synchronize demand shaping campaigns and promotions with supply chain operations ensuring that inventory is in the right place to meet demand on a daily basis, right down to the store level.

Production Planning Software Production Planning provides unparalleled visibility, insight and control of the entire production lifecycle to improve efficiency and quality control, and service demand.

Inventory Optimization Software Inventory Optimization factors in multiple planning variables and probabilities to generate an optimal multi-echelon inventory plan for every item in a portfolio to achieve target service levels.

Allocation and Replenishment Software Allocation and Replenishment automatically calculates optimal inventory levels for both existing and new items to create a phased, time-series plan that achieves target service levels even in the face of demand variability and distribution complexity.

Demand Planning & Sensing Software Demand Planning & Sensing automates the creation of demand plans using machine learning and by incorporating detailed short-term demand signals and demand collaboration, it reduces forecast error and optimally deploys inventory.

Planning as a Service Planning-as-a-Service provides business-focused, technology enabled resources to help customers quickly achieve value from their SO99+ implementation. It accelerates time-to-value over a traditional implement and learn approach.