Effective Steps in the S&OP Process for your Supply Chain
Sales and Operational Planning (S&OP) is a vital process for organizations seeking to align their business activities with their strategic objectives and optimize resource allocation. It’s a recurring monthly procedure, starting from the last week of a month and concluding by the fourth week of the following month, encompassing five weeks. In this article, we will provide an high level overview of the end-to-end global S&OP process, breaking it down into its constituent sub-processes. This process is crucial for maintaining the supply and demand equilibrium and ensuring that an organization’s operations are aligned with its financial goals.
Sub-Processes in End-to-End Global S&OP
- Demand Review: The S&OP process starts with the Demand Review. This stage encourages cross-functional collaboration, particularly between sales, marketing, and relevant departments, to formulate a demand plan or forecast. The Demand Review includes:
- Collecting market and dealer inputs.Reviewing regional demand plans.Reviewing global demand plans.
- Product Review: Following the Demand Review is the Product Review. This step oversees new product introductions and phase-outs by evaluating project plans. Product Review ensures that phase-in and phase-out dates are in harmony with the strategic goals, including the annual operating plan. Any adjustments in forecasts are made in conjunction with demand review and product management.
- Supply Review: Supply Review is the next step in the S&OP process. This phase harnesses the output of the Demand Review and tasks the supply planning team with the objective of satisfying the demand plan (forecasts) within a reasonable cost and without violating constraints. Key business functions, including manufacturing, engineering, quality, purchasing, planning, and final assembly, are involved. The monthly Supply Review encompasses:
- Evaluating actual performance against the agreed supply plan.
- Reviewing demand-supply alignment and making necessary adjustments.
- Financial Review: The Financial Review happens at each sub-process stage in the Integrated Business Management process. Finance takes a close look at the supply and demand plans from a financial perspective, including budgets, annual operating plans, margin, and price plans. Finance works with supply and demand teams to address any financial issues during a pre-S&OP meeting review. This review ensures that the plans align with the organization’s financial objectives.
- Integrated Reconciliation: Integrated Reconciliation is a crucial stage where any imbalances between supply and demand plans are addressed. Various alternatives to mitigate these imbalances are evaluated, and a consensus is reached between the supply and demand plans. This stage results in:
- A review of demand/supply imbalances and discussion of options to resolve them.
- Preparation of an issues list for the Management Business Review process.
- A review of gaps between the budget and the last plan.
- Management Review: The final stage in the S&OP process is the Management Business Review meeting or Executive meeting. In this meeting, all the previous steps (processes) are consolidated into a formal presentation for top management. Top management reviews the enterprise plan and evaluates its alignment with strategic objectives and business plans. Outstanding issues are addressed, and a final consensus plan is developed. This consensus plan guides the activities of various functions.
- Monitor, Measure, and Revise: The S&OP process doesn’t end with the Management Review. It involves an ongoing and continuous process step for monitoring and adherence. Once the monthly plan is established, it must be tracked on a weekly basis. If deviations from the original plan occur, this step allows for revising the plan to address these deviations.
Conclusion
The end-to-end global S&OP process is a meticulously structured approach to ensuring that an organization’s supply and demand are in harmony with its financial goals and strategic objectives. By breaking down the S&OP process into these sub-processes, organizations can achieve greater control and transparency in their operations, leading to more effective business planning and decision-making. Continuous monitoring and revision further enhance the adaptability and agility of an organization in a dynamic business environment.
Here are the other supply chain processes we support including demand planning, master planning, and fulfillment provided by our partners like BlueYonder, o9, and Kinaxis.