Sales and Operations Planning process

Fig. 4.10 Author s monthly Sales and Operations Planning process 4.3.2.2 Detailed S OP Process...

Previous chapters touched on the role of information and associated processes and systems. Chapter 25 described supply chain technology applications. Chapter 23 described the work of the Supply-Chain Council and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (formerly CLM) in promoting supply chain process integration. Within the company. Section 16.3.3 described the S OP (Sales and Operations Planning) process for intermediate-term information exchange between operations and marketing. 

In the evolution, the vertical silos of supply become connected through horizontal processes. The most common horizontal processes are revenue management, sales and operations planning (S OP), supplier development, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). (This transition is covered in great detail in Chapter 5.) These horizontal processes become connectors for the end-to-end value network. They align the traditional supply processes of source, make, and deliver against a business strategy. When companies successfully build market-driven value networks, demand and supply volatility can be traded off bidirectionally... 

What was the answer for Cisco The company built strong horizontal processes to coimect sales and operations planning (S OP) to contract manufacturing. Based on this process evolution, it was one of the first companies to sense the economic downturn of December 2008. It weathered the storm of the recession with no write-offs. 

As the great stumbled, the path forward was horizontal processes. The most common are revenue management, sales and operations planning, supplier development, and corporate social responsibility. These horizontal processes bridge the links of the supply chain to give it structure, purpose, and connectivity. 

For people driven forecast, it is suggested to apply Sales and Operations Planning (S OP) and Collaborative Planning and Forecast Replenishment (CPFR), as they represent structured and formal processes to align demand figures across different functional areas and different organizations. 

Based on Wallace (2004), Sales and Operations Planning (S OP) is a business process that helps companies keep demand and supply in balance. It does that by focusing on aggregate volumes (e.g., product families or product groups), so that, mix issues (individual products and customer orders) can be handled more readily. It occurs on a monthly cycle and displays information in both units and dollars, thus it integrates operational and financial planning. 

Sales and Operations Planning is a monthly process that comprehends six steps, as illustrated and described in Fig. 4.10. 

Lapide L (2003) Organizing the forecasting department J Bus Forecast Methods Syst p 20-21 Lapide L (2004) Sales and operations planning part I the process. J Bus Forecasting Meth Syst 23(3) 17-19... 

S OP or S IOP Sales, (inventory), and operations planning. Processes for matching supply and demand. Usually an intermediate (1-3 months) planning horizon. 

There are a few options of capacity optimization open to a manager and there are proven processes to assist him or her. One such process is aggregate planning where an organization determines levels of capacity, production and inventory over a planning horizon to maximize the profit. The optimization can be attempted either in theory by a mathematical model (e.g. linear programming) or in practice by a cross-functional continuous review process (e.g. sales and operational planning, S OP). Our preferred and practical option is S OP which is covered in Chapter 18. 

It is evident from Figure 5.4 that although ORP is not so detailed as MRPII the key steps of the process are similar. From the business plan, a sales and operations plan which covers key products and resources needed to deliver the business plan. The monthly sales and operations planning meeting by senior managers approves the master operations plan. The operations team will review the product portfolio, supplier stams and the capacity of own resources, and ensure that purchase orders are raised to procure appropriate resources or services from suppliers. If the capacity of own resources are adequate then an internal control document for the customer order is processed. But a partnership with customers and with suppliers can and will achieve very obvious benefits to... 

In spite of the great opportunities provided by supply chain visibility and workflow automation the true potential of e-supply chain can only be realized when it is supported by an executive decision-making process that optimizes the automated flow of materials based on the information available from supply chain visibility. This executive decision process is collaborative planning which can only be effective through a real-time coimnunication network via Intranet, Extranet and B2B portals (or trading hubs) and a sales and operations planning (S OP) process. Figure 12.2 show the e-supply chain communication network of a pharmaceutical company. The S OP is described in Chapter 16. 

Sales and operations planning (S OF) is a monthly senior management review process to align strategic objectives with operation tasks. 

Dick Ling, almost the founding father of S OP defines sales and operations planning as a process, rather than a system, says it is The process that enables a company to integrate its planning within the total company . The outcome of the process is the updated operation plan over 18 months or 2 years (the planning horizon ) with a firm commitment for at least 1 month. 

This capacity planning has two subcomponent parts — sales and operations planning (S OP) and advanced planning and scheduling (APS). The former is a well-established process and is complemented by the capabilities that the latter brings. Attention is given to both subjects in the... 

As the firm analyzes its capacity to meet demand, it considers internal operations. Now the way that bills of material have been filled is discussed, the results of the sales and operations planning activity are considered, and advanced scheduling and planning results are reviewed to make sure out-of-balance conditions are not occurring. Adjustments are made, if necessary, to raw material, work in process, and finished goods to... 

Figure 7.2 Sales and Operations Planning — A Cross-Functional Process...

The second requirement is to have a concise written sales and operations planning policy that covers the purpose, processes, and participants. 

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