How to Mitigate Risk and Drive Alignment witH S&OP

How to Mitigate Risk and dRive alignMent witH s&oP By John a. gallucci In the S&OP process, Sales and Marketing functions are usually most influential … when comes to forecasting, Sales and Marketing are generally more optimistic than Supply Chain … describes a strategy for running an S&OP process which not only satisfies every function but also helps the bottom line. B B est-Practice Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) is anchored on cross-functional alignment. Often, a primary reason that S&OP fails is because the functional owner of S&OP, which typically is the Supply Chain, is not the function with the most influence. “Functional power” is usually strongest in Sales and Marketing (which I prefer to call Commercial), and if they perceive that S&OP has an operationally driven agenda, they will not participate at the levels required to achieve success. This article illustrates how scenario planning within S&OP can support Commercial strategies while protecting Supply Chain cost avoidance initiatives. The result will be a significant added value to all functions and a more successful S&OP environment. The last eight years of my career in Demand Planning have been ...