Sales and Operations Planning has come a long way since its invention in the 1980s as a process to align sales and manufacturing volumes. But after early success, the process often falters. This article explains why building a strong bridge between strategy and S&OP will drive successful strategy execution and help build S&OP into the culture. DUNCAN ALEXANDER | Mr. Alexander is a partner in the boutique S&OP consultants, StrataBridge. He has consulted, coached, and facilitated workshops in more than 20 dierent countries. He has more than 10 years of specialized consulting experience in the elds of IBP, SIOP, and S&OP, backed up by nearly 20 years of real-world experience in the consumer goods industry. He has a degree from Edinburgh University, and also holds an MBA from Heriot-Watt University. Sales and Operations Planning/ Integrated Business Planning/ Sales, Inventory, and Operations Planning (call it what you like, but S&OP for the purposes of this article) has come a long way since its invention in the 1980s as a way to balance sales and production volumes in a single factory. It is now the core operating process of most manufacturing businesses and drives integration ...

From Issue: Spring 2013
(Spring 2013)

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S&OP and Strategy: Building the Bridge and Making the Process Stick