Four Steps to Achieving Enterprise S&OP That Businesses Will Love

It is very important that the senior management team supports Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) in its broadest sense. But what does that mean and what in particular does it require? What does it take to not only get S&OP over the line but also nurture it and improve its effectiveness over time? Many experts and practitioners know and have documented that executing and sustaining a high-quality S&OP process is a challenging task that requires thoughtful design of any deployment program. Based on years of experience in deploying S&OP globally, this article presents four key practical foundations for success: cross-functional C-Suite sponsorship, senior enterprise leadership, S&OP team leadership and setup, and hands-on coaching and mentoring. With these four critical elements, I hope I can provide some new insights and learnings both for the supply chain function and all those involved in making S&OP work.