Sales & Operations Planning S&OP

What is an industrial and commercial plan?

Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) is a key management process. The most successful companies have a cross-functional decision-making process that enables them to regularly align sales with the company’s internal resources(inventory and production capacity).

Also known as IBP (Integrated Business Planning), SIOP (Sales, Inventory and Operation Planning), or PIC (Plan Industriel et Commercial), this generally monthly process enables a permanent adjustment between plans and reality, both commercial (gap between sales and forecasts) and industrial (production capacity and stock in particular).

What are the characteristics of S&OP?

For S&OP to be effective, you need to :

  • a good planning process supported by decision-support tools that go beyond Excel spreadsheets
  • in-depth preparation for the arbitration meeting, including simulation of the various possible decisions
  • monitoring simple, shared performance indicators, to ensure the clarity needed to make the right decisions and monitor their application
  • a focus on the exceptions and subjects “of the moment
  • impartial facilitation of the process, to facilitate consensus-building
  • a limited time horizon in the medium term and increased frequency in the long term
  • the involvement of decision-makers, supported by General Management
  • sufficiently broad communication of decisions taken, and shared monitoring of their application

When is Newton.Vaureal Consulting called upon?

The effectiveness of a truly cross-functional S&OP process is a prerequisite for operational performance. S&OP is not always the initial reason why we intervene on a customer’s behalf, but it is often the solution to many dysfunctions.

  1. How can we organize this process at the heart of corporate decision-making?
  2. How can it be optimized and used as a tool to support corporate strategy?
  3. How can you support your participants in this process?
  4. Which decision-support tool should you choose and deploy?

S&OP is the cornerstone of companies’ operational efficiency Industrial companies and is also becoming increasingly important in Retail and services.

We operate in various sectors

Large groups, institutions, SMEs ; we have the resources to support companies of all sizes and in all circumstances (from long-term vision to crisis support)

Supply chain is becoming an integral part of industrial sites. Managing site supplies means working more closely with suppliers, and integrating factory workflows into the supply chain.

Our work focuses on issues relating to the organization and management of physical flows, as well as on forward-looking studies linked to territories. Our areas of expertise include urban logistics, modal shift and carbon footprint.