History, current status, and next steps<\/p>\n\n
Let’s start by defining what S&OP is \u2013 APICS Dictionary, 13th edition<\/p>\n\n
A process for developing tactical plans that provide management with the ability to strategically direct their businesses to achieve a sustained competitive advantage through the integration of customer-focused marketing plans for new and existing products with supply chain management. The process brings together all business plans (sales, marketing, development, manufacturing, sourcing, and finance) into an integrated set of plans. It is performed at least once a month and is reviewed by management at an aggregate level (product family).<\/p>\n\n
The process should reconcile all supply, demand, and new product plans at both the detail and aggregate levels and link to the business plan. It is the definitive statement of the company’s short- to medium-term plans, covering a horizon sufficient to plan resources and support the annual business planning process. Executed correctly, the sales and operations planning process links strategic plans for the business with its execution and reviews performance measures for improvement.<\/p>\n\n
In this definition, there are several important elements; first, that it is a PROCESS, and this is one of the most important elements. A company achieves the alignment of its different plans with the implementation of this process and aligns the organization towards the fulfillment of its business plan.<\/p>\n\n
The other definition that organizations often do not understand is that SOP is part of tactical planning, and in many cases, aligning the same plans makes it possible to adequately evaluate and foresee the resources and risks for the fulfillment of the same plan.<\/p>\n\n
In the following video, we tell you how the Sales and Operations Planning process was born, its evolution, and current trends such as IBP (Oliver Wight) and DDOP-ASOP (Demand Driven Institute)<\/p>\n\n