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There are misconceptions that Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) requires a big IT project, which is false. In today’s volatile market, what matters most is achieving service levels.

logistics-matter-sales-operations-planningFrom supply shortages to competition, the need to adapt new models of selling is required to accommodate new buying preferences and practices.

Driven by a rapidly changing market (leading with ecommerce and pandemic buying), there are trends worth examining as distribution businesses continue to grapple with logistics issues and a fluctuating supply chain.

Logistics Matter blogged this week on some of these trends, and showed how S&OP solutions can be implemented easily to solve some key problems these trends present, including:

  • Making sense of consumer demand patterns (when they really DON’T)
  • Getting an accurate read on Category Performance
  • Managing inventory uncertainties like long window times on supply
  • Replenishing under challenging conditions like supplier capacity, order minimums, order schedules and more
  • Inflation and customer willingness-to-pay (or more importantly, unwillingness!)
  • Painstakingly inefficient processes to analyze a growing number of EANs at various stores, locations and channels
  • EuroCommerce, shrinking margin and how to get a handle on competitive pricing across EU borders

Read the full article on Logistics Matter here.

How Does Sales and Operations Planning Work?

S&OP solutions narrow the costly gap between Sales and Operations goals and Forecasting realities. They blend intelligence and automation to create a single version of ‘demand truth’. Make informed, collaborative decisions across functional silos, establish accountability, reduce risk and act swiftly on new opportunities.

With a unified, “app-like” simplicity, Blue Ridge Integrated Business Planning (IBP) is an S&OP solution that breaks down walls to deliver a truly agile and collaborative planning experience in the cloud. Align the revenue, demand, supply and financial plans. And craft the one consensus operational plan focused on market agility and speed to ROI.

Rapid Value Creation for S&OP

S&OP solutions like Blue Ridge IBP are surprisingly fast and easy to integrate into your business process. With 24/7 instant, white-glove support and proactive monitoring, zero failed implementations, and value creation in less than 90 days, IBP un-complicates the introduction of S&OP into your organization – with very minimal resources or time required from IT.