S&OP
Transformation Spectrum
Technology used:
- Spreadsheets
- Using Certified Accountants
Method used:
- Maintenance of invoice books
- Physical inventory management
Technology used:
- Collaboration tools such as Slack and Basecamp
- Cloud computing
Method used:
- Implementing global S&OP
- Using cloud data base
Technology used:
- AI
- IoT
- SCADA
Method used:
- Automation
- Automated performance metrics
Past
1. Technologies Used
Spreadsheets – It’s true that spreadsheets are important for the S&OP of the business but they simply can’t meet the challenges to help drive growth and improve profitability as they are unable to run “what-if” scenarios or provide an ultra-detailed view into data. According to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), more than 90 percent of spreadsheets have errors, while more than 90 percent of spreadsheet users believe their models are error-free.
Using certified accountants – A financial controller is responsible for ensuring that all accounting allocations are appropriately made and documented. An accountant performs financial functions related to the collection, accuracy, recording, analysis, and presentation of a business, organization, or company’s financial operations.
2. Processes Used
Maintenance of invoice books – Invoice Management is an internal business function related to purchasing and is responsible for managing and processing invoice documents from vendors and suppliers. Numerous methods exist for keeping your invoices organized, from storing them electronically to keeping hard copies only.
Present
1. Technologies Used
Collaboration tools such as Slack and Basecamp – Slack is a communication and messaging tool, while Basecamp is primarily project management. Basecamp is a real-time communication tool that helps teams stay on the same page, it is an online collaboration app that lets people manage their work together and communicate with one another. Slack is meant to account for variables that may impact a shipment as it moves along its journey. Zapier lets you send info between Basecamp 3 and Slack automatically.
Cloud computing – Cloud Computing is a way to access information and applications online instead of creating, managing, and maintaining them on your own hard drives or servers. It’s fast, efficient, and secure. It has the ability to increase storage and processing power on demand without the delay and expense of acquiring hardware that is often only needed for short periods of time. Cloud also helps organizations integrate data from disparate sources, thereby improving the transparency and scalability of S&OP.
2. Processes Used
Implementing global S&OP – A key element in sustaining a competitive advantage in today’s global business environment is an effective Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process. It is designed to enable value-based management and ensure optimal overall business results. A Global S&OP meeting is conducted to review and discuss the supply plan. Open issues or individual regional concerns are addressed in this meeting.
Using cloud database – A cloud database is a database that is built, deployed, and accessed in a cloud environment, such as a private, public, or hybrid cloud. It serves many of the same functions as a traditional database with the added flexibility of cloud computing. Users install software on a cloud infrastructure to implement the database.
Future
1. Technologies Used
AI – AI-powered sales forecasts use current company data to accurately predict future sales. AI enables scalable growth, drives revenue, and personalizes customer experiences.
IoT – One thing that we see as a common feature of all the supply chain scenarios is that they all improve cross-functionality, an important goal of S&OP. The increased visibility that you gain from IoT devices in your supply network enables you to truly orchestrate your supply chain.
SCADA – SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) is a category of software applications for controlling industrial processes, which is the gathering of data in real-time from remote locations in order to control equipment and conditions. It is a combination of hardware and software enabling the capture of data within, and automation of, industrial processes. SCADA connects the sensors that monitor equipment like motors, pumps, and valves to an onsite or remote server.
2. Processes Used
Automation – S&OP automation means digging into your existing supply chain processes and unearthing the inefficiencies holding you back.
Automated performance metrics – Automating performance metrics doesn’t require spending a lot of money to implement it. It just requires utilizing data that already exists and intellectual resources available in your organization to explore many hidden opportunities that drive productivity.
How can technology help sales and operations Planning
So let us first understand the challenges a S&OP Planer has to undergo –
- He has to wear many hats because he has to play the role of finance, operations, marketing, sales, and production.
- He has to be able to juggle all these roles having all the data available for him to take the right decision.
- He has to keep up with How technology is evolving so that in itself is a challenge for him.
- He has to take ad-hoc requests from his users that something has changed and then quickly give the output of that change so as to take a decision.
- He has to think from a customer’s point of view so any interaction with the customer also has to be reflected in the sales and operations planning.
- He also has to keep in mind the long term goals of the company and change the planning to reach that strategic objective of the company.
So in this entire gamut of the challenges that an S&OP planner, Is How can technology really help ?
So we first talked about the availability of data.
The S&OP planner has to wear multiple hats so that he should be able to have real-time access to all that data if – I’m talking about sales you should be able to see what have been the sales today and based on that what has been the budget that has been met or the financial objective that has been met if there are promotions going on what are the effect of sales.
Because of that promotion so the availability of data should be more real-time then they should be able to predict correctly predict what would be the growth in sales, in demand out there in the market because that will then drive the entire supply chain behind them
They should be able to take quick decisions by simulating different scenarios.
So one of the days when sales and operations planning was more just a one-number Planning.
Now it is more of a range bound planning that what is the best-case scenario what is the worst case scenario and you should be able to plan in between that if this happens then this would be my requirement to achieve in this particular month
And you should be able to quickly replant so as the situation changes during that period you should be able to quickly replan and take a new decision collaboration should be much better because you have to work with so many partners so many internal and external stakeholders everybody so you should be able to collaborate quickly give them what required analytics so that the other partners can also take the right decision and finally the output has to be more intuitive and visual so just by looking at a particular chart or a graph .