Multi-Sector Integrated Business Planning/S&OP Summit: Going?

How many times do you find this happening? Someone asks you if you saw that blockbuster film last week or if you saw the new comedy series starring Rowan Atkinson or even if you saw the football match last night where Manchester United finally played like Champions and won a game? You are right; the last one really is fiction in the context of 2013/14 and Mr. Moyes.

Enchange at IBP Summit 10-11 April 2014 With the explosion in social media and internet accessibility you would think that everybody is always aware about what is happening in their locality, country or around the globe. If you think back before mobile phones and the internet it seems like there was less news, fewer disasters, fewer crises and human strife. My view is that there is little difference in global goings-on with the possible exception of financial crises due to some modern-day incompetence and greed.

In the context of business planning do you know about the Integrated Business Planning Summit coming up in London on 10, 11^th April? You do not want to find out about it post event as the next one will not be around for another 12 months or so. Whether you are interested in S&OP, IBP or even simple planning on a spreadsheet you should get yourself along so start planning now!

So who will be there? The speaker list is impressive and currently includes:

Tesco – a UK based retailer that has grown from Jack Cohen’s barrow in Hackney through “pile it high, sell it cheap” to be the second largest retailer in the world with over 3000 stores in the UK alone. Now it is only profit that is piled high.

Unilever – not many years have passed since Unilever did not have a Supply Chain presence on the main board. In fact, not many years have passed since there were two main boards so how has planning excellence leveraged performance through S&OP and other initiatives?

Barclays – the bank that introduced the world’s first cash machine in Enfield, North London. What would we do without “hole in the wall” cash availability? We are banking on Barclays to deposit some interesting insights and notes on Supply Chain Finance related to planning.

Pizza Hut – the well known fast food outlet started by Dan & Frank Carney that has grown from having one store in Wichita, Kansas to being the world’s largest restaurant company. What slice of planning excellence will you choose to take away?

Lego – from "leg godt", which means "play well” in Danish. Go on, check! At the end of 2013 it was estimated that approximately 560 billion Lego parts have been produced and I am sure around 1 billion of those are in my attic. Hearing about how their planning building-blocks interlock in this business will undoubtedly be constructive.

Enchange Integrated Business Planning These are just five contributors from a lengthy list that includes others from Diageo to Osram to the Rainforest Alliance. The full list covers many different sectors with each bringing their own particular expertise and insights to the summit.