Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

Reading through commentary and professional opinion on the subject of S&OP, best practice processes, its alignment to ERP etc, it’s pretty clear that raving about the importance of embedding S&OP will always grab popular support and light applause.…

Ouch! Did I touch a nerve there? I think I did judging by the reaction but a good debate is always worth having. I have been challenged to expand on my top ten moans and explain precisely what I mean and why the criticism is not always fair. Here…

Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) has been used by companies now for many years as the planning process that provides “one set of numbers” for the organisation on which to base its business planning. In many countries and cultures S&OP in its…

The CEO listened while the Commercial Director & Supply Chain Director tried to reach an agreement during the monthly S&OP meeting. Not only was he disappointed to hear a version of the same arguments from previous months (“we are short of stock…

I had planned to write something about the importance of teamwork & S&OP & then try & link it to sailing – this would be an easy association. And then a real live incident made the story for me. We finally set sail again – break in the weather - &…

After the grand total of 1 days sailing during the first week – the Mistral is back again & we are port bound - moral is flagging. ‘Customer service levels’ are dropping. This mind is wandering. Time for some nautical S&OP stuff again. Let’s…

No, of course it’s not true but I bet it grabbed your attention! If there is a more put down, criticised and unrecognised function in any FMCG/Pharma company then I would like to hear about it. Supply Chain is routinely the brunt of complaints from…

We finally got going (sailing that is) yesterday when the wind dropped to a breezy Force 4 on the beam (that’s from the side) - wonderful sailing weather. And it was marvellous – whizzing along at 7-8 knots. Mind wandering territory again ...…

This is a debate that I am starting to loose, I’ll stick with it though at least until such time as IT systems develop intelligence and personality. The theoretical debate on the role of IT in S&OP will of course run for a long time, hence this…

It’s amazing how the mind wanders when one is stuck. In my case I have just started a sailing holiday with family in tow. Here we are in the South of France west of Marseille, boat at the ready & raring to go. Problem – there is a Mistral blowing.…

This week’s success factors cover the areas of organisation and people when developing S&OP. Some time ago the president of a major CEE trading group summarised the outcomes of a business wide S&OP implementation in three words “we are…

The following blogs will address key points of consideration when embarking on a regional or global S&OP implementation. Part one covers the areas of End Market commitment & ownership and Process Design. End Market commitment & ownership: End Market…

There are no individuals in this team. This is a team where the whole is far greater than the sum of the parts. The Supply Chain operates quietly and often in the background but is an essential team for any business. Team Sheet Goal Keeper S&OP –…

A short rest from the World Cup today. I speaking to a colleague today who had attended a conference last week about doing business in Nigeria. There were echoes from several chats I have had recently with some of our West African clients including…

Suddenly, many companies in South Africa are grossly overstocked with red, white and blue Vuvuzelas! They will not be allowed at Wimbledon and even the cricket authorities would think twice. Skiing, possibly? There may be quite some capital tied up…