Who let the dogs out?

If you lived in or visited Bucharest about 10 years ago you will have seen one or two stray dogs hanging around the city. Actually, a lot more than one or two, there were hoards of them. In 2010 a proposal was made to organise a proactive and wide-spread cull of the stray dogs but a certain Brigitte Bardot was outraged and the plans went permanently onto the back-burner.

Largely, the numerous packs of wild dogs and absconded pets have disappeared and it is now a surprise to see any - a job well done. Some will have met their canine maker naturally and many under the encouragement of a Dacia Duster front wheel. One unnamed FMCG factory manager rounded up the dogs inhabiting their site, enticed them into a truck and shipped them off to Oradea in the far north west of Romania. Strays were a huge problem with some attacks even resulting in unfortunate deaths. Not good.

Every day has it's dog?

I lived in Pipera which is a little like the UK's M25, i.e. a giant car park at peak hours as expensive and gaudily painted cars go nowhere, fast. Pipera has always had a few dogs pretending to guard the many building sites but they became a serious problem with numerous alliances competing for builder's leftovers. The pack closest to me amassed 20 drooling inbred dogs – no, not the current poor batch of British politicians – making a walk for our pet dog rather hazardous. Mr. Patch is half Jack Russell, half Mr. Bean and is always up for a fight but I’m not.

The daily walk required me to carry quite an armoury to avoid my legs becoming dog food, i.e. a small baseball bat, high frequency noise maker, stones plus my revolving toy cap gun which seemed the most effective of all. The packs’ tactic was to hide around a corner waiting for pooch and I to appear and when we did, they went completely crazy. Their heads darted from side to side as they looked at each other until their commander, an aging Rottweiler, gave some unseen signal and they engaged with my armoury and Mr. Patch's dental work.

With OAP Rottie at the front, they presented a frightening prospect for anyone not armed with my personal deterrents. A few bangs and flashes of the toy gun saw most yelp away and a quick blast on a high frequency scarer persuaded the youngsters to retreat and re-group out of range. 

Canine capers.

On one memorable day, fully armed with weapons and pet dog, I turned the corner expecting an outraged, growling cacophony prior to the boss giving the signal to engage the enemy. No. Nothing! Not a barked word and not a movement as the pack simply sat and watched us walk on. Was it an ambush? Had they split into two groups to attempt a pincer movement? This was all very strange and we carefully walked onwards sure in the knowledge that they must give chase at some point.

Then it hit me! The Rottie was not there; AWOL. There was nobody there to bark the orders, activate an offensive movement and show the way forward. The rest of the pack simply did not know what to do or did not have the courage to make a threatening move. They lay half asleep on the floor completely uninterested in this man and beast

And that is why many S&OP implementations fail. If the top team and specifically the CEO, are not 100% committed then S&OP will not be successful. Not a dog's chance.

What am I missing?

Strategic Benefits

• A key enabler of growth. 
• Risk mitigation. 

P&L Impact

• Sales uplift. 
• Lower supply chain costs.
• Reduced stock loss. 

Balance Sheet Impact

• Lower working capital.

People

• Accountability. 
• Streamlined communication. 
• Improved skills.
• Standardised ways of working.

Yes, quite a lot!

Help! I need somebody!

Do not despair. If you have tried and failed to implement S&OP or simply never tried at all, now is the time.

If you have any Customer Service, Supply Chain or Route to Market problems or opportunities you would like to discuss, then please reach out to Enchange.com via telephone, email or live chat.