Supply

Shake Up Your S&OP Meetings – How To Win Their Attention!

Struggling to get everyone’s engagement in your S&OP process?
Use this as an example of what can happen when everyone’s too busy…

Here’s a £1.4 BILLION* excess inventory write-off (waste) that could have been avoided with an S&OP (Sales & Operations Planning) process.

Even in the face of Covid’s uncertainty and fierce global competition for PPE, a simple S&OP could have helped.

How? (Excellent question!)

1) Improved Collaboration – S&OP brings to the table sales, marketing, and operations to create a unified plan. In this case, involving healthcare providers (the “sales” side) in the S&OP process could have helped determine realistic PPE needs.

2) Demand Planning – S&OP involves creating a rolling demand forecast. Regular updates based on actual usage and changing pandemic conditions could have prevented over-ordering.

3) Inventory Management – S&OP helps identify potential inventory issues. Early estimates of excess PPE could have triggered efforts to find alternative uses, sell it, or adjust future orders.

What would the S&OP process involve?

1) Regular Meetings – Instead of a single large contract, having monthly meetings to review demand and adjust orders could have prevented overstock.

2) Basic Forecasting – Even a simple forecast based on hospital bed count and projected case numbers would have been better than no forecast at all.

3) Early Warning Signs – Regular reviews could have identified potential waste early, allowing for action like offering the PPE to other countries.