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How Sales & Operations Planning Drives Cost, Cash and Growth

Written by Maine Pointe | May 20, 2019 4:00:00 AM

Link to coverage on PR Web 

Maine Pointe illustrates common c-suite failures, and best practices for end-to-end supply chain optimization

(Boston, Mass., May 20, 2019) -- Global supply chain and operations consulting firm Maine Pointe announced the release of its latest perspective paper, "Sales & Operations Planning -- Digital end-to-end demand/supply chain." The paper highlights some of the most significant challenges faced by the C-suite and the essential role sales & operations planning (S&OP) plays in a company's leadership, culture and success.

The perspective finds shortfalls in the demand driven supply chain integration and collaboration often stemming from cultural issues and an inability to align the many functional components of the supply chain into an integrated whole for better planning and execution. In addition, the paper showed many S&OP initiatives, while holding great potential for a significant payoff, lack alignment and integration, and organizations suffer from functional silos and cost savings fatigue. It also found S&OP is often relegated to a tactical function rather than being a part of strategic management of the business.

Superior S&OP practices tend to be found in organizations which operate at a Level Four or above on the Total Value Optimization (TVO)TM maturity pyramid. The TVO Pyramid is built on a foundation of data analytics and leadership, with procurement, logistics and operations making up the core functional components. Those companies which have reached the highest level of the TVO maturity pyramid are able to better adapt and optimize value, creating a more synchronized and forward-looking end-to-end demand/supply chain.

"This perspective paper provides readers with detailed guidance on how to implement a demand driven, S&OP process with a new level of excellence," said Steve Bowen, CEO of Maine Pointe. "An effective S&OP process goes straight to the heart of improved business performance, enabling greater responsiveness and a more informed supply chain ecosystem. The best companies' S&OP process unifies everything from the customer's customer to the supplier's supplier."

To illustrate the value of S&OP and how it drives measurable value, the paper includes a real-world success story. The story details how a company began with a TVO analysis across the entire business to help with integration, successfully release cash, drive out cost and enable growth.

The paper outlines six critical success factors, including:

  • Demand signal capable of driving effective, efficient anticipatory decisions
  • Collaboration, integration, synchronization across end-to-end demand/supply chain functions
  • Creation of a perpetual learning function
  • Advanced data analytics capable of multi-variable, multi-equation optimization
  • Unbending dedication to TVO
  • Multi-level S&OP building blocks

The perspective paper is available as a free download on the Maine Pointe website.

Maine Pointe also released the first in a series of practical insights blogs highlighting key findings of the paper, Sales & Operating Planning -- The C-Suite Dilemma by Alfred Baumbusch, EVP Operations.

About Maine Pointe

Maine Pointe is a global supply chain and operations consulting firm trusted by many chief executives and private equity firms to drive compelling economic returns for their companies. We achieve this by delivering accelerated, sustainable improvements in EBITDA, cash and growth across their procurement, logistics and operations. Our hands-on implementation experts work with executives and their teams to rapidly break through functional silos and transform the buy-make-move-fulfill supply chain to deliver the greatest value to customers and investors at the lowest cost to business. We call this Total Value Optimization (TVO)TM.

Maine Pointe's engagements are results-driven and deliver between 4:1-8:1 ROI. We are so confident in our work and our processes that we provide a unique 100% guarantee of engagement fees based on annualized savings. www.mainepointe.com