A Sales and Operations Planning process that works

Optilon’s approach to S&OP bridges the disconnect between the Business Plan (top-down) and Operational Plan (bottom-up), creating the right environment to ensure that the business strategy is followed consistently all the way to the shop floor.

As a business leader y,ou want to continuously be alerted when predicted performance deviates from expectations, to make data-driven decisions adjusting direction when there is still time to act. It enables your company to sustainably reach its targets in an ever-changing business environment.We believe that a well-working S&OP process is achieved by:

• A top management commitment and a pull for the process
• A process design that put’s a high emphasis on the operationalization of the S&OP planning decisions
• Standardization of KPI’s, data visualizations, and analysis to easily detect exceptions for action
• Clear roles and responsibilities and a dedicated owner of the S&OP
• A S&OP and tool design that focus users’ input to where it adds value
• Exception-based methodology
• Tool-supported data gathering and processing
• Minimized requirement for manual input to coordinate/ maintain the process.

How can we work together?

There are three dimensions to S&OP; people, processes, and technology. Optilon has expertise within all these dimensions and can help secure your S&OP process to be impactful across your business and bring the value you are looking for.
Below you will find an overview of the S&OP ‘Building Blocks’. These are the core elements in developing your journey working with us.

Typically, we help our customers:

• Assess S&OP maturity and effectiveness, to ensure that you get the right advice.
• Create a customized roadmap to mature S&OP, identifying, sizing and prioritizing opportunities.
• Facilitate end to end S&OP design, and tailor best practice to the needs of your organization
• Manage stakeholders – support to clarify and anchor vision, need, and required change journey. Aiming to make key stakeholders S&OP ambassadors.
• Manage change – coaching of and support to internal Change leaders, responsible to drive implementation.
• S&OP tool development leveraging and connecting existing system suite incl. BI-tools for visualization.
• S&OP digitalization – configuration and implementation of one platform supporting the S&OP process end to end.

What will you gain by working with us to develop your Sales and Operations Planning processes?

• An experienced partner anchored in theory and best practice. We are experts at designinS&OP processes that solves real business problems.
• A local partner with Nordic speaking teams, specialized to optimize for Nordic business pre-conditions.
• A continuous sparring and implementation partner – we want you to succeed.
• A modularized approach to technology adoption. We have the capability to develop S&OP tool support starting off small and simple to “grow as you go”; increasing reach and sophistication as maturity allows.
• A phased project approach – you commit to one phase at the time.

What is our approach to technology?

An S&OP process is enhanced by technology. But the S&OP process and business problems to be solved always comes first. The S&OP process design is leveraged to define tool requirements.
We strive to implement solutions which:

• Build on a digital twin: The digital twin should be a digital representation of the end-to-end supply chain network and supports not only tactical, but also strategic planning and operational execution.
• Have a managed workflow: To eliminate the need for manual process coordination and ensuring a harmonized way-of-working within and between cycles. This will support the users to efficiently navigate the solution and provide input only where it adds value.
• Build on a modular approach: Our S&OP platform is configurable to your needs, reach and functionality can be expanded as your process matures.
• Support What-if scenarios: These are applied to create versions of the future to model alternative scenarios for uncertain areas within your business. Enables you to efficiently make trade-offs between risks and potential gains, as well as to conclude under which pre-conditions to use which scenario.
• Include reporting and performance management: Dashboards enable effective and interactive reporting and analysis of plans, KPI’s and gaps.

What’s in it for…

Finance:

Formerly separated planning processes within Finance and Operations are linked creating E-2-E visibility and driving data granularity. Analysis incudes total business impact improving quality and enabling targeted decisions. Budgets and annual planning will be simplified.

Sales:

Company performance is maximized by structured collaboration between Sales and Operations where Sales is empowered in the budget process and S&OP fuels sales steering. Future Sales actives are logged, and past performance is monitored, measured, and evaluated.

Supply Chain:

An effective S&OP process drives a future-fit Supply Chain, as it is the pre-condition to mature the Supply Chain beyond Operational excellence. It creates E-2-E visibility, enables pro-active decision-making increasing operational efficiency. One integrated plan across the company reduces complexity and supports the transition from a linear model towards a network approach.