Where does your S&OP stand
The first two papers in this series, Are you getting business value from your S&OP? and What it takes for S&OP to be a business steering capability, made the case for what S&OP should do and what good looks like when it does. This white paper turns that into a diagnostic: a structured self-assessment to locate where your process sits, which capability is missing, and what that gap is likely costing.
You don’t need to have read the first two papers to use this one. But if you want to understand why these capabilities matter and how they connect, papers one and two lay that groundwork
Topics covered:
- Recap: The journey so far
- How to use this assessment
- The self-assessment
- Scoring
- What your score means
- What staying where you are is costing you
- From assessment to action
Three things to know about S&OP maturity
How do you assess S&OP maturity?
An S&OP process can run every month and still be immature. The real test is whether it enables Sales, Supply, and Finance to make cross-functional decisions – and ensures that those decisions translate into action.
The assessment examines five capabilities: purpose and decision focus, collaborative planning, financial connection, comparable alternatives, and execution.
What does an S&OP maturity score tell you?
The score locates the process across five maturity stages: React, Anticipate, Integrate, Collaborate, and Orchestrate. However, the pattern behind the score often matters more than the number itself.
A process may coordinate effectively while still lacking the financial connection, analytical capability, or decision authority required to steer the business.
What is an immature S&OP process costing your business?
The cost rarely appears as a single line item. It may show up as working capital tied up in the wrong places, revenue pursued at the wrong margin, executive time spent diagnosing problems, expensive responses to disruption, or decisions that are never executed.