Question

Your Boss the supply chain manager is coming back from a C-level meeting and is in a quite bad mood. The sales director was beating on him that the total performance towards their customers is getting worth every month. Beside the fact that your on-time delivery rate was going down the last couple of month, your finance director was beating on your supply chain manager as well due to the high stock levels and increase in manufacturing expenses. A first analysis shows that both are right.

To overcome this issue, the supply chain manager asks you to set up an operations improvement project which is covering all three BUs, Jake’s, Finn and Exotic. He asks you especially to provide the following information:

1. Consider to set up a sales & operation planning (S&OP) improvement project. Provide the key theoretical background for an S&OP project. In addition prepare an action plan for improving Williamson’s S&OP process. Consider to draw some recommendations out of your supply chain analysis in the previous section to improve the S&OP process

Answer 1

The sales and operations planning for the above case should make in the way to increase sales, on-time delivery, and decreasing production costing. Sales and operation planning clear about the leadership involves the business management process so that it concentrates on the demand created, supply chain, production, product, and stock. It will smoothen the functionality of the organization.

Williamson's sales and operation planning can improve by implementing an action plan that focuses on the sales supply chain, demand production, and management of other aspects related to the production.

Recommendations regarding this planning can be provided with answerable accountability so that the managers are responsible for what goes wrong or not done efficiently and effectively. The previous section of the supply chain required many clearance of products to add in inventory. It can eliminate as production goes slow with this process. Specification should exist in every process to maintain the quality of the product.