More than 15 years ago, Heineken initiated its impressive program to implement S&OP globally and move through increasing stages of maturity. Starting with a basic process, the company subsequently added more advanced elements, including a regional S&OP hub in Europe and a recent program called “Connected Forecasting” to start driving the financial...
During the spring holiday, I was in Madrid. I spent a morning in a museum — until suddenly, the lights went out. A total blackout shut down the city and even the entire country. No working ATMs, no air conditioning, no traffic lights. It wasn’t until after midnight that everything functioned again. What struck me was how differently organisations...
Rituals has seen impressive growth over the past years — and they’re not planning to slow down anytime soon. A key pillar in the company’s strategy is the continued expansion of the Rituals brand, both nationally and internationally. The goal: 20% growth this year. A goal that now seems within reach. While this target is within reach, sustained...
In his brilliant book ‘Leading without Commanding’, Filip Vandendriessche describes howmanagers often create their own problems. By managing on input rather than output, they create resistance rather than buy-in.This simple observation also holds important lessons for S&OP. No input management In a processwhere people make the difference, input...
Ever since the pandemic highlighted the inextricable link between a smooth-running supply chain and strong business performance, companies have been taking steps to improve their supply chain resilience. But how can you be sure that you’re optimally prepared for the disruptions that inevitably lie ahead? In this blog by Involvation’s Jeroen...
Supply chain training not only enhances employees’ individual skills and knowledge in the short term. It can also play a key role in improving a company’s long-term strategic performance by driving sustainable improvements and creating competitive advantage. Well-prepared participants and effective training design provide a strong foundation for...
AI and human intervention During my time at MIT, I had the privilege of attending lectures by Jay W. Forrester, the founder of system dynamics. Forrester was a pioneer in modeling complex systems in economics, business, and technology. He was one of the first to recognize how technology could enhance decision-making and planning, yet he always...
Thou Shalt Not... Misuse S&OP/IBP Disruptions and rapidly changing circumstances have become the norm over the past few years. It makes sense that many companies have started to focus more on short-term management, closely monitoring the balance between demand and supply in short cycles. While a typical S&OP/IBP process is applied in a monthly...
Despite being aware of the need to take an end-to-end view of the value chain and the importance of cross-functional decision-making, many businesses are still structured around ‘functional silos’. This results in internal operational barriers that hold back the efficient and effective value chain performance needed to cope with today’s...
Resilience has become a popular term after all the major events happened throughout the world last five years. These events have had a lot of indirect effects within economies and thus impacted the playground for almost all companies. It has pushed the need for resilience on the agendas on board level and more specifically have become targets for...