'Change is the law of life' “Change is the law of life...” said John F. Kennedy during one of his speeches in 1963. This famous quote is more relevant for organisations today than ever before. The world around them is evolving increasingly quickly and companies are continuously involved in change – or at least they should be. But that’s not easy –...
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), advanced analytics, machine learning and blockchain are often mentioned as the leading trends driving competitive advantage for supply chains. These trends and developments will change the way we do our business and also how we will design our supply chains of the future. Question is, do...
Last week I found myself in a roomful of supply chain professionals where, as Involvation, we’d been invited to chair a discussion on ‘S&OP: achieving and maintaining S&OP effectiveness… and keeping all disciplines on board’. The key issue is how to motivate people and increase their action readiness in terms of Sales & Operations Planning...
This was the central theme of the S&OP Professionals meeting on June 19th. Twice per year Involvation facilitates these interactive sessions of professionals in the field of S&OP. Goal is to exchange experiences in S&OP, learn from each other and create a network of S&OP practitioners. This time we had a broad participation of representatives from...
How can I get – and above all, keep – the Sales department involved in sales & operations planning (S&OP)? That’s the million dollar question in many S&OP processes. The Supply Chain organisation is the driving force in virtually all S&OP set-ups – which is logical, in a way. After all, the operation won’t get far without planning, and planning...
Many companies embrace Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) and consider it the perfect tool to balance out supply and demand. In addition, S&OP can act as a perfect link between the business strategy and operational execution. Sadly all too often, S&OP does not meet expectations. Many companies struggle to implement an effective and efficient...
Back in the early nineties, Steve Jobs already realized that a well-designed, effective supply chain was paramount to Apple’s success. Hence he actively participated in managing it. Last year he was succeeded by the man who had been responsible for the supply chain for years. Apple’s story shows that supply chains need not merely be a source of...