Powering the Transition: Why Stedin Chose S&OP
For residents of the Randstad region, Stedin is a familiar name. As the regional grid operator for Utrecht, most of South Holland, and—more recently—Zeeland, Stedin plays a key role in enabling the Dutch energy transition. The challenge? The grid must be expanded at record speed, but there aren’t always enough people or resources to meet that demand. To manage this transformation, Stedin turned to S&O. This is not typically a tool for service organization, so how do you make it work in this context?
S&OP in the Service Industry
Sanne van den Berg has been with Stedin for over 12 years. With a background in change communication, she’s led several internal projects and knows the organization inside out. Around five years ago, she was introduced to S&OP and to Alex Tjalsma from Involvation. She saw its potential as a management process for Stedin and has led the Competence Center for S&OP for over three years now. “The energy transition places huge demands on us,” Sanne explains. “S&OP gives us better visibility into what is and isn’t possible—and allows us to communicate those boundaries clearly to all stakeholders.”
Applying S&OP in a service environment brings unique challenges.“We don’t have SKUs to forecast. It’s much more flexible. Plus, our projects have very long lead times.” Exactly the kind of complex problem Involvation thrives on. That’s why Sanne decided to work with Alex—someone she already knew and trusted. “The problem was clear. We shared our ambitions and defined a framework, which gave Alex the right mix of direction and freedom to design the best-fit solution.”
From Strategy to Execution
Over the past few years, Alex helped define a tailored management process, but more importantly he helped build buy-in across all levels of the organization. Today, the strategy is in place, and implementation is underway. Three years ago, Sanne formed a dedicated team, which Alex trained. His knowledge has since been transferred to an internal trainer. A welcome bonus.
Dennis Pronk from Involvation is also part of this team. “Dennis is a real asset,” says Sanne. “He’s embedded in the team, and that works really well.” Dennis works across departments, from operations to business IT, and challenges the team to push for the best solutions. At Stedin, there’s a strong belief in aligning all planning disciplines into an Integrated Business Plan (IBP). A vision fully shared by Involvation.
Results & Quality
Despite the clarity of the challenge and the approach, one question might remain: why not hire someone internally to lead a long-term, complex project like this? “With Involvation, you get both results and quality,” Sanne says. “They bring profound experience and can move quickly.” She also emphasizes their expertise: “That makes it easier to transfer knowledge, and their outsider status gives them more authority internally.”
Ultimately, this collaboration between Stedin and Involvation shows how a custom-built approach—combined with external expertise—can drive lasting change and build internal confidence. Not only is the energy transition accelerated, but the Stedin team is now equipped to steer this complex journey themselves.
At a glance
About Stedin
Stedin is the regional grid operator for Utrecht, most of South Holland, and Zeeland. With the energy transition as a driving force, Stedin must rapidly expand and future-proof its energy infrastructure.
The Problem
- Urgent need to expand the electricity grid with limited resources
- No clear steering process for complex service-oriented challenges
The Solution
- Implementation of S&OP tailored to the service-sector
- Focus on internal alignment and adoption across all organizational layers
- Training and knowledge transfer to ensure long-term sustainability
- Translation of planning needs into required IT functionality
The Benefits
- Fast results and high quality, thanks to deep expertise
- External objectivity and authority
- Sustainable improvement through team involvement and capability building
