S&OP Sales Operations Planning During and Post Pandemic Like Covid

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The global trading environment has shifted and the pandemic has been a wake-up call for supply chains. We know that all organizations are feeling the impact. Dramatic demand shifts and changing supply capacity now make it practically impossible to perform traditional forecasting. Trying to maintain that demand and supply equilibrium requires adjustments at an exceptionally fast rate and traditional fixed cadence Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) processes operating on their own simply do not accommodate the continuously evolving supply chain.

**Integrated Business Planning & Execution**
An integrated solution for Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), Business Continuity and Risk Management, and Sustainability.

One Network Enterprises takes a different approach to S&OP. Its multiparty network platform can support the business-as-usual relatively fixed cadence S&OP process. So yes, you can incorporate multiple demand streams, you can run scenarios to adjust parameters, and you can review the outcomes for plans that sit outside of the lead-time as a proactive approach to preventing Operational issues.

But that’s just the start of solving supply chain problems with a network.

The network incorporate all nodes in the extended Supply Chain network. There is little point in planning only within the four walls of the enterprise organization when there are so many other contributing factors to achieving the Sales and Operational Plan. For example, a robust plan needs to incorporate Suppliers and Contract Manufacturers – including their manufacturing capacity restrictions, lead-times, and inventory levels.

"The supply shock that started in China in February and the demand shock that followed as the global economy shut down exposed vulnerabilities in the production strategies and supply chains of firms just about everywhere." -Willy C. Shih, Harvard Share on X

One Network’s Real Time Value Network integrates customer demand so that you get close to the consumer across all channels – all demand signals are represented. The Network also embraces Logistics providers, both outbound and inbound to ensure their restrictions, such as lead-times and capacities are also represented. Incorporating this with warehouse management and customs processes ensures a multi-party, multi-enterprise S&OP.

The network collaboratively processes all of the plans associated with the end-to-end process, while incorporating all real-time transactions as they occur. The Network can act as the transactional system of record, effectively replacing ERP at the transactional level. Or, it can integrate directly with ERP transactional management systems to ensure data in the Network is real-time (or near real-time as possible). The Network is architected to be flexible, because most companies today have legacy systems that still provide value, and should be accommodated to maximize their value as company strategy and technology evolves.

The platform enables full optimization. Companies on One Network’s NEO Platform have the ability to extend beyond the visibility and transactional layer to optimize their supply chains. For example, you can use algorithms that prioritize supply to prioritized demand. You have a full Multi-Echelon Inventory Optimization capability at your disposal, ensuring the optimal target inventory level at each node in the network. Finally, you can consider autonomous planning. The platform includes AI agents, called NEO intelligent agents, that are configurable and monitor the data on the network, and that notify planners of problems and make recommendations to address them. By monitoring and learning, the agents perform the planner’s analysis on their behalf across the entire network.

"The multiparty network platform can execute transactions and be the system of record, or it can defer to your ERP systems, while keeping them synced to the Network. You get the benefits of an advanced network, and leverage your ERP investments." Share on X

The Network approach drives collaboration. With tens of thousands of trading partners operating on the Network, you are joining a community of potential partners and dramatically expand your business “universe”. Onboarding as many partners as possible over the years, ensures that the Network performs optimally for all enterprise customers. The partners benefit as they get to collaborate directly and they see shifts and changes in demand immediately. They can participate in the planning process and they gain trust in the data.

The Network enables a single version of the truth and by ensuring it is real-time, it means that everyone can collaborate on reaching the common goal of supplying the finished product, on-time, in-full. There is no latency in information flows, and therefore there is no need to buffer the supply chain with excess inventory, there is no need to buffer lead times. Complete visibility, managed by a secure permissions platform, ensures all parties run optimally. This takes time and cost out of the supply chain, and ensures your complete supply network provides the highest service levels, and runs as efficiently and as smoothly as possible.

One Network’s transforms the traditional S&OP process into a continuous, real-time alert-driven S&OP that spans across the entire end-to-end network. One Network therefore not only solves the proactive tactical S&OP requirement, but also gives you a platform for a huge additional range of functional and process scope. One Network moves S&OP to within the lead-time boundaries – optimizing near-time operational planning.

In today’s volatile business environment, IBP on a real-time Network is more vital than ever. Learn more about Integrated Business Planning and Execution.

Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) on a Real Time Network

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