The S&OP image below defines in part the complexity and balancing act within the S&OP process, all key touch points can be both complex and challenging. A strong robust S&OP requires collaboration between all key business stakeholders to deliver goods and services to consumer. Adding, pertinent to successful S&OP is inventory, timely delivery of the goods at minimum cost. It is paramount to ensure goods and services are produced by approved quality standards and shipped to the consumer within a predetermined finance cost model. The real challenge lies in delivering goods and services consistently on time, within set COG’s and margins, while ensuring the process complies with industry standards, within an ever challenging and changing economic environment. Hence a push back on Supply Chain and in particular pressure on the S&OP. Be it promotional activity, advertising spend or seasonal influence on raw material supply and demand, the S&OP needs to cater for a wide range of influencing factors.  

Best described, the S&OP can be one of the true processes within an organisation that actually involves high proportion of key stakeholders.  

In a smaller sense, not unlike the innovation piece within an organisation does an activity genuinely touch multiple business functions. Your skill set needs to be agile, analytical but pragmatic – don’t forget your personality of managing multiple stakeholders with varying KPIs should be achieved.

Successful delivery of the S&OP requires vision and hard data [no time for story telling!] through Sales & Marketing, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing to the Warehouse & Logistics business functions. All key stakeholders in between require collaboration and facilitation. 

The path to excellence should always be at the top of your mind for your current and future Supply Chain executive. Strong awareness of process, software and data processing or optimisation.

When your organisation requires customised, corporate search methodologies, call either Luke or Stephen for a confidential conversation

Stephen Ibbotson
Talent Focus,
Director of Executive Search ANZ and Asia Pacific
Tel : + 61 2 9421 5900.