Executive Summary

The ability to run the company from the top requires a sales and operations planning (S&OP) process that formulates an S&OP game plan for each saleable product. The nature of each game plan depends on several factors such as the visibility of demands, delivery lead-time , and a make-to-stock versus make-to-order production strategy. The starting point for each game plan requires identification of all sources of demand such as sales orders and forecasts, and forecast consumption logic determines how the combination of these demands drive supply chain activities. Several scenarios illustrated how to formulate game plans for a distribution product and three types of manufactured products (make-to-stock, completely make-to-order, and partially make-to-order). Special cases involved a manually maintained master schedule and a partially defined make-to-order product. Guidelines were suggested to improve S&OP game plans, such as how to formulate realistic game plans, enforce near- term schedule stability, and make realistic delivery promises. The case studies highlighted variations in S&OP game plans, such as S&OP simulations, Kanban coordination, planning bills, statistical forecasting, and one-time products.