Chemicals Solutions, Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP)

Sales and Operations Planning Training Mentoring, Facilitation, and Coaching
EnteGreat has substantial experience working with clients to deploy and implement S&OP programs that deliver real, ongoing value to their business through effective processes that can be sustained and continually improved. Often the magnitude of change, diversity of stakeholders, and variety of related issues associated with the introduction of a new S&OP process can be complicated and demanding. One approach, which clients often use to assure that their S&OP program is best positioned for success and launched in a most efficient manner, is to engage expert assistance in the form of mentoring and coaching at critical junctures of the S&OP program start-up. These critical junctures and the services provided typically include:

• Preparation of materials for the initial S&OP work cycle to make sure that S&OP stakeholders understand:
  • What data to prepare
  • Agendas
  • Pre-meeting materials
  • How the data should be formatted (granularity: by resource number, grade, package type, product family; timing / periods: weekly, monthly)
  • When it needs to be provided to meeting participants
• Rehearsing of S&OP meetings, so that all participants understand the following:
  • Objectives and expected outcomes of the meeting/session
  • Best practices for conducting the S&OP meeting
  • How the meeting are best conducted
  • Individual roles and responsibilities for the meeting
• Conducting and Facilitating Initial S&OP meetings/sessions
  • Actual facilitation and direction of the client's S&OP meetings in a structured and organized manner to assure that the session yields the desired results.
  • It is not unusual for clients to get bogged down in past practices as they initiate their S&OP programs - therefore it is often effective to have an external entity, perceived as an outside change agent, direct the initial S&OP meetings and transition leadership of these sessions over to client personnel through subsequent meetings.
• Feedback and Process Improvement
  • It is generally easier to adjust an S&OP process as it starts-up. However, recognition of the adjustments necessary are not easy for client personnel that are new to an S&OP process.
  • An experienced S&OP process leader can spot the areas of weakness and guide client personnel in efficiently improving their S&OP process.
  • The objective is to tune the S&OP process so that it is a positive experience for all participants while delivering the most effective overall business results.