5 Steps to a Global Collaborative Demand Planning Process
Every business can benefit from having a proper demand plan. A pivotal part in this process is collaboration.
Tools of the Trade: Characteristics of Agents of Change Teams to Drive Successful Investment
In previous “tools of the trade” blogs, the focus has been on conveying a basic understanding of core technologies critical to improving supply chain management decision making. Other blogs have focused on investing in technology. As with any investment there are risks to success. This blog focuses on the need for a small group driving technology that upsets the social order called agents of change (AOC).
Illusively Complex – Effective Approach to Mixing Judgment and Statistics in Forecasting
In 1994, the IBM Micro-electronics Division, itself a fortune 100 size firm, put in place a major effort to create best in class supply chain planning process and software including demand planning(DM), central planning, available to promise, et al. I was fortunate to be an original member and had the opportunity to work extensively on
5 Questions to Ask When Collaborating with Customers
In my last post, I wrote a little on the importance of extending participation in the sales and operations (S&OP) collaboration process as well as knowing what questions to ask each party. In this blog, I would like to step away from collaborating with internal departments to discuss collaborating with customers.
15 Questions to Ask When Collaborating with Marketing and Product Managers
Extending sales and operations collaboration requires a clear articulation of business rules and information transfers. As a result, knowing exactly what questions to ask is crucial. In this short blog series, I will provide a list of questions to ask the various roles and people involved in the S&OP process. These questions can make a
8 Ways to Encourage Sales Teams to Provide Forecast Input
Sales is a fast-paced business; people who aren’t focused on the here and now usually lose out on sales. As mentioned in Jelle’s blog, sales persons would rather be out in the field selling, which is the reason why they feel it would be a waste of their resources sitting in their office forecasting. Yet,
Let’s Talk – Demand Planner to Account Executive
In our last post, Sujit discussed the importance of gathering input from participants as a way to mitigate biases. In this post, I will explain why the sales team should be required participants and what their influence is on the forecasting process.