{"id":174,"date":"2009-06-10T07:15:18","date_gmt":"2009-06-10T14:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demand-planning.com\/?p=174"},"modified":"2009-06-10T07:15:18","modified_gmt":"2009-06-10T14:15:18","slug":"getting-top-management-support-for-sop-does-not-mean-running-to-the-top","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demand-planning.com\/2009\/06\/10\/getting-top-management-support-for-sop-does-not-mean-running-to-the-top\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Top Management Support for S&OP Does Not Mean Running to the Top"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"John

John Gallucci<\/p><\/div>\n

If you listen to the buzz about S&OP at an IBF Conference<\/a>, you will hear a repeated theme.\u00a0 This seemingly endless refrain is recited by Planners, Vice Presidents, and everyone in-between.\u00a0\u00a0 You all know the words, so say it with me, “If you want S&OP to succeed, you need\u00a0 Senior Management’s support and ownership.”\u00a0 Achieving this seems simple enough.\u00a0 There is only one step required to gain success, right? \u00a0So, why is this\u00a0challenge so\u00a0widespread?<\/p>\n

I have listened to many IBF\u00a0members discuss their frustrations\u00a0on this topic.\u00a0 I have\u00a0had my own trials as well.\u00a0 The majority of feedback is that Leadership does not understand the value of the concept.\u00a0 Is there truth to this?<\/p>\n

Most cases that I have examined rely on a\u00a0common approach that leads to this familiar\u00a0result.\u00a0 It begins by someone on the Planning Team\u00a0asking for\u00a0Senior Management exposure to “pitch” the S&OP concept.\u00a0\u00a0With significant poise and confidence, the idea\u00a0is presented.\u00a0\u00a0Some leaders listen attentively, some shoot holes in the logic, while others check e-mails on their Blackberry.\u00a0 The Planning Team resurfaces at the next IBF event, looking for more solutions.<\/p>\n

This approach often fails because S&OP is strategic by nature.\u00a0 Senior Management, the requested audience, is responsible for setting strategy.\u00a0 The concept will not stand much chance when the Planning Team\u00a0is\u00a0indicating that \u00a0Senior Management’s current strategies are\u00a0 not effective, and that a new solution like S&OP is needed.<\/p>\n

Try this instead:<\/p>\n

1) \u00a0Before you go to Senior Management, start by discussing S&OP with your functional leader.\u00a0 This could be\u00a0a VP Supply Chain, VP Sales, etc.\u00a0 Schedule an hour, and review the concept.\u00a0 Listen to their feedback.\u00a0 Provide them with documentation on how it works, and what the potential impact can be.\u00a0 Bring recent examples of situations that\u00a0have diminished profit, \u00a0such as excess inventory or lost sales.\u00a0 Make your stand on the point that an effective S&OP Process would have eliminated these issues.\u00a0 Provide a\u00a0dollarized impact in every possible example.\u00a0\u00a0 Gaining alignment may take months, but stay persistent.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0 Once your functional leader is convinced,\u00a0ask them to\u00a0present the impact of S&OP to the appropriate functional\u00a0Board Member\u00a0(COO, GM, etc.).\u00a0 Summarize and dollarize the impact.\u00a0 Make this person your S&OP Champion.\u00a0 Let her drive it as an agenda item at the next Board Meeting.\u00a0 It may take several discussions before the Board aligns on this initiative.\u00a0 However, if you have provided\u00a0her with a solid case,\u00a0she will\u00a0stay persistent when it counts,\u00a0which increases the chance\u00a0of Board approval.<\/p>\n

Once\u00a0Senior Management aligns on piloting S&OP, the rest of the road is much easier to traverse.\u00a0 Remember that most success stories are not built in one day.\u00a0 The same cannot be said for failures!<\/p>\n

John A. Gallucci
\nDirector, Demand Planning
\nNestle Infant Nutrition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you listen to the buzz about S&OP at an IBF Conference, you will hear a repeated theme.\u00a0 This seemingly endless refrain is recited by Planners, Vice Presidents, and everyone in-between.\u00a0\u00a0 You all know the words, so say it with me, “If you want S&OP to succeed, you need\u00a0 Senior Management’s support and ownership.”\u00a0 Achieving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[34,51,36,52,37,53],"class_list":{"0":"post-174","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-forecasting-and-planning","7":"tag-demand-planning","8":"tag-forecasting-conference","9":"tag-ibf","10":"tag-nestle","11":"tag-sop","12":"tag-senior-mangement-support"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demand-planning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demand-planning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demand-planning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demand-planning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demand-planning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demand-planning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demand-planning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demand-planning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demand-planning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}