{"id":9740,"date":"2022-07-29T14:04:42","date_gmt":"2022-07-29T18:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demand-planning.com\/?p=9740"},"modified":"2022-07-29T14:04:42","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T18:04:42","slug":"optimizing-operations-for-cash-flow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demand-planning.com\/2022\/07\/29\/optimizing-operations-for-cash-flow\/","title":{"rendered":"Optimizing Operations For Cash Flow"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At the end of last year, I made this podcast<\/a> that predicted that 2022 was going to be the year of \u2018anti-lean\u2019 with inventory flooding the market and companies having to offer discounts to shift excess stock.\u00a0 My theory was that when we combine excess inventory with higher costs, higher interest rates, and a flagging economy, we have the perfect storm and that cash will become King for any business.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Succeeding in this milieu requires building cash reserves and performing effective cash flow forecasting. And that starts by taking a Finance-focused approach to S&OP<\/a> and inventory management. This intersection between Finance and Ops is always important – but now more than ever.<\/span><\/p>\n

To help get a handle on bringing S&OP<\/a> and Finance together to help weather this upcoming economic storm, I spoke to Dean Sorensen, editor of Integrated Business Planning at the International Institute of Forecasters and founder of consulting firm IBP Collaborative. He has worked for companies such as Accenture, KPMG and AT Kearney, advising on finance strategy, cost and performance management and IBP.<\/span><\/p>\n

The following questions and answers are taken from my conversation with him.<\/span><\/p>\n