The DNA of S&OP software
I often get asked ‘Which software should my company use for sales & operations planning (S&OP) and integrated business planning (IBP)?’ Les Brookes, CEO of consultancy firm Oliver Wight EAME (who came up with S&OP …
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Delivering tangible business results
11 questions about IBP The ultimate objective of Integrated Business Planning (IBP) is to deliver tangible business results – things like increased revenues and margins, and greater market share. For many organizations, however, the initial motivation …
MRP does more harm than good
After years of oscillating between shortfalls and surpluses and the necessary chaos and frustration that entailed, calm has recently returned for one of my clients and his supplier. How come? They simply turned off their …
Machine builders become reliable, fast and efficient
Machine manufacturers suffering from high costs and long unreliable lead times can make huge gains in terms of competitive edge if they manage to resolve the so-called ‘service paradox’: from relatively slow, unreliable and inefficient to reliable, fast and efficient. By …
Oil tanker versus speedboat
In today’s rapidly digitalizing world, companies can be divided into two categories based on their speed and agility. On the one hand we have the traditional firms and large multinationals that, just like oil tankers, …
Agile vs. death-by-committee: What Spotify and Hilti are doing right
The writing is on the wall: if you want to innovate in the digital world, you must be agile. Four of the top five companies by market cap - Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet and Amazon - …
Why CrossFitters are better Supply Chain Managers
More than 380,000 people have signed up for the CrossFit Open 2017, a challenge to find the fittest person on Earth based on 5 painful workouts for 5 weeks. That’s a whole lot of effort …
Using Digitalization and Big Data Wisely in your Supply Chain
In my work to optimize supply chains, I get to visit a lot of different companies in many different industries. Since I have a huge curiosity for leaning new things, I tend to ask a …
Service is a choice
In an edition of the Dutch newspaper Het Parool dated 17 February 1967 I came across a full-page advertisement in which the high-end Amsterdam department store De Bijenkorf proudly announced its 26 (!) collections per …
Digital supply chains – Do you risk falling behind?
Key lessons from the second IMD Global Supply Chain Survey The second edition of the IMD Global Supply Chain Survey examines how organizations rate themselves on 20 important trends in supply chain management. It shows that …
