Sales and operations planning (S&OP) and sales and operations execution (S&OE) are related processes in supply chain management. However, they differ in their goals, focus, and time horizon. Let’s go over the basics of each process and elaborate their differences. We’ll also discuss recent trends toward modifying, combining, or eliminating these business functions.

Demand planning and supply planning are both key elements of a successful supply chain management strategy as part of the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process. They are complementary and dependent on one another, but they aren’t the same thing. Let’s go over the key differences and nuances of these vital business functions.

Supply planning involves managing and planning all aspects of a company’s inventory supply in order to effectively and efficiently meet customer demand. Supply planning is a key part of supply chain management, and determines how a company can best fulfill the requirements of the demand plan, as part of the overarching S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning) process.

Sales and Operations Planning, commonly abbreviated as S&OP, is a process whereby modern businesses attempt to ensure they have the ideal amount of inventory to match sales with demand, to put it in the most simple terms. S&OP is part of a business’s master planning strategy and helps align teams such as finance, sales, marketing, production, warehousing, shipping, management, and operations with the corporate strategy for the most efficient road to success.

Integrated business planning is a holistic, cohesive, (ideally monthly) senior management process for evaluating all cross-organizational plans to ensure they are still aligned, and if they are not aligned, to initiate steps to revise or reconcile them. One way to look at this process is that the goal is to achieve a “one consensus plan” across all teams and departments. Additionally, the IBP process helps ensure the entire organization is still on track to meet overall company goals and commitments. If the management team determines that there are shortfalls in meeting pre-established goals, the team can then make decisions and take actions to help ensure everyone is back on track.

Demand planning is a key supply chain management process by which a company attempts to more accurately predict or forecast future customer demand in order to adjust company production to align with that demand. Demand planning is a key component of supply chain management and a major element of a company’s vital S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning) process.

If you are involved in a business that provides any type of goods or services, you’re involved in supply chain management (SCM), whether you know it or not. Although the term only came into vogue in the 1990s, the basic processes involved have been used for millennia, from the very first time a product or service was created and sold (or traded). Let’s go over what supply chain management means today, and discuss what’s needed in order to optimize this vital business process.

Inventory management is a key aspect of the modern supply chain management (SCM) process, but they are not interchangeable terms. Let’s go over what inventory management is, discuss its key components, and clarify how it differs in scope and purpose from supply chain management.

From 2019 through 2023, worldwide business adoption of Artificial Intelligence hovered around the 50-55% range, according to a 2024 McKinsey report (businesses reporting adoption of AI in at least one business function). However, the first few months of 2024 show a huge spike in AI adoption, jumping from 55% up to 72%. Perhaps more telling is that adoption of Generative AI (GenAI) has blown up, growing from 33% the previous year to 65% in Q1 2024. We expect the final 2024 report will show even higher numbers.

Sourcing plays a critical role in supply chain management (SCM), influencing costs, quality, material availability, scheduling, production, and ultimately impacting the efficiency in which businesses can provide products to customers. As businesses strive to optimize their supply chains, understanding best practices and navigating challenges in sourcing becomes essential, particularly as more businesses engage in sourcing globally. Let’s go over the basics and best practices of sourcing as part of the SCM process, and then we’ll discuss some related challenges and potential solutions.

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic unrest produced supply chain disruptions like nothing the modern world had ever seen. Financial uncertainty, massive labor issues and government lockdowns, socio-political turmoil, and transportation snafus created long-reaching impacts that are still being felt today.