Sales and Operations Planning

Alternate Terms: S&OP, Sales Inventory and Operations Planning, SIOP, Integrated Business Planning, IBP

Leading Canned Fruits and Vegetables Manufacturer and Distributor

Served as Director of Supply Chain Planning. Managed 21-person Department (including 7 direct reports) and $3.1M payroll. Accountable for customer service performance, demand forecasting, production planning and finished goods inventory management ($215M value) for entire division product line (2800 SKUs). Forecasted sales by SKU. Coordinated inventory replenishment activities among customer satisfaction, purchasing, plant operations, distribution centers and 3PL transportation providers. Directed movement of product from 12 internal production locations and 38 distributed manufacturers (12 offshore) to 8 DCs throughout the US.

Reduced finished goods by $33M (13%) while maintaining customer service performance. Improved SKU / DC forecast accuracy by 24%. Implemented Supply Chain Planner and Demand Fulfillment modules of i2 (now Blue Yonder) APS software, including surrounding processes and integration with JD Edwards (now Oracle) ERP software. Enhanced existing i2 (now Blue Yonder) Demand Planner implementation. Designed and implemented new allocation management process to facilitate cross-functional decision-making during periods of short supply. As a direct result, company is recognizing and deciding how to resolve short supply issues much earlier that in the past, resulting in improved customer satisfaction.

North America Subsidiary of Fortune 50 Global Automotive Manufacturer

Served as Engagement Lead on SAP Integrated Business Planning (IBP) implementation of S&OP and Response & Supply modules. Responsible for overall project management of 15-person Accenture team. Instituted improved PMO capabilities. Insured that project satisfied all required deliverables and was delivered both on-time and on-budget. Had primary responsibility for managing client relationship. Improved Accenture relationship with client to the point where firm was viewed as a trusted partner by both business and IT teams. Provided business guidance on leading practices and solution design. Convinced client of need for more structured training and testing. Cleaned up and improved project financials. Facilitated good working relationships with client and among the Accenture project team.

Consumer Division of One of World’s Largest Manufacturers of Health Care Products

Assisted with post-merger integration of a pharmaceutical manufacturer’s consumer health care operations into organization. Mapped current demand planning, supply planning and S&OP capabilities vs. leading practices, and identified key areas for improvement. Developed future state S&OP process for global plants to balance worldwide supply / demand. Facilitated session among key executive personnel on required changes to on-going global SAP implementation resulting from acquisition.

Leading Manufacturer of Sports Equipment and Apparel

Served as subject matter expert on demand / supply planning software selection project. Led development of business requirements and demonstration scripts. Provided detailed feedback on vendor selection criteria, desired proposal pricing format and additional ways to improve RFP. Led questioning during vendor demonstrations and identified key differentiators among SAP APO, JDA (now Blue Yonder) and Logility packages considered. Helped client reach consensus on preferred package.

Rapidly Growing Organic Meat and Poultry Producer

Led SKU rationalization effort that reduced number of SKUs by 67% and increased company profitability. Determined that historic method for determining animal requirements was not providing accurate projections of animal needs. Developed spreadsheet-based supply-demand planning capability accurately linking supply with demand for the first time in company history. Developed time series forecasts in MS Excel that improved forecast accuracy. Then converted forecast to subprimal equivalents, and used to determine animal requirements and production schedule by week over the planning horizon. Determined that company supply-demand mix was extremely out of balance. Identified numerous instances where company would be either material or capacity constrained, and would need to secure alternate sources of supply or increase production capacity. Recommended that company look for ways to better promote whole animal utilization.

Helped client evaluate various ERP tools (Oracle NetSuite, JustFood) and select provider to implement chosen package. Defined detailed future state S&OP requirements, and evaluated various package capabilities (Blue Ridge, Kinaxis, Adexa, DemandCaster, JustFood) to meet these needs.

Server Division of a Fortune 20 High Technology Manufacturer

Led project team that performed a current state review and future state design of the demand forecasting process. Established a portfolio of information technology, organization, and process enhancements that will improve forecast accuracy by over 50%, and reduce inventory related costs by $80M per year.

Leading Provider of Fitness and Weight Loss Solutions

Performed assessment of company’s largest supplement product to determine ability of supply chain to support a quadrupling in sales over the next 24 months. Areas evaluated included product formulation, quality assurance, sourcing, demand planning, sales and operations planning (S&OP), inventory management, supply planning, purchasing, contract manufacturing, inbound / outbound transportation and warehouse management. Identified, prioritized and initiated implementation of a portfolio of 25+ projects that will enable organization to meet 98% on-time delivery target, reduce costs by over $500K annually, and expand as planned.

Large Computer Storage Device Manufacturer

Conducted a comprehensive re-engineering of company’s supply chain. Processes evaluated included demand / supply planning, inventory management, procurement, manufacturing, order fulfillment, transportation, warehousing, and product lifecycle management. Led 11-member project team that developed improvements to company’s demand / supply planning and inventory management activities. Company implemented six follow-on projects, including installation of i2 (now Blue Yonder) APS software that reduced inventory levels by over 60%, and associated inventory related costs by $240M annually.

Medical Devices Division of a Fortune 150 Health Care Products Manufacturer

Assessed current state demand / supply planning solution. Determined that acquisition of a new tool would greatly enhance planning capabilities. Identified key business requirements new tool should support, along with short list of planning software providers meeting these needs. Developed business case documenting tool benefits and costs. Established that new tool will generate $6.8M in benefits annually, with IRR exceeding 27%.

Multinational Food Ingredients Manufacturer

Assessed company’s demand / supply planning, transportation, order management, procurement and manufacturing operations. Identified process, organization and IT gaps versus leading practices. Confirmed need for demand / supply planning APS software tool, and developed short list of recommended vendors.

Leading Branded Apparel Manufacturer / Retailer

Conducted current state assessment of demand / supply planning practices. Identified gaps in processes, organization and tools versus leading practices, along with recommended improvements and associated benefits.