S&OP consulting: a monthly process that aligns sales, operations and finance
We implement the sales and operations planning process end to end: the calendar, the meetings, the forecast that feeds it, the KPIs that measure it and the tool where it lives. And we stay until the cycle closes on its own.
- Five-step monthly cycle
- Sales, operations and finance on one plan
- Forecast, inventory and service KPIs
- On Excel, ForecastSolve or DemandSolve
What is S&OP?
S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning) is the monthly process through which a company agrees on a single demand and supply plan for the coming months, backed by sales, operations and finance. It is not a meeting or a piece of software: it is a cycle with fixed dates, defined inputs and decisions that someone signs.
When it works, the forecast stops being a sales number that operations does not believe, inventory stops piling up where it does not sell, and management decides with one set of figures. When it does not exist, each area plans on its own and the customer pays the difference in stock-outs and overstock.
The S&OP cycle in five steps
Data and portfolio review
The month is closed: actual sales, inventory, open orders, launches and discontinuations. Without this clean base, the rest of the cycle argues over the wrong numbers.
Demand review
The statistical forecast is enriched with what sales and marketing know: promotions, new customers, price changes. Out comes an unconstrained demand plan with an owner.
Supply review
Operations, purchasing and logistics check the demand plan against capacity, lead times and inventory. Out come the gaps and the options to close them.
Reconciliation
Finance turns the scenarios into money: margin, working capital, risk. The decisions leadership has to make are prepared, not the list of everything that happened.
Executive meeting
Leadership approves the plan, decides on the gaps and allocates resources. One hour, one plan, recorded decisions. The cycle starts again.
What we do for you
Diagnosis
How you plan today, what data you have, which KPIs you measure and where the cycle breaks. A report with gaps and a prioritized implementation plan.
Process design
Monthly calendar, roles and owners, inputs and outputs of each meeting, aggregation levels and planning horizon.
The forecast that feeds it
We set up the statistical forecast with ForecastSolve or DemandSolve, or improve the one you already have in Excel.
KPIs and dashboards
Forecast accuracy, bias, coverage, fill rate and plan adherence, in a dashboard that refreshes itself.
Training
We train the team on its own data: how to read the forecast, how to prepare each meeting, how to argue with numbers.
Support
We facilitate the first cycles with you and then follow up monthly until the process sustains itself without us.
Who it is for
- Distributors and manufacturers in consumer goods, pharma, food, hardware or spare parts with hundreds or thousands of SKUs.
- Companies where sales and operations plan separately and inventory proves it: stock-outs on what moves and overstock on what does not.
- Teams that already tried S&OP and it stalled as a monthly meeting with no data, no decisions and no follow-up.
- Leadership that wants one number for budget, purchasing and production instead of three versions that never match.
S&OP, S&OE and IBP: which one do you need?
| S&OE | S&OP | IBP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horizon | Weeks (0 to 3 months) | Months (3 to 18) | Months to years (up to 36) |
| Question | Are we hitting this month's plan? | Which demand and supply plan do we approve? | How do we align the plan with strategy and finance? |
| Who decides | Operations and sales | General management | Executive committee |
| Unit | Units and orders | Units and money | Money, scenarios and portfolio |
Most companies first need an S&OP that works. IBP is the evolution once the process is mature; S&OE is the weekly control that executes it.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to implement S&OP?
It depends on the starting point: data quality, whether a forecast exists and how many areas take part. Typically the process is designed in the first weeks, the first full cycle runs the following month, and two or three more cycles are needed for the team to sustain it alone. The diagnosis gives you a concrete calendar.
Do I need software to run S&OP?
Not to start. Many processes begin with well-organized Excel and a serious forecast. Software matters when the catalog grows, there are several planners or the ERP has to consume the plan. That is why we work on Excel, ForecastSolve or DemandSolve, depending on the size of the process.
Which KPIs are used in S&OP?
The ones that measure the three things the process promises: forecast accuracy (MAPE, bias), inventory health (coverage, turns, obsolescence) and customer service (fill rate, OTIF). Plus plan adherence, which tells whether what was approved was executed.
What is the difference between S&OP and IBP?
IBP (Integrated Business Planning) extends S&OP with a longer horizon, financial scenarios and portfolio and strategy decisions. In practice, it is a mature S&OP with finance at the center. If you are not yet closing a monthly cycle with decisions, start with S&OP.
Do you work remotely?
Yes. We are based in Panama and serve all of the Americas in Spanish, English and Portuguese. Cycle meetings are facilitated by video call and, when the project calls for it, we visit the operation.
Did your S&OP stall as a meeting?
Tell us how you plan today in a 15-minute call. We will tell you where we would start and what to expect from the first cycles.
Book 15 minutes →