A new definition for Integrated Business Planning

In one of my S&OP pulse check surveys, I asked participants the following question; ‘Do you believe there is a difference between S&OP and IBP?’ Most (48%) of the 120 survey participants believe there is a difference. 20% answered ‘don’t know’ and the remaining 32% believed there is no difference.  The answers made me realize I actually don’t know any widely acknowledged definition for IBP. And … Continue reading A new definition for Integrated Business Planning

Three Critical Soft Benefits you get with S&OP Experience

A lot gets written about S&OP maturity and how S&OP has soft benefits like improved teamwork and collaboration.  Soft S&OP benefits like leadership, cultural and behavioral changes related to S&OP are important. In the end, S&OP is just a bunch of processes, meetings and information which has to be given meaning by people to get value out of it. A lot of the S&OP improvements … Continue reading Three Critical Soft Benefits you get with S&OP Experience

The 6 Ultimate Signs of S&OP process maturity

Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) is a 30 year old horizontal business management process that provides executives with forward visibility on how their business is expected to perform against budget and strategy. Many companies have implemented an S&OP process and continuously improved to aim for the highest level of S&OP maturity and create business value. Although there are plenty of S&OP maturity models around to … Continue reading The 6 Ultimate Signs of S&OP process maturity

How to prevent Groupthink in S&OP meetings

Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon, which occurs when a group of people, in which the desire for harmony results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Teams suffering from groupthink, minimize conflict and create an ‘ingroup’ mentality that rejects challenges to current viewpoints, decisions, or the addressing of controversial issues from the ‘outgroup’. We need discussion and challenge, so these are behaviours that need to … Continue reading How to prevent Groupthink in S&OP meetings

How to Prepare for an S&OP Meeting like Rafael Nadal

In the corporate world you can drown in meetings. Estimates are, that if you’re a middle manager, you can spend about 35% of your time in meetings. If you’re in upper management, that goes up to 50%. When we spend up to 50% of our working time in meetings, you would think that we prepare well, are focused and run them efficiently and effectively. We … Continue reading How to Prepare for an S&OP Meeting like Rafael Nadal

8 tips to stop wasting time in meetings

In the corporate world you can drown in meetings. Estimates are, that if you’re a middle manager, you can spend about 35% of your time in meetings. If you’re in upper management, that goes up to 50%. Check out this meeting info-graph. When we spend all this time in meetings, you would think that we run them efficiently and effectively. You might assume that we … Continue reading 8 tips to stop wasting time in meetings

Do you have enough passion to show GRIT?

Grit, according to Angela Duckworth, is ‘perseverance and passion for long term goals’. Duckworth is a former McKinsey consultant who turned professor.  One of her break through insights was that at the elite United States Military Academy, West Point, a cadet’s Grit score was the best predictor of success in the rigorous summer training. Grit mattered more than intelligence, leadership ability or physical fitness. You … Continue reading Do you have enough passion to show GRIT?

14 ways to cope and build Mental Toughness

Mentally Tough individuals show resilience and automatically apply coping mechanisms to reduce or eliminate stressors. These coping mechanisms come natural to some, not to others, but the good news is they can be learned. Coping mechanisms are useful in the workplace when one has to perform and deal with stress. Workplace stress can be severe due to workplace changes, mergers and acquisitions, organizational changes, a … Continue reading 14 ways to cope and build Mental Toughness

How to bring True Health to your Supply Chain

Do you recognize this situation? Something seems to be wrong in your Supply Chain. Customer service isn’t where it should be and customers are complaining. Inventory is too high, consuming too much working capital. Waste levels are rising, eating away straight from your bottom line results. You sit around the boardroom table with your leadership team and you decide to do a Supply Chain Health … Continue reading How to bring True Health to your Supply Chain

Developing Mental Toughness in the Supply Chain

Mental Toughness is a personality trait which is emerging as the key to understanding how people respond to and perform under stress, pressure and challenge. Mental Toughness explains up to 25% in the variation of an individual’s performance.  It is also a significant factor in individual and team well-being. Mental Toughness is a personal trait that can be taught, but also an organizational capability, as I … Continue reading Developing Mental Toughness in the Supply Chain