Proven Path Registration Area
White Papers

David explains a fast track methodology for implementing S&OP/IBP that has proven successful for scores of companies in a variety of industries.

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This white paper explains the role of the coordinators for each step of the Integrated Business Planning (IBP) and Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) processes. The article is based on the author's experience as the S&OP coordinator and project manager for a multi-national specialty chemical and biotech firm.

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This white paper focuses on the principles and behaviors required to successfully operate Sales and Operations Planning, also frequently called Integrated Business Planning, in a matrix environment. Three principles are highlighted, and the six behaviors needed to support those principles are explained.

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This white paper debunks the myths that Kanban and Enterprise Resource Planning are mutually exclusive. The authors explain how to use both together to create a demand driven system that is responsive to demand volatility and uncertainty. Read: Kanban and Enterprise Resource Planning: The True Understanding of Lean and learn how to use these two powerful methods together to simultaneously improve customer service and reduce inventory.

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You are Crunched for Time and Resources are Thin
Now a System Implementation has been Added to Your Plate
Dennis Groves and Tom Mercer

It can be exciting for business users when a company invests in a new system. The new system should enable business users to stop using spreadsheets for planning and communicating. But how can you be sure that your time is optimized and your business needs are accurately addressed to produce the greatest end result? Click below to learn the answer.

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The Heat is on: Your Company has Decided to Invest in a New System
You are Expected to Deliver the Results
Dennis Groves and Tom Mercer

The last thing you want is to recommend spending millions of dollars on a planning system and have it not meet business users' needs. But putting together the process flow definitions, solution maps, application programming interfaces and stage-gate lifecycle definitions is time-consuming. This paper outlines an alternative to starting from a blank sheet of paper.

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How to Prevent the System Implementation Disaster
Don't Invest Multi-Millions of Dollars and Receive a Low Return on Investment
Dennis Groves and Tom Mercer

Too many executives have experienced low return on investment in implementing a new enterprise system. This paper not only describes the pitfalls of implementing an enterprise system without first creating the business user’s process definitions; it offers a solution that provides you a running start in realizing the results you expect.

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Relationships
The Key to Effective Demand Planning in a Business-To-Business Environment
George Palmatier

Poor forecasts are often symptoms of poor customer relationships. This paper deals with the role of sales account managers in developing collaborative relationships with key customers. Sales needs to represent the company to the customer and the customer to the company.

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Integrated Business Planning /
Sales and Operations Planning
An Executive Level Synopsis
George Palmatier

The integrated management process known as Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) has evolved over three decades. In recent years it has taken a major evolutionary step for many companies that have realized the need for, and the benefits of, operating with one integrated management process. Integrated Business Planning is the name many companies are using to describe a strategic management process integrating all the functional elements of the business, picking up where traditional S&OP leaves off. This paper discusses the integrated management process known as Sales and Operations Planning and its more mature version, Integrated Business Planning. It is written to give management and leadership a quick synopsis of this integrated strategic management process.
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Why Annual Planning Should be a Significant Non-Event
George Palmatier and Robert Hirschey

Companies wedded to traditional annual planning and budgeting processes face significant risk of “losing” in the increasingly dynamic global marketplace. This white paper describes the pitfalls of the traditional annual planning process and offers a solution, with demonstrated results, on how to make the annual planning process a significant non-event.
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Transitioning from Sales and Operations Planning to Integrated Business Planning
George Palmatier and Colleen Crum

Companies have been improving business performance for almost three decades through Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), but not all have evolved from fundamental demand and supply balancing. Doing so drives even greater operational and financial gains. Read this new white paper, Transitioning from Sales and Operations Planning to Integrated Business Planning, to discover where your company is on the maturity of S&OP and the real benefits of transitioning from S&OP to Integrated Business Planning.
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The Top 10 Myths and Realities of S&OP
Colleen Crum and Fred Baumann

JDA and Oliver Wight set the record straight on the costliest misconceptions in S&OP.

Managing the Extended Supply Chain
An Introduction
Ron Ireland
Leading companies such as Wal-Mart and Cisco Systems are now broadening their vision and strategy and are developing “end-to-end” supply chains. This concept has them focusing on their own internal core competencies while looking to outsource their non-core activities, such as manufacturing, to external supply chain partners. Outsourcing does not eliminate ownership of the process. It extends the scope of the supply chain that they need to manage. For further reading, pick up a copy of Ron's book: Supply Chain Collaboration

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Driving Excellence in Product Management
Luis C. Torres

Establishing an excellent product management process requires integration of five primary process elements: strategy, product management, portfolio management, project management, and resource management. Product management is comprised of a collective set of functions including planning, marketing, and delivery of the product to the market, managed throughout all stages of the product’s lifecycle.

This paper will describe the five elements of the product management process required to support an overall Integrated Business Model.
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Achieving Oliver Wight Class A Business Excellence Certification and the Bottom-line Business Benefits
Dennis Groves, Kevin Herbert, and James Correll

Business leaders continue to share with us the tough challenges of increasingly demanding customers, pressure from shareholders and directors, declining revenues, off-shore competition, soaring costs and, most recently, turbulent financial markets. Fortunately, there are companies utilizing the concepts and principles of Oliver Wight Class A Business Excellence and following the Oliver Wight Proven Path to develop compelling visions, missions, and values to operate with formal business processes and to carefully define accountabilities. These companies have a greater capability of surviving stormy financial times and of avoiding the chaotic “Ready! Fire! Aim” decisions too often seen in companies who can only react to marketplace and economic surprises. In this white paper, Dennis, Kevin, and Jim describe the transformational methodology that will lead you to previously unattainable and sustainable business results—Class A Business Excellence. For additional reading on this topic, pick up a copy of the book: Achieving Class A Business Excellence, An Executive's Perspective

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Cascade Education
A Critical Element of the Change Management Process
Roger Brooks and David Manning

Today many companies claim to be “learning organizations.” But are they in reality? In Oliver Wight’s experience, companies that are truly learning organizations have successfully modified their organizational behaviors repeatedly in response to changing marketplace conditions. It has been said that in today’s world, the only sustainable competitive advantage any company has lies in the ability of its people to learn and adapt in the face of a continuously changing environment and continuously changing customer expectations. Behavior change is the critical element of that success, and continuous learning and application of those learnings is the foundation of effective behavior change. Without continuous learning, any improvement and resulting competitive advantage is momentary, at best. With it, people create a legacy of sustained change and improvement that make their companies consistent, top performers for shareholders and employees alike.
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Guiding and Improving Lean Manufacturing (and other initiatives) with Integrated Business Planning
Written by: Rick Burris

The principles of Lean Manufacturing improve quality, delivery, and cost in manufacturing companies. But discarding or abandoning non-Lean improvement activities runs the risk of making Lean initiatives less effective. The stringent application of Lean as the only worthy improvement activity can produce unintended consequences that hinder the energy and enthusiasm organizations need for Lean success. This white paper presents four examples to support this position.
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Gain Future Leverage by Managing Improvements During an Economic Downturn
written by: Rick Burris

Many companies miss the counterintuitive opportunity to fine-tune their businesses during the stressful period of managing in a down economy or market. Senior executives are so consumed with addressing the day-to-day turmoil of declining sales and cut-throat competition, they fail to prepare to take advantage of the inevitable upturn in business conditions. Surviving until the market turns is obviously a key priority, but the real future of the company is in its ability to lead the competition when economic opportunity again becomes the business driver.
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The purpose of this white paper is to introduce and describe the steps necessary to start on the journey to Sustainable High Performance and Profitability and how to do it in a holistic manner.
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“Push” and “Pull” are terms that have become synonymous with specific supply chain designs.  Understanding the differences in demand and supply characteristics is extremely important to determine the appropriate model for managing products.  To compete in the future, the selection and application of the correct model to the various characteristics is critical for manufacturing companies.  Jim Correll and Daniel Araujo discuss the need to examine business strategies, customer requirements, and the actual supply chain.
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The world-class standard for inventory record accuracy today stands at 99.5 percent--as a minimum. While only a relatively few organizations even can claim they are performing at or above this standard, the harsh reality is that most companies still are struggling with inaccurate inventory records. From a financial perspective alone, it is imperative that inventory records be accurate and timely just to meet the mandates of Sarbanes-Oxley. The goal, however, not only is to improve inventory record accuracy, but also to sustain it and to continuously improve upon it. To start the improvement process, this white paper will describe a five-step program that will enable the reader to achieve greater inventory record accuracy.
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Job Modeling
The Class A Approach to Talent Selection
Shirley Chambliss

The success of process improvement initiatives often is compromised when human factor requirements are not addressed and the people selected to lead or staff the new or redesigned process either underperforms or fail. However, the risk of failure caused by a mismatch of people and required capabilities can be mitigated through the use of job modeling tools and technologies. Job modeling systems now available can identify the specific human factors required and assist management to select the ideal person to lead new process implementations and/or to perform a designated task. This white paper describes behavioral measurement technologies, job modeling creation, and how their application can lead to successful change improvement initiatives.

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Securing the Right People to Lead
Your Change Initiative
Shirley A. Chambliss

Massive change efforts are regularly undertaken by organizations of various size and scope; none are immune. Yet these initiatives frequently require major infusions of resources, both capital and human, to implement the “change.”

What is lacking in the majority of change efforts is an analysis to ascertain whether or not the change effort has a chance to survive the personalities that will be held accountable for securing its benefits. There’s also the need to study the readiness of the organization itself and its culture for change.
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Forecast Measurement and Evaluation
George Palmatier

In this white paper, George stresses the importance of forecasting and why accuracy should be measured. You will find information on how to measure forecasts, what to expect, how to evaluate results, and how to handle inaccuracies. George then leads into a discussion on customer linking and CPFR®.
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Role of the S&OP Coordinator in the Integrated Reconciliation Step of the S&OP Process
Colleen Crum and Rob Tearnan

The Sales and Operations Planning process consists of a series of steps, the Management Business Review being one of them. In this white paper, Colleen and George review the typical agenda for a management business review, questions that should be asked, and the role of the general manager or president. For additional reading on this topic, pick up a copy of the book: Enterprise Sales and Operations Planning

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Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) is widely considered a best practice management methodology for manufacturing, engineering, and distribution organizations. It is a monthly management process that brings into one integrated plan all of a business’s separate operational plans and ensures that the plans are synchronized; particularly demand, supply, inventory, new product, and finance. If done well, the process provides a formal method for senior management to respond to change, both positive and negative, over a 24- to 60-month planning horizon. A mature process enables management visibility of the status of strategic initiatives and identification of gaps between current plans and strategic goals which leads to action plans to close the gaps.
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Strategic Planning
An Executive’s Aid for Strategic Thinking, Development, and Deployment
George Palmatier

In this white paper, George Palmatier discusses strategic thinking, development and deployment including techniques for communication, alignment, and continuous evaluation of the strategic planning process.
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Profit Chain Integration
Ron Ireland

Today, more than ever, you are experiencing increasing demands from your largest and most important customers to lower product pricing, reduce inventory stocking levels, and to become the most cost efficient and easiest trading partner with which to do business. In this white paper, Ronald Ireland describes the benefits of Profit Chain Integration (PCI) and the "Closed-Loop Supply Chain Total Solution". For further reading, pick up a copy of Ron's book: Supply Chain Collaboration

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Linking CPFR® to S&OP
Ron Ireland and Colleen Crum

Leading companies continue their migration towards best practices and emerging technologies as they strengthen their supply chain, both within their own corporation and externally with their trading partners. Two leading industry supply chain best practices are now being linked together to leverage what each does best -- collaboration.This paper describes the vision, process and value of linking CPFR® and S&OP.
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Business Process Owners
The Unsung Heroes
Dennis Groves

The business process owners, by maintaining high standards of performance, and by ensuring that the organization’s business processes are at world-class levels of operational effectiveness, keep the organization finely tuned.
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CPFR®
Collaborative Planning Forecasting & Replenishment
Ron Ireland

This paper describes in detail how many of today's leading companies are embarking on a path of collaboration with external trading partners, enabling improved overall value chain performance with CPFR®. For further reading, pick up a copy of Ron's book: Supply Chain Collaboration

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Lean and ERP
A marriage made in heaven
Jim Correll

This paper is designed to help companies maximize results with ERP and Lean Manufacturing by seeing how they relate to each other, and by learning how to apply a combination of the two practices within a company environment.
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Demand Management
Lessons Learned
George Palmatier and Colleen Crum

This white paper is based on the lessons learned by Oliver Wight consultants in helping companies, large and small, implement demand management processes over the past 20 years.  In this paper, Palmatier and Crum share the keys to success. For further reading on this topic, pick up a copy of Coco & George's book: Demand Management Best Practices

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This white paper is also available in Spanish
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Forecasting and Communicating Project Demand
George Palmatier

This paper is designed to help demand managers and planners recognize different demand streams and how to treat them, identify, categorize and review project demand, and how to forecast and communicate demand and develop "what if" scenarios and contingency plans.
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Role of Technology in Demand Management
George Palmatier and Colleen Crum

This is an excerpt from the book, Demand Management Best Practices: Process, Principles and Collaboration, published by J. Ross Publishing. Crum and Palmatier write about best practice solutions that will improve overall business performance for supply chain partners and all functions within a company impacted by the demand management process.
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The Day Exuberance Trumped a Proven Process
Dennis Groves

This is about ensuring that S&OP is adding value to the business.  It is about recognizing the importance of a formal S&OP process and the role that forecasting and demand management play in realizing the business benefits of that process.
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Strategic Planning
What does excellence look like
Brant Slade

In this white paper, Brant Slade explains the four key elements of a good strategic planning process and how your company can become much more focused on what it takes to really win in the marketplace.
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Class A, Lean and Six Sigma
Robert Bailey and Donald McNaughton

This paper is intended to remove confusion about the numerous management systems and their subsets that compete for attention today .  It provides an overview of the three most commonly-used systems and the key areas of overlap to provide insight on how these management systems can be effectively integrated.
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