Five Key Factors to Creating a Demand-Driven Supply Chain

Many organizations struggle to forecast client demand and align their operations to respond accordingly. Maine Pointe’s procurement, operations and logistics practice leaders outline five critical success factors that will ensure effective demand-driven sales and operations planning (S&OP).

Over the past three decades, manufacturing, distribution and some service companies have invested significant management time, consulting dollars and technology expense into efforts to properly balance supply commitments and realized demand. At the same time, they have been working hard to optimize trade-offs between working capital (inventory), operating expense and customer service. The results have been spotty at best. Measurable, lasting success has proved broadly, and somewhat surprisingly, elusive.

If this was a simple task, good organizations would have mastered it long ago. As it is, most have their efforts rewarded with frustration and change inertia. Many well-intentioned S&OP initiatives are chartered, staffed and supported with investment, yet they quickly plateau and wane without measurable payoff.