SAP Reporting
You need data for collaboration, decisions, preparation, and availability—for Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP). In this blog, we explore how to improve collaboration in the S&OP process.
Collaboration Habits
Collaboration, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is working together with others to create something. The opposite is not working together. S&OP is a process for working together, discussing functionally focused parts of the business to optimize outcomes—a scheduled series of negotiations.
S&OP often starts with polite complaints. Meanwhile, private calls and emails continue to get orders out, products built, and components expedited, disrupting the “plan.” These efforts are “for the good of the company” but do not deliver consistent benefits. The complaints are important for everyone to feel heard and participate, but they need to be converted to improvements.
Strategy to Action
Every S&OP launch is bumpy and requires data—so skip to the data. Collaboration and data access level the playing field, creating focal points for discussing opportunities. When everyone sees the same picture, they understand different viewpoints more clearly. When each department has only their own data, especially aggregated data, it is hard to convey opportunities.
But who will gather the data? IT has a full plate. Some determined associates will find a way and get quietly punished: “How did you get data? Is it right? Where did you get it? When did you get this? This is not an approved method…” Then they lose their SE16N access or get updated export limitations.
S&OP Actions
Here are some key S&OP collaboration topics with links to detailed posts. Each highlights the importance of detailed data to support aggregated S&OP reviews, linking strategy and action:
- Portfolio Analysis: Daily, planners ask, “What do I do first?” Answer the phone, emails, hide with coffee? Portfolio analysis connects strategy with daily activities and priorities. It combines profit rankings and product lifecycle management with an ABC ranking as the output. ABC indicators (not cycle count rankings) answer the question: “What do I do first?” Take care of the A items.
- Demand Planning: Forecasts don’t matter—except to the one forecasting capacity, components, or vendor capacity. Forecasts require maintenance or they result in excess inventory or lost sales. Reporting needs to include all existing forecasts—not just aggregate reporting—to catch problem forecasts. A items should have the most regular forecast reviews. Lastly, reality-check sales projections with a revenue forecast from units x prices.
- Inventory: Reduce inventory! Which inventory? How much? Some attendees at a conference shared a request to reduce A item inventory during COVID, hurting sales when demand returned. Blanket “reduce inventory” requests can be harmful. ABC rankings drive action—they dictate attention, inventory, and service levels.
- Supply Planning: “Can they ship today?” Give planners a system with ABC rankings to reduce firefighting. Portfolio analysis drives priorities, option development, and maintenance, helping align on priorities to lower stress for everyone.
Common Goals
Confidence in the data is key for collaboration in S&OP. When functions align on priorities, firefighting decreases, and common goals are communicated, embedding strategy in day-to-day actions instead of side calls and emails.
Multiple SAP systems? Simplement pulls the data into the same place easily, supporting aggregated and detailed reporting. This approach easily catches exceptions like slow-moving inventory, forecast issues, and master data complications.
Providing the same data to the whole audience as a first step and making reports easy to modify enables real-time, row-level data access from any table in SAP. Data can be fed to Power BI, Tableau, or other products, making it easy to fix issues before KPIs show a problem. Collaborative S&OP will happen organically.
Next Step
Contact Simplement for a POC and install. Get a report in a week. Simplement can deliver extensive table data live within weeks and extensive reports in months.
