When S&OP Isn’t Enough: Extreme Volatility Calls for ‘Special Teams’

Demand-supply uncertainties, and the severe supply shortages and surpluses experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, provided a valuable lesson for Planners and Forecasters: that the S&OP process alone is not always sufficient for planning. This column recommends two operational planning teams to help address these concerns. First, the ‘Quick-Response’ planning team to manage operational planning during extreme uncertainties in demand and supply and, second, the ‘Supply-in-Mind’ planning team to identify supply issues and develop demand-shaping tactics to enhance demand-side ...