S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning) is a business management approach that helps companies match their supply with customer demand. Think of it as a monthly meeting process where different departments (sales, operations, finance) come together to make sure the company is making the right amount of products at the right time. It's like a company-wide calendar that helps plan everything from how much to produce to how many people to hire. Similar terms include Integrated Business Planning (IBP) or Supply Chain Planning. This process helps companies avoid making too much or too little of their products, which saves money and keeps customers happy.
Led monthly S&OP meetings for $200M business unit, improving forecast accuracy by 25%
Implemented Sales and Operations Planning process across 3 manufacturing locations
Managed S&OP software implementation, resulting in 30% reduction in excess inventory
Facilitated IBP / S&OP process for new product launches
Typical job title: "S&OP Managers"
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Q: How would you handle conflict between sales forecasts and production capacity?
Expected Answer: A senior manager should explain their approach to balancing competing priorities, facilitating cross-functional discussions, and using data to make informed decisions. They should mention experience in finding creative solutions and managing stakeholder expectations.
Q: Describe how you would implement an S&OP process in a company that has never had one.
Expected Answer: Should discuss change management, stakeholder buy-in, establishing regular meeting cadence, defining clear roles and responsibilities, and gradual process implementation starting with basics and building complexity over time.
Q: What metrics would you use to measure S&OP effectiveness?
Expected Answer: Should mention forecast accuracy, inventory levels, customer service levels, production plan adherence, and financial metrics. Should be able to explain why each metric matters to the business.
Q: How do you ensure effective communication between different departments in the S&OP process?
Expected Answer: Should discuss regular meeting structures, standard reporting formats, clear agenda setting, and strategies for getting buy-in from different departments. Should emphasize importance of speaking both operational and financial language.
Q: What are the main steps in the monthly S&OP process?
Expected Answer: Should be able to describe the basic monthly cycle: demand review, supply review, pre-S&OP meeting, and executive S&OP meeting. Should understand the purpose of each step.
Q: What data is typically needed for an S&OP meeting?
Expected Answer: Should mention sales forecasts, current inventory levels, production capacity, financial targets, and historical performance data. Should understand where this data comes from.