Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP)
The S&OP emerged after the identification of gaps in the classic resources and materials planning (Platt & Klaes, 2010).
S&OP fosters the reduction of operational costs, while it increases the business top line (Prokopets, 2012). According to this result, information obtained through the S&OP application, according to APQC (Open Standards Benchmarking), indicate that companies that had a S&OP process decreased US$ 1.34 in costs related to demand and supply planning every US$ 1,000.00 in revenue (Spiegel, 2011).
Kralik and Fogliato (2016) compiled the main results obtained through the implementation of the S&OP in businesses related to cleaning products, a multinational of the chemical industry sector, a large scale petrochemical industry and an industrial electronics company. The main results found were: an increased accuracy of sales forecast, improvement in the level of customer service and an increase in the inventory turnover. The authors also found an improved balance of the supply chain and an alignment between the organizational strategy and the companies’ functional areas.
S&OP is an effective process and, in unstable or a drift economies, it can become a “cornerstone”, particularly in the introduction of new products (Atkinson, 2009). However, according to Singh (2011) and Iyengar and Gupta (2013), the majority of companies knows the concept, but could not execute it properly. The association of the S&OP with strategic objectives, financial metrics, detailed mapping of “action” and “metrics” is therefore necessary, dodging the “tribal knowledge” used by former managers in the management of the balance between supply and demand.