ISMG Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

ISMG - Essay Example The supply is controlled by the weather while the demand is controlled by spikes and shifts in demand like for other manufacturers. Due to the supply being clustered in one area and the processes after harvest being too many it raised a lot of problems for the company in terms of costs. The company needed a system that could solve the problem of line utilization, scheduling, reducing inventory, transportation costs and lead time. The sales and operations (S&OP) program was adopted to help alleviate these problems. It was meant to handle problems such as unanticipated demand, shortages in supply, and production disruptions. The paper-based spreadsheet system that the company previously used became inadequate in supporting the complex nature of the business while also not meeting demands of the company. This is mainly because the company was too big and more complex while the spreadsheets relied on outdated data that required a lot of effort to analyze. The S&OP program is implemented in different stages with the first stage being scrubbing all the previous data and unifying it in one database. This step was mainly meant to ensure that all the participants of the supply chain worked together with each other and understood the other departments accordingly. This was followed by a five phase implementation program to show value of S&OP program early in the transformation. The first phase required improving demand visibility that necessitated better communication at the decision making level while also ensuring that every member of the group gained same data and each other’s goals. The program also helped in training the users of the program while also testing the scalability of the program without disrupting the company’s existing workflow. The statistical forecasts and preparing plans for price changes and promotions in future and an analysis of demand data was also improved thereby