Salespeople’s core business is to sell – to develop the company’s (profitable) sales. It’s not the job of salespeople to draw up sales forecasts, to ask for this or that level of stock, to worry about the availability of this or that component, to deal with out-of-stock situations, or to catch up with their customers. That’s what the supply chain is for.
What’s the situation in your company? How much of your sales force’s time is spent on developing sales, as opposed to solving delivery problems, getting feedback from dissatisfied customers, drawing up forecasts, and maintaining probabilities of success in your CRM to feed into the sales forecasting process?
Our proposition is as follows: the core goal of supply chain teams is to enable the company’s salespeople to concentrate on developing the business. To do this, they need to be confident – not only in the technical quality of the company’s products but also in the supply chain reliability and responsiveness of its services, starting with the ability to deliver on time.
Operations Teams Focused on Flow
Operations teams are exposed to a multitude of injunctions – productivity, regulatory, quality, technical, social, environmental, and so on. If you’ve ever worked as part of a management team in an industrial company, you’ll have noticed, as I have, that often more attention is paid to the P&L than to the service level. I’ve even known companies where the service level was not measured at all or was a confidential measure that was not shared – sometimes on the pretext that we weren’t sure of the relevance of the measurement.
The requested date? Oh no, we don’t keep it in the system… The promised date? Well, it evolves…
If you want to keep your salespeople focused on the act of selling, you need to put the on-time delivery metrics at the center of attention – it’s the measure of the primary satisfaction of your customers’ needs.
Your core business in operations is to establish a fast, reliable flow. Transform purchased components into products that meet your customer’s expectations in the right place at the right time. That’s all there is to it. It must be your only compass.
Clear Rules of Engagement
Misunderstandings are commonplace and simply reflect the fact that the company’s operating model has not been properly designed and shared. Defining the operating model is the very first step in a demand-driven project. Once a model has been defined, performance can be measured, ensuring supply chain adaptability is a built-in feature.
Direct, Relevant Communication Channels
Problem-solving, sales forecasts, and S&OP – the meeting points are partly formal and partly ad hoc. For exchanges to be fruitful, the core missions must be reaffirmed and made clear:
- Operations is responsible for ensuring a fast, reliable flow and guaranteeing availability.
- Sales is responsible for business development and gathering market insights.
Digital platforms like Intuiflow are the key to orchestrating effective collaboration tools for operations. These digital supply chain platforms allow Sales and Operations to share their vision of supply chain health, projections, and risks.
S&OP Focused on Adaptability
If your S&OP process demands a reliable forecast from sales teams but fails to account for real-time data, it’s not serving its purpose. However, an S&OP efficiency model anticipates scenarios—like promotional events or capacity constraints—and turns them into opportunities.
With streamlined inventory management strategies and adaptable processes, your teams can focus on profit-maximizing activities rather than chasing outdated forecasts.
For more insights into enhancing supply chain adaptability, explore Demand Driven Technologies.
