Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP) is a structured, recurring process that is designed to bring various stakeholders within the value chain to agree on how to best manage the value chain going forward. SIOP creates a rigorous approach to gain consensus between sales, finance, procurement, manufacturing and logistics, allowing them to project future performance, efficiently utilize assets, and maintain high levels of service.
Key Questions
- How will an update of the sales forecast impact key operating metrics?
- For the given forecast, what actions should be taken to improve the supply chain performance?
- What are the projected financials by month / quarter / year?
- How does actual performance compare against as planned?
- What actions should be taken if customer requirements change, a new product is introduced, a new market is entered, or an alternative supplier emerges?
SIOP and SimFlex
SimFlex maintains a baseline of the existing value chain, including suppliers, manufacturing sites, logistics centers and customers in different geographies. An update of the sales forecast triggers a new SIOP analysis, where SimFlex projects future financial and operational performance with the existing value-chain. Potential bottlenecks or constraints are identified and eliminated by conducting 'what-if' analyses or creating revised plans.