Sales and operations planning
One cycle, six steps, five functions, and the decisions that stay with a person
SG&A is a collection of functions and a significant heartbeat of a company, and the planning cycle is where that heartbeat is easiest to hear. more
How it runs
The cycle, step by step
Each step has a window in the working month, a question it exists to answer, a chair who runs it, and a decision it must leave behind. more
Working days one to three
Product and portfolio review
Settle what the company is actually going to sell next period before anybody forecasts it. more
Chaired by
Chief of Staff, Research and Development
research-development
The question
What is in the plan, and what is coming out of it?
What it decides
Which items pass their stage gate, which are stopped, and what the portfolio is weighted toward.
What it leaves behind
An item that fails its gate but has commercial commitments against it goes to step six rather than being resolved here.
Services in this step
4 decisions here wait for a person
VP Innovation · Gate committee decide (RD2A)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the program decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
VP Innovation · Fund or stop (RD2A)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the program decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
Director, R&D Analytics · Leader review (RD11A)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the analysis decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
VP Innovation · Leader decide (RD2B)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the program decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
Working days four to six
Demand review
Build one unconstrained demand number the commercial side will stand behind, and be honest about how wrong the last one was.
Chaired by
Chief of Staff, Sales
sales
The question
What do we believe we will sell, and how good has that belief been?
What it decides
The consensus demand plan, the assumptions under it, and the accuracy read on the previous cycle.
What it leaves behind
A demand number the supply side cannot serve is not resolved here. It goes to step five as a gap.
Services in this step
5 decisions here wait for a person
Director, Demand Planning · Planner review (SC1A)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the forecast item decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
VP Revenue Growth Management · Leader call (SL7A)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the forecast cycle decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
VP Revenue Growth Management · Lock commit (SL7A)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the forecast cycle decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
Director, Demand Planning · Leader review (SC1C)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the forecast item decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
VP Brand · Leader review (MK1C)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the brand asset decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
Working days seven to nine
Supply review
Answer the demand plan with what can actually be made, moved and held, and name every constraint that stops it.
Chaired by
Chief of Staff, Supply Chain
supply-chain
The question
Can we serve that, and what breaks if we try?
What it decides
The constrained supply plan, the inventory position behind it, and the supplier commitments it depends on.
What it leaves behind
An unresolved constraint becomes a named gap carried into step five with its value attached.
Services in this step
3 decisions here wait for a person
Director, Supply Planning · Planner review (SC2A)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the supply plan decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
Director, Supply Planning · Escalate cost (SC2B)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the supply plan decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
Director, Supplier Collaboration · Negotiate (SC8A)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the commit decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
Working days ten to twelve
Financial reconciliation
Convert the volume plan into money and put it next to the commitment the company has already made to its owners.
Chaired by
Chief of Staff, Finance
finance
The question
What does this plan do to the number we told the market?
What it decides
The financial view of the plan, the variance to the standing forecast, and the cost to serve it.
What it leaves behind
A gap to the committed number is not closed here. It is quantified and handed to step five.
Services in this step
5 decisions here wait for a person
Director, Budgeting · Owner confirm (FI2B)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the budget line decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
VP Revenue Analytics · Revenue chief review (RO11A)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the analysis decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
VP Supply Chain Strategy · Leader review (SC10C)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the network study decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
VP Pricing · Legal check (RO2A)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the price change decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
VP Pricing · Pricing council approve (RO2A)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the price change decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
Working days thirteen to fifteen
Pre-cycle reconciliation
Close what can be closed and build the executive pack around what cannot, with a costed option against every remaining gap.
Chaired by
Chief of Staff, Supply Chain
supply-chain
The question
What is left that only an executive can settle?
What it decides
Which gaps are closed at working level, and what the executive meeting will actually be asked.
What it leaves behind
Everything still open goes to step six with options, a value and a recommendation.
Services in this step
3 decisions here wait for a person
VP Integrated Business Planning · Executive review (SC3A)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the planning cycle decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
VP Integrated Business Planning · Decisions (SC3A)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the planning cycle decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
VP Integrated Business Planning · Leader review (SC3B)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the planning cycle decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
Working days sixteen and seventeen
Executive review and decision
Take the decisions nobody below the table can take, record them against a name, and set the plan of record.
Chaired by
VP Integrated Business Planning
supply-chain
The question
What are we doing, and who owns that?
What it decides
The plan of record, the trade-offs accepted to reach it, and any standing planning position that changed.
What it leaves behind
Nothing. This is the end of the cycle: an item that cannot be decided here is deferred with a named owner and a date.
Services in this step
One decision here waits for a person
VP Integrated Business Planning · Ratify (SC3C)Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the planning cycle decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged.
What to pick up
Who signs what
Every station in the cycle that stops for a person, in the order the cycle reaches it. more
21 decisions
12 named approvers across 6 steps
| Step | Service | Station | Approver | Rule | Dwell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product and portfolio review | Stage Gate Review | Gate committee decide | VP Innovation | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the program decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 126m |
| Product and portfolio review | Stage Gate Review | Fund or stop | VP Innovation | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the program decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 618m |
| Product and portfolio review | Quarterly Portfolio Read | Leader review | Director, R&D Analytics | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the analysis decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 1813m |
| Product and portfolio review | Kill Signal Escalation | Leader decide | VP Innovation | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the program decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 253m |
| Demand review | Monthly Demand Cycle | Planner review | Director, Demand Planning | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the forecast item decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 74m |
| Demand review | Weekly Forecast Cycle | Leader call | VP Revenue Growth Management | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the forecast cycle decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 2857m |
| Demand review | Weekly Forecast Cycle | Lock commit | VP Revenue Growth Management | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the forecast cycle decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 1393m |
| Demand review | Forecast Accuracy Review | Leader review | Director, Demand Planning | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the forecast item decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 1520m |
| Demand review | Brand Health Read | Leader review | VP Brand | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the brand asset decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 1094m |
| Supply review | Supply Plan Cycle | Planner review | Director, Supply Planning | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the supply plan decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 452m |
| Supply review | Constraint Resolution | Escalate cost | Director, Supply Planning | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the supply plan decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 194m |
| Supply review | Forecast Collaboration | Negotiate | Director, Supplier Collaboration | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the commit decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 251m |
| Financial reconciliation | Rolling Forecast | Owner confirm | Director, Budgeting | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the budget line decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 476m |
| Financial reconciliation | Monthly Revenue Read | Revenue chief review | VP Revenue Analytics | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the analysis decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 1188m |
| Financial reconciliation | Cost-to-Serve Read | Leader review | VP Supply Chain Strategy | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the network study decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 2457m |
| Financial reconciliation | Rate Card Release | Legal check | VP Pricing | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the price change decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 386m |
| Financial reconciliation | Rate Card Release | Pricing council approve | VP Pricing | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the price change decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 399m |
| Pre-cycle reconciliation | Monthly Planning Cycle | Executive review | VP Integrated Business Planning | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the planning cycle decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 1251m |
| Pre-cycle reconciliation | Monthly Planning Cycle | Decisions | VP Integrated Business Planning | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the planning cycle decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 793m |
| Pre-cycle reconciliation | Scenario Stress Test | Leader review | VP Integrated Business Planning | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the planning cycle decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 1234m |
| Executive review and decision | Planning Doctrine Position | Ratify | VP Integrated Business Planning | Held for a named human when the unit exceeds the planning cycle decision envelope, when confidence falls below the floor, or when a policy clause is engaged. | 2997m |
How this cycle is put together
Assembled shape, real services
The six steps and the working-day calendar are an assembly, written here to put the estate into the shape a planning cycle actually runs in. more
All 18 services named in the cycle resolve to a live row in the catalogue.
What the cycle would run on
0 of the 14 systems this cycle touches are returning records
A planning cycle is the most system-dependent thing in this estate … more
Why S&OP is the test
And not a queue
S&OP is the honest test of an agentic estate. more
Actions
What is waiting on a person
What a planning cycle in this shape puts in front of a person. more
decisions in the cycle need a named person
Spread across 12 different approvers in 6 steps. more
planning systems feed this cycle on paper but not in fact
The demand, supply and financial numbers in a real cycle come out of planning and ledger systems. more
of them sit in one step, demand review
Working days four to six carries more human decisions than any other part of the cycle. more
Operations
What this desk is allowed to start
A surface that only reports is not operable. more
Trigger and bound
6 steps over 17 working days, assembled from 18 real services in 6 functions. more
Live observability
What the record shows right now
Human decisions by step. more
Current distribution
21 decisions
Is policy and strategy coming to fruition
Whether the written intent is holding here
Half. The cycle holds its shape and every decision in it has a name against it … more
Not holding on the record
The written intent behind putting S&OP on this platform is that a planning cycle is the honest test of an agentic estate … more
What this cycle is and is not
Nothing on this page is a live planning run. more