The Technology Strategies for Integrated Business Planning Benchmark Report

The Technology Strategies for Integrated Business Planning Benchmark Report How companies need to revise their Sales and Operations Planning Processes and Technologies to Improve Corporate Performance July 2006 The Technology Strategies for Integrated Business Planning Benchmark Report Executive Summary Based on a survey of nearly 140 enterprises between June and July 2006, Aberdeen re-search finds that the top 5 pressures for improving S&OP processes are rising customer order fill rate expectations, better return on net assets, shrinking profit margins, customer retention pressures and extended lead-times due to global sourcing. However, current S&OP processes are failing to alleviate many of these pressures. While a majority of companies report that S&OP has helped improve forecast accuracy and im-proved cross-departmental communication, most companies have failed to see improve-ments in profit-related metrics like gross margin and customer retention. Aberdeen research finds that traditional sales and operations planning (S&OP) processes and supporting technologies are no longer sufficient in today’s high-pressured business environment. Sales and Operations Planning has evolved to become Integrated Business Planning. It is a truly cross-functional, multi-dimensional process that includes all ele-ments of demand, supply and financial analysis in relation to the business goals and strat-egy. Opportunities for ...