The Ultimate MRP (Material Requirements Planning) Checklist
“We have MRP, but it never gives us the right plan.”I hear this all the time and it’s no surprise. MRP is one of the most powerful tools in supply chain. But it’s only as good as what you feed...
The Ultimate MRP (Material Requirements Planning) Checklist
“We have MRP, but it never gives us the right plan.”I hear this all the time and it’s no surprise. MRP is one of the most powerful tools in...
S&OP vs. FP&A: Is this a competition, really?
It’s shocking to see how similar S&OP and FP&A are. To be more precise, demand planning in S&OP resembles FP&A the most. In fact, the skills required in FP&A matches those in...
Forecasting & Planning: Go from Tears to Cheers in 7 Actionable Ways
Confession to make. When I was reading Eric Wilson’s insightful and entertaining article about what forecasters can learn from Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day, I couldn’t stop thinking about a...
How Far Can We Go in Extending Supplier Payment Terms? Days Payables Outstanding (DPO) in S&OP/ IBP
What are the average payment terms to your suppliers? 60, 90, 120+ days? Supplier payment terms have a significant impact on a cash metric that is Days Payables Outstanding (DPO), which in turn, has...
21 Ways on How to Make Any Stakeholder Fall In Love with Your S&OP/ IBP
With Valentine’s Day coming up, love is in the air. Some years ago—I don’t remember the exact date—my husband and I watched a movie named “How to lose a guy in 10 days” with Matthew McConaughey and...
The Ghost Metrics in S&OP/ IBP: Practitioners Beware!
I'm a ghost living in a ghost town sings Mick Jagger from The Rolling Stones. Likewise, in the S&OP/ IBP world, we live with ghost metrics. They are invisible in the financial statements, but,...
Supercharge Your Spreadsheets with XLOOKUP – For Demand and Supply Planners
Introduction The XLOOKUP Function is a superb lookup function that was introduced by Microsoft, in later versions of Office. You can use the XLOOKUP Function to find a value or a set of values in an...
Have you Heard? The Business is Screaming for ONE Single Plan with Financial Ties: S&OP, IBP, FP&A, xP&A (almost a poem)
Loud and clear. The business is begging for one single plan with financial ties. Acronyms flourish all around. But, if you go deep, you will find out that to thrive in operational and financial...
Profitability Metrics in S&OP/ IBP: Operating Income, EBIT, and EBITDA
What profitability metrics are you using in your S&OP/ IBP? Many companies have adopted EBITDA but is it the right metric to use? What about traditional metrics including Operating Profit? In...
Can we do better than EBITDA for Cash Flow in S&OP/ IBP?
EBITDA is a common profitability metric also used as a proxy for cash flow in advanced S&OP/ IBP processes. Warren Buffet has condemned the use of EBITDA and stated that “companies like...
Working Capital and Cash Flow at Walmart and Coca-Cola: Explained for Supply Chain and Procurement
Walmart has a negative working capital while Coca-Cola has a positive one, which company is doing better? Another question for you. Being in Supply Chain and Procurement, how can you improve working...
Inventory: Asset or Evil for Financial Performance in S&OP/ IBP?
Inventory: Asset or Evil for Financial Performance in S&OP/ IBP? Tim Cook—Apple’s CEO, former COO under Steve Jobs—considers inventory “fundamentally evil”. In Accounting, inventory is an asset....
Why Cash Lost its Crown in S&OP/ IBP?
Cash is king. But, in advanced Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) or Integrated Business Planning (IBP), this king has lost his crown. Often, there is no cash flow forecasting in S&OP/...