The Improvement of the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process in Ion Beam Applications (IBA)

In a context of uncertainty and volatility, business planning and risk management tools have gained incredible interest from both academic world and companies. In that context, Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) stands out as an interesting tool to coordinate the company’s supply, demand, inventory, R&D, and finance plans. Even tough literature abounds with best practices concerning this business process, the on-field situation is quite different. As a matter of fact, the declinations of the S&OP process to different companies are varied and various. Literature is scarce on the subject and this customization phase is generally overlooked or underdeveloped. This report aims at fulfilling a triple objective. First of all, by suggesting a new maturity model, as a synthesis of other existing models; second of all, by adapting the general S&OP process presented in the literature to the needs of the company; and finally, by providing recommendations for the company studied to improve its process. This improvement work will be based on a case study in a project company, Ion Beam Applications (IBA). Four main problems have been identified and several solutions were suggested. However, one might not forget that the company and the teams are best-equipped to decide the actions to undertake in order to improve this process. The organizational silo effect impacting the organization of the S&OP could be mitigated through cross-departmental teams and goals. A Product Review could also be added to the cycle. From a general point of view, a lack of accountability is sometimes witnessed and could be solved through the empowerment of teams and employees. The definition and redefinition of roles and responsibilities for each participant could also improve this aspect. The process could also be more formalized, by clarifying the scope, selecting and monitoring KPI’s and completing the documentation. Finally, the data management is a weaker point. Data base updates calendar and data accountability are, among others, two initiatives that could improve this issue.