Historical Background
When the S&OP model came into existence, the fundamental agenda of the model was to highlight the sales review, the inventory status, the supply plan model and the financials (Umble, Haft & Umble, 2003). As mentioned above, Grimson and Pyke (2007) also developed an S&OP maturity model, which identified S&OP process adoption strategies dependent on the maturity level of an organization. With time, the S&OP has become an indispensable coordination mechanism that allows business undertakings to align the business strategy with the operational planning model (Tuomikangas & Kaipia, 2014).
Methodologies
There were 2 empirical literature publications on the S&OP model. The research article “S&OP: A research synthesis” by Antonio Marcio Tavares Thome uses quantitative research evidence to capture the conceptual framework of the S&OP model (Thomé et al. 2012). This paper captured how the S&OP model has aligned the sales and production function in the organizational context.
The literature survey and analysis that has been presented in the research article by Nina Tuomikangas and Riikka Kaipia highlights the fact that the S&OP model and its tools help a business undertaking to coordinate and integrate the organizational functions (Tuomikangas & Kaipia, 2014). The systematic literature review shows that the S&OP helps organisations to strengthen the decision-making model, the planning and data management process, the lateral or cross-departmental relations and the socialization in the organizational setting.
Previous studies
A number of previous studies have been conducted on the S&OP framework. According to Kristensen (2018), a number of contextual variables influence the S&OP design and its effectiveness in the organizational context. This corroborates earlier findings that the effectiveness and efficiency of the S&OP model depend on the industrial setting, the complexity in the environment, the organizational attributes and the detailed complexity of the operational activities.
As per Thome, S&OP is a broad concept that has the power to transform and revolutionize the way in which organizations operate and function in a dynamic environment. The systematic review of literature on S&OP shows that the model helps businesses to unify their operational framework which further influences the organizational performance and ultimate outcome of the business (Thomé et al., 2012).
Mainstream versus alternative viewpoints
The mainstream view on S&OP revolves around its overall effectiveness and usefulness in the organizational context. According to Scavarda et al, the implementation of the S&OP model can help a business entity to align the business operations and thus strengthen organizational productivity (Scavarda et al., 2017).
As per the article “Proposal of a model for sales and operations planning (S&OP) maturity evaluation” by Pedroso et al, the S&OP maturity models can be implemented in the industrial context for addressing the main issues relating to aggregate planning in the organization (Pedroso et al., 2017) (Pedroso et al., 2017). The research team basically highlights the application of the matured models so that it can create value at all the levels of the organization.
Principal questions
The principal questions that have been raised in the research studies on the S&OP model include how the coordinated model is synthesized in the coordinated framework of the S&OP context (Tuomikangas & Kaipia, 2014). Another crucial question that has been highlighted on this subject relates to the key contextual factors that influence the S&OP design in the organizational context (Kristensen & Jonsson, 2018).
Conclusion
In the dynamic organizational context, the proper designing and implementation of the S&OP model can help a business firm to have a competitive advantage against its industrial rivals. This model basically balances or simplifies the demand and supply mechanism of a firm. A wide range of sources has been used herein the literature review in order to highlight the core features of the coordinated mechanism that can create value for business firms in the competitive market setting.
References
Kristensen, J. and Jonsson, P., 2018. Context-based sales and operations planning (S&OP) research: A literature review and future agenda. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management.
Pedroso, C.B., Calache, L.D.D.R., Lima Junior, F.R., Silva, A.L.D. and Carpinetti, L.C.R., 2017. Proposal of a model for sales and operations planning (S&OP) maturity evaluation. Production, 27.
SearchERP. (2018). What is sales and operations planning (S&OP)? – Definition from WhatIs.com. [online] Available at: https://searcherp.techtarget.com/definition/sales-and-operations-planning-SOP [Accessed 25 May 2018].
Scavarda, L.F., Hellingrath, B., Kreuter, T., Thomé, A.M.T., Seeling, M.X., Fischer, J.H. and Mello, R., 2017. A case method for Sales and Operations Planning: a learning experience from Germany. Production, 27(SPE).
Tuomikangas, N. and Kaipia, R., 2014. A coordination framework for sales and operations planningS&OP (S&OP): Synthesis from the literature. International Journal of Production Economics, 154, pp.243-262.
Thomé, A.M.T., Scavarda, L.F., Fernandez, N.S. and Scavarda, A.J., 2012. Sales and operations planning: A research synthesis. International Journal of Production Economics, 138(1), pp.1-13.
Umble, E.J., Haft, R.R. and Umble, M.M., 2003. Enterprise resource planning: Implementation procedures and critical success factors. European journal of operational research, 146(2), pp.241-257.
Grimson, JA & Pyke, DF 2007, ‘Sales and operations planning: an exploratory study and framework‘, The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 322-46.
Thomé, AMT, Scavarda, LF, Fernandez, NS & Scavarda, AJ 2012, ‘Sales and operations planning: A research synthesis‘, International Journal of Production Economics, vol. 138, no. 1, pp. 1-13.
