Sales and operations planning: learnings from 15 Brazilian companies

Authors

  • Marcelo Xavier Seeling Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro - PUC-Rio, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
  • Carlos Eduardo Panitz Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
  • Ricardo Augusto Cassel Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14488/BJOPM.2021.019

Keywords:

S&OP; Supply chain; Planning process; Multiple-case study.

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Goal: The goal of this paper is to investigate 15 Brazilian companies, which execute S&OP cycles periodically, in order to  characterize the processes implemented and discuss challenges and improvement opportunities.

Methodology:  Initially, a multiple-case study approach is applied embracing 15 Brazilian companies. Then, a survey is conducted in the same organizations to deepen the investigation.  Two recognized S&OP frameworks from the literature are used to structure the research.

Results: Some of the main research findings include: some companies consider “Data Gathering” a normal task and no longer a S&OP cycle step; some organizations include a new step one named “Portfolio Management”, preceding “Demand Planning” to leverage step two’s outcomes; there are improvement opportunities identified in “Pre-meeting” and “Executive Meeting” steps regarding capacity to simulate different scenarios from a financial perspective; and most of the studied companies do not adopt a S&OP software facing limitations to manage information and perform what-if analysis.

Research Limitations: Only companies located in Brazil are investigated.

Practical implications: The study provides useful information for practitioners on the characterization of the S&OP process, implementation challenges, and improvement opportunities.

Originality / Value: The paper applies different research methods (multiple-case study and survey) and two recognized frameworks from the literature in the study of the S&OP process performed by 15 companies, providing a broad characterization of the processes implemented and valuable findings about challenges and improvement opportunities. Although all the researched companies are Brazilian, evidences indicate the results are generalizable.

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Published

2021-04-20

How to Cite

Seeling, M. X., Panitz, C. E., & Cassel, R. A. (2021). Sales and operations planning: learnings from 15 Brazilian companies. Brazilian Journal of Operations & Production Management, 18(3), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.14488/BJOPM.2021.019

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 3 (2021)

Section

Case study

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