In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, effective planning and integrated business strategies are vital for staying ahead of the competition. To harness the power of strategic alignment and optimize operational processes, more than 70 companies from various industries recently attended the 8th Global S&OP & Integrated Business Planning Summit in Amsterdam on the 11th and 12th of May. This immersive event as well and it provided us with valuable insights, innovative Sales & Operations planning (S&OP) techniques, and networking opportunities with proven industry leaders and experienced supply chain professionals.
One of the greatest advantages was the opportunity to connect with industry leaders and professionals from diverse sectors. The summit featured an impressive lineup of industry experts and thought leaders delivering insightful presentations and sharing their experiences. EyeOn consultants had the privilege of participate in expert talks and of hosting panel discussions that covered a wide range of topics, including innovative demand forecasting techniques, alignment of Supply chain and Sales for better planning, and integration of constrained and unconstrained demand. These thought-provoking sessions not only broadened the understanding of best practices but also offered practical solutions to address the challenges we face in our day-to-day work with customers. For example EyeOn consumer goods market expert, Jens Lubrich, was invited to a roundtable discussion about Proactive S&OP strategy. He shared his expertise about the best practice that allow this next step of the S&OP evolution to be embraced in the companies. His extensive experience in FMCG and Retail businesses within EyeOn helped him to bring some lively examples from global market leaders in S&OP/IBP.
The Global S&OP & IBP Summit showcased the latest trends and emerging technologies in the field of integrated business planning. From innovative ways of working with financial plans to machine learning and artificial intelligence, we gained exposure to cutting-edge ideas that can revolutionize planning processes. Learning about these innovative technologies and their successful implementations by industry leaders has inspired us to explore new avenues for helping our customers improving their business efficiency. One of EyeOn experts, Willem Gerbecks, was able to share his experience in unleashing power of Driver based forecasting. His presentation was dedicated to modern business challenges that companies can solve using ML-powered Driver based forecasting. Using couple of real-life examples from our customers Willem showed how little a company actually needs to start implementing DBF approach and to put it into practice. EyeOn has large experience in this area supporting customers on all stages of DBF journey, from defining the right drivers and setting up data structure to embedding of DBF into an existing planning process in form of service or inhouse capability.
The summit also featured real-world case studies presented by companies that have successfully implemented advanced S&OP and IBP methodologies. These case studies offered invaluable insights into the challenges faced during implementation, the strategies employed, and the measurable results achieved. These case studies were accompanied by panel discussions among professionals who could extend it with experiences from their companies. For example a big part of the program was dedicated to the topic of change management which directly concerns all attendees of the summit. It is worth to say that S&OP/IBP improvement leads to all sort of changes: processes, people and their mindset and behaviour, KPIs, new skills and techniques, and solutions. All these transformations should be properly facilitated in order to sustain improvements for business. EyeOn expert in Planning Services, Andrey Averyanov, together with other experienced panellists shared a comprehensive view on existing change management techniques, roles and responsibilities of different functions in organisation in this change management journey, and the key skills which are required for the successful execution of advanced S&OP/IBP. EyeOn, being not only content expert in the area of Supply chain planning but also a successful customer’s navigator in transition and adaptation journey, brings together thought leadership together with profound change management expertise. This combination guarantees the highest quality of execution of projects to serve the needs of our customers in a sustainable way.
Attending the 8th Global S&OP & IBP Summit in Amsterdam proved to be an enriching experience. Through networking, thought-provoking discussions, exposure to emerging trends, and practical case studies, we gained valuable insights and tools to enhance our business efficiency. We left the summit equipped with a broader perspective and an array of innovative strategies to drive our customers forward. By embracing the concepts and methodologies shared at the summit, we are confident in our ability to optimize our planning processes and ensure greater success of our partners in today’s dynamic business environment.