Sales & Operations Planning
Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) is meant to align strategy with execution. The process typically includes a product review, demand review, supply review, pre-S&OP, and executive S&OP. In theory, it helps companies balance supply and demand, make trade-offs, and plan with confidence. But in practice, most companies find it painfully slow and disconnected from reality.The biggest frustration? It takes too long to run scenarios and get to a decision. By the time consensus is reached, the business context has already changed.
What is Flow Driven S&OP?
Flow-Driven S&OP transforms your planning process into a strategic weapon. At its core is our Bill of Flow logic, which organizes products by how they flow through your buisness, making trade-offs visible and decisions easier to action. With AI-powered scenario modeling and real-time data from our datamart, you can simulate options instantly and make confident choices on the spot. The output is pushed directly into the DDS&OP tactical hub, ensuring your plans don’t just stay theoretical—they drive execution.
Unlike traditional S&OP that’s bogged down in detail, this approach empowers strategic thinking and agile response.
Speak to an ExpertUnlike traditional S&OP that’s bogged down in detail, this approach empowers strategic thinking and agile response.
The result? One seamless process, faster alignment, fewer surprises, and a plan that’s not just optimal, but fully operational.
“We were able to adequately prepare for our Easter peak with only 8 weeks to go when we thought we had no chance. The biggest challenge I had wasn't getting the system to work, it was convincing the business that the problem we had been struggling over for months internally was solved in a matter of days using CommWise AI Collaboration—it just didn't seem possible to them!”
Supply Chain Manager -
How does Flow Driven S&OP enable rapid and sustainable results?
Flow Groups & Resource Aggregation
Organizes demand into flow groups and aggregates resources into manageable buckets.
Bill of Flow
Shows how demand translates into resource usage without complex BOMs.
AI-Assisted Scenario Creation
Enables planners to build and evaluate scenarios with simple prompts.
Instant Scenario Modeling
Allows rapid testing of disruptions and strategic options side-by-side.
Executable Plan
Uses the DDS&OP tactical hub to ensure your strategy is executed and monitored.
AI Secretary
Tracks every action, captures every insight, and makes each scenario audit-ready.
The 5 Steps of Flow Driven S&OP
What S&OP does: Groups demand patterns and aggregates capacity for better planning clarity.
What b2wise adds: b2wise helps define products and demand into flow groups and organize resources, highlighting potential capacity issues where relevant.
What b2wise adds: b2wise helps define products and demand into flow groups and organize resources, highlighting potential capacity issues where relevant.
What S&OP does: Maps demand to capacity to ensure feasibility.
What b2wise adds: b2wise presents an intuitive Bill of Flow so users can easily visualize how demand consumes resources.
What b2wise adds: b2wise presents an intuitive Bill of Flow so users can easily visualize how demand consumes resources.
What S&OP does: Helps evaluate supply-demand balance through scenario thinking.Helps evaluate supply-demand balance through scenario thinking.
What b2wise adds: b2wise allows you to describe scenarios in plain language and instantly builds scenarios, capturing the changes made off the initial baseline.
What b2wise adds: b2wise allows you to describe scenarios in plain language and instantly builds scenarios, capturing the changes made off the initial baseline.
What S&OP does: Connects capacity decisions to business goals.
What b2wise adds: b2wise overlays planning outcomes with financial metrics, highlighting margin and cost implications.
What b2wise adds: b2wise overlays planning outcomes with financial metrics, highlighting margin and cost implications.
What S&OP does: Updates and realigns plans on a regular cadence.
What b2wise adds: b2wise integrates with CommWise AI Collaboration to ensure all teams are kept informed and engaged. The approved scenario is published into the tactical hub for execution.
What b2wise adds: b2wise integrates with CommWise AI Collaboration to ensure all teams are kept informed and engaged. The approved scenario is published into the tactical hub for execution.
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