The Connected Supply Chain – The Journey To Digitisation

In recent decades, basic operations-oriented supply chain planning has evolved through two major phases. The first was Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP), which better integrates demand planning with core supply chain planning. The second was Integrated Business Planning (IBP), which expanded on S&OP by introducing key product and financial planning activities. Yet these have fallen short of creating the one truly integrated business plan that many companies are seeking to develop and deliver.

Now we are entering the third wave of evolution with the “digitisation” of the supply chain. Evolving marketplace dynamics, new competition, and channel proliferation have made planning more challenging than ever. Enter the next-generation of IBP: dynamic, connected, collaborative and powered by cloud-based technology. Is this our opportunity to complete the convergence of planning efforts across all functions: operational, financial (back office), and commercial (front office)?