Saturday, August 17, 2019

Basic Pillars Of Sales And Operations Planning

By Anthony Rogers


Planning is a crucial part of achieving the objectives of every business. How your sales and operations are organized determines the resources you will require, the ease with which you meet your targets and how well your overall business goals are met. There are principles of sales and operations planning that every business must adhere to.

Planning receives the attention it deserves once you understand the benefits it brings to your business. This is the secret to better profit margins using the least resources. You have an idea of activities taking place at the business, resource implications and expected returns. Good plans also lead to reduced inventory excess since you have an idea of market positions and situation. The chances of stock-outs are also reduced. This allows you to meet customer expectations.

Make plans that grow gradually. The resources should address present day needs. Successful organizations have started small and grown gradually to where they are today. Do not waste resources on envisaged huge future activities until there is a signal that you will reap big.

Right people must be connected to necessary resources. Study the people and activities that are core to your operations. Assess what they require and ensure that they are adequately facilitated. If the persons or entities crucial to your plans lack necessary resources, success will be a mirage.

Integrate technology into your sale and operation plans. There are systems that make it easy to communicate with your clients and workers in the field. Other systems are developed to track progress and resources used. An efficient IT system reduces decision making time, leading to better returns.

The plans made must be unique to your operation environment and goods you are selling. Consider the needs of your customers and what they would consider as satisfying. Plans made should be in line with changes in demand and supply through the week, month or year. Revenue should be allocated to cater for high and low seasons through your operation year.

Consider cloud enabled systems to cater for document and information needs for your team in the field. Efficient sales teams require access to all documents while in the office and the field. A single document may need to be accessed by several staff members. A cloud based storage and information management system will make access to these documents easy.

The plans must receive acceptance and support at executive level. These are the decision makers who will approve resources. They must allow persons on the ground to make the decisions as well as access resources they require to deliver on their mandate. Nothing much can happen when the executive does not support your activities.

Monitor the effectiveness of strategies you have put in place so as to determine what works and what does not. The steps you take must deliver results envisaged. Develop short term, medium term and long term plans. Change or adjust the strategies whose performance is not as expected. You avoid spending too much money on strategies and processes that are not delivering expected returns. This would continue to hemorrhage your business.




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