Most organisations do not fail for lack of effort; they fail because sales, operations, procurement and finance each work from a different set of numbers. Customers are promised volumes that plants cannot make, inventory builds in the wrong places, and budgets are revised only after the damage is done. Integrated business planning gives leadership a single monthly view of demand, supply and money, and a forum to decide trade-offs early.

The Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) Training Course covers the process from its foundations to its governance. Participants begin with the purpose and maturity stages of the process, then build baseline forecasts, apply market intelligence and measure accuracy. They move on to rough-cut capacity planning, inventory and service-level targets, supplier constraints and scenario analysis, before turning to the financial reconciliation and the structure of the executive meeting itself.

Teaching is built around a running case company. Each day adds a layer to the same planning model, so that by the end participants have a working monthly pack, a set of performance indicators and a practical roadmap for introducing or strengthening the cycle in their own organisation.

By the end of the programme, participants will be able to:

• Describe the steps of a monthly planning cycle and the role each function plays in it.
• Build a baseline statistical forecast and adjust it with commercial intelligence.
• Measure forecast accuracy and bias, and act on the causes of error.
• Test supply plans against capacity, inventory and supplier constraints.
• Reconcile the volume plan with the revenue and cost budget.
• Prepare decision papers and options for the executive meeting.
• Define performance indicators and governance rules that keep the cycle disciplined.

The programme suits people who contribute to or depend on the monthly plan, including:

• Demand planners and supply planners
• Supply chain, logistics and warehouse managers
• Sales managers and key account managers
• Marketing and brand managers who set promotions
• Finance business partners and budget controllers
• Plant, production and operations managers
• Procurement managers who manage supplier capacity
• General managers and directors who chair planning reviews

Participants return to work with:

• A planning calendar showing who prepares what, and when, across the month.
• A spreadsheet model linking forecast, capacity, inventory and budget.
• A standard agenda and decision template for the executive meeting.
• A short dashboard of accuracy, service and inventory measures.
• A gap assessment of their current planning practice.
• A phased roadmap for launching or improving the cycle.

Learning is applied from the first session, using:

• A single case company whose data grows each day
• Spreadsheet labs for forecasting, capacity and inventory calculations
• Role-play of the demand, supply and executive meetings
• Facilitated discussion of obstacles in participants' own organisations
• Review of templates that delegates can adapt after the course

Delegates who attend the sessions and complete the practical exercises are awarded a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion by Vision Reach Global Consultancy, a record of professional development to add to a personal portfolio.