Blog – iBsing

Emotions in a Breath-Taking Moment

23.05.2023

“As you stand atop Everest’s summit, what words would capture the essence of your emotions in that breath-taking moment?” was our icebreaker question at the event: “The Journey Towards IBP: Do We Need Roadmaps or Sherpas?” I was inspired by Monday’s iBsing pioneers call led by Alpaslan Keser, where we explored the parallels between a successful Everest […] more

Conquer IBP on an epic quest

14.05.2023

Attention IBP/S&OP practitioners! Get ready for the most thrilling adventure yet! Move over “Everest,” “K2,” and “Seven Years in Tibet” because we’re about to embark on a blockbuster journey like no other. Join us on Monday, May 22nd from 4-5pm CET for the 43rd iBsing pioneers as we set out to conquer the summit of […] more

Top Down or Bottom Up?

10.05.2023

While many consultants and experts claim that 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑩𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 (𝑰𝑩𝑷) cannot succeed without full commitment and mandate from the 𝑪-𝑳𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅, I beg to differ. In our recent iBsing pioneers Meeting, we discussed how to overcome the common challenges and pitfalls of IBP, including shadow behaviours that undermine the process. One of the breakout […] more

A straightforward solution to reduce shadow behaviours in IBP

02.05.2023

Last week’s 42nd iBsing pioneers call featured a 5-minute icebreaker session in which around 20 Integrated Business Planning (IBP) and Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) practitioners shared their experiences with “shadow behaviours” commonly encountered in IBP. After analyzing these behaviours, a straightforward solution has been confirmed: 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑩𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 (𝒊𝑩𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈). This structured approach nurtures consciousness […] more

No System Alert can beat the Gut Feeling of an IBP Expert!

28.04.2023

Investing in Integrated Business Planning (IBP) system solutions can be incredibly valuable. These solutions have the potential to significantly increase transparency, automation, efficiency, decision-making, and overall business performance… …but… …it’s important not to overlook the importance of the “human sensor network”. IBP experts often have a deep understanding of how different parts of an organization […] more

From Shadow to Best Self

18.04.2023

“Shadow behaviours” can be a major cause of dysfunction in organizations. But which one is the most critical to address? In our next iBsing pioneers call, we’ll be exploring this topic and discussing how we can shift from these negative behaviours to our “best selves.” To kick off the conversation, I’d like to know your […] more

From Shadow Behaviour to Best Self in IBP

12.04.2023

Three years ago, I embarked on a journey with the vision of developing “Integrated Business Sensing (iBsing)” as a complementary framework to the Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process. While IBP is focused on process capabilities, system capabilities, and people competencies, the iBsing framework emphasizes behavioural aspects. I am grateful to see many IBP practitioners join […] more

One Set of Numbers

03.04.2023

Last week’s iBsing call was an inspiring experience, starting with an insightful teaser by Neil MacLeod on “One Set of Numbers,” followed by fantastic breakout sessions that delivered amazing insights. One Set of Numbers After analysis of the material developed in the 20-minute breakout session, I’d like to share my three key conclusions: What is the BENEFIT? […] more

How to describe IBP in 5 words?

31.03.2023

Yesterday’s iBsing call brought together IBP experts from various companies and posed an interesting question: “What phrase best describes IBP (maximum 5 words)?” I was impressed by the insightful responses generated in just 2 minutes. What’s your favorite description, or do you have another one to add? Integrated Business Planning (IBP) is… 1. Strategic in nature […] more

CEO Wanted!

22.03.2023

Recently, a new LinkedIn connection asked me how C-Level leaders are reacting to the purpose statement in my profile, “Holding space for consciousness in business to nurture team engagement and boost performance!” Here’s my take: Fortunately, CEO is not the abbreviation for “Cowardly, Egocentric, Old-fogyish”. I have had the pleasure of meeting many C-Level executives […] more

One (set of) number(s) ???

14.03.2023

We had already 40 iBsing pioneers calls, there are still innumerable S&OP/IBP/iBsing topics to be explored, and our network is further increasing! S&OP / IBP practitioners are invited to the next iBsing pioneers calls for networking and learning. 41 – 27th March “One (set of) number(s) ???” Neil MacLeod – a passionate IBP Practitioner! 42 – 24th […] more

Playfulness in Business?

10.03.2023

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct.” Carl Jung Last week’s iBsing pioneers call was an insightful experience as we explored the ” 𝓻𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓸𝓯 𝓭𝓮𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓭 ” within different companies in three breakout groups. The playful exercise yielded amazing insights in less than half an hour. […] more

“Change before you have to.” (Jack Welch)

03.03.2023

Today is a special day for me – exactly 20 years ago, I decided to quit smoking for good. I tried to quit many times before without success, but I never gave up on my desire for change. I kept trying until it finally happened. Change can be tough, and it can feel like we’re […] more

Feedback or Criticism?

01.03.2023

Expressing 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 is about communicating how someone’s observed behaviour made you feel, keeping the response constructive for both parties. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫. It’s an opportunity for emotional openness and collaborative efforts to improve the relationship between the giver and receiver. On the other hand, 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦 is a direct evaluation of someone’s behaviour and is […] more

Do you understand your “River of Demand”?

21.02.2023

After the success of January’s iBsing pioneers call I am delighted that Nicole Miara, Digital Transformation Lead, has accepted the invite to provide a second session on “𝐁𝐢-𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧”. This time, we will explore “Rivers of Demand”. S&OP and IBP practitioners from the industry who would like to join our peer network, please register on the […] more

Enabling best-self behaviours in big organisations

20.02.2023

As teams in large corporate organizations face complex issues with multiple layers, diverse stakeholders, no prior precedent, and endless response options, traditional planning processes and change management approaches may prove limiting, being designed for a “predict and control” environment rather than a “sense and respond” one. Consequently, stress and dysfunction may occur within the organization. […] more

Yesterday 10 strangers – today an engaged team!

17.02.2023

After three years of dedicated development, the 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐢𝐁𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠) framework has exceeded my expectations with a successful 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 during our first big-scale project with customers. This result has allowed us to 𝐤𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐁𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 last week. iBsing is designed to address two pressing issues faced by many large […] more

Successful Transformation?

02.02.2023

“Change management” cannot be separated from the operation of a business, and even the most effective change management will not succeed in a harmful work culture. LinkedIn Post more

Bi-Directional Orchestration

27.01.2023

Our 39th iBsing Pioneers session was a cool session 😎 , with a brilliant guest speaker Nicole Miara, and many attendees. During the session, we discussed the biggest business challenges for 2022, including: • Issues in the energy market • Semiconductor shortages • Volatile demand • Little interest in major start-up investment • Steep price increase of metals in Q1 2022 […] more

How are you running your Business?

10.01.2023

Like a machine or like a living organism? Three years ago, I thought that running a business like a machine is nonsense! Working in corporate organisations can feel like it’s only about… 1. Being measured and compared against certain targets 2. Increasing pressure to improve performance and output 3. Avoiding mistakes 4. Predicting the future 5. Controlling the alignment with […] more

We need a Business Case and a “Good Story”

20.12.2022

Here are some take-aways from yesterday’s iBsing pioneers session about “Digital Transformation” Why do we do the change? ⇨ We need a business case and a compelling story to tell the organisation. How are we doing the change? ⇨ Step by step – start small and then scale up. What are the key challenges? ⇨ […] more

Executive Interview (EMEA Recruitment)

14.12.2022

Link to Interview December 12, 2022 Helmut Leitner is the Founder of Heliblick in Zug, Switzerland, a management consultancy that developed the iBsing framework. He is also a Board Member at CSCMP Roundtable Switzerland, after having a successful Supply Chain career in companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Sharp & Dohme and Smith & Nephew. You […] more

What is the best way to bring the right data into the cloud?

10.12.2022

I thank Heymen Jansen from ProMatters for a brilliant overview on “𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐄2𝐄 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧” in our Nov 22 iBsing pioneers call. Thanks to the S&OP and IBP experts participating in the call for discussing potential IBP applications and barriers. Here are some key take aways: Process Mining can be used to… […] more

The Virtuos Cycle of Excellent Culture –> Excellent Engagement –> Excellent IBP

05.12.2022

I had the pleasure to join the CParity Event in Amsterdam with >200 S&OP IBP experts and to learn from many awesome speakers about all aspects of IBP. I contributed with two sessions. In the presentation “𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐈𝐁𝐏 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧” I had the opportunity to explain that a good […] more

“Do we want to integrate processes by integrating systems or by integrating data?”

25.11.2022

I am excited that Heymen Jansen has accepted the invite to be the guest speaker in our next iBsing pioneers call on Monday, 28th Nov from 16:00 – 17:00 CET! He will provide valuable insights on deployment of 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏 𝑬2𝑬 𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏 before we go into small breakout groups for learning and […] more

S&OP to IBP – Summit in Amsterdam

19.11.2022

I will be speaking at the upcoming 7th Annual S&OP to Integrated Business Planning (IBP) Summit scheduled for 1st – 2nd December, 2022, at The Leonardo Royal Hotel Amsterdam, organized by Cparity Event. I look forward to connecting with you and sharing insight on my topic “𝑺𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝑰𝑩𝑷 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏” […] more

“Customer Beliefs” are not always “Customer Needs”!

14.11.2022

If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said: A better budget planning process. #iBsing LinkedIn Post more

Valuable Mentor-Advice: “Nourish your external network!”

28.10.2022

Some years ago, I had an exciting job, a lot of responsibility on my shoulders, and I was struggling with my workload. All my focus was on operational priorities, organisational changes, system implementations and team development. I asked my mentor for advice. I did not expect the answer: “Nourish your external network!” I was super […] more

The most popular IBP process: ALLOCATION!

17.10.2022

In the midst of “VUCA world” the product allocation process is further increasing its importance! I am looking forward to insights from our guest speaker: Khadidja Bouallaga Francis, Global Demand Manager at Guerbet. Khadidja has just finished her MBA Supply Chain Management with a master thesis on the topic of “Implementation of IBP”. She will provide us […] more

“The state of S&OP in Finland”

04.10.2022

“The state of S&OP in Finland” was the topic of the Sep 22 iBsing pioneers call with almost 20 S&OP and IBP practitioners from different industries. Many thanks to Timo Rantala, who provided the introduction speech and shared preliminary results of an ongoing academic research from Arcada University of applied sciences involving real IBP/S&OP practitioners. Special […] more

IBP is not “black and white”!

28.09.2022

The Truth is not in the middle, and not in one extreme; but in both extremes. (Charles Simeon) In yesterday’s iBsing pioneers call a controversial question has been discussed: “What is the purpose of IBP?” Integrated Business Planning (IBP) is not about “who is right, who is wrong”, but about trade-offs. Integrated Business Sensing (iBsing) […] more

New IBP perspectives from Finland!

22.09.2022

“Ei kysyvä tieltä eksy.” Is a Finnish saying and means: “Who asks for the road doesn’t get lost.” In that spirit I am looking forward to new perspectives from our guest speaker: Timo Rantala, Head of Integrated Business Planning at Tikkurila will provide an update on “The status of S&OP in Finland”, which is based on […] more

Supply Chain Management versus Impression Management

06.09.2022

C-Level leaders are more and more reliant on Supply Chain Managers because… ⇨ they have the 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 ⇨ they address the 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 ⇨ they are 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 ⇨ they have the 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 ⇨ they are striving towards 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 However, what happens if the C-Level leaders… ⇨ do not want to hear the […] more

Demings 14 points: 40 years later – what has changed?

04.09.2022

In 1982, William Edwards Deming (1900-1993) – the leading management thinker in the field of quality – presented “Deming’s 14 points” in his book “Quality, Productivity, and Competitive Position” (later renamed “Out of the Crisis”). In 2022, Deming’s 14 points are still valid, and 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 […] more

Setting up IBP as the main driver of cultural transformation

16.08.2022

I am looking forward to the 7th Annual “S&OP to Integrated Business Planning (IBP)” Summit on 1-2 Dec 2022 in Amsterdam! That will be a great opportunity to learn more about current IBP trends from high calibre speakers of top companies across different industries. As part of that event, I am pleased to present some […] more

If the WHY and the HOW of IBP are clear, the WHAT will be easy!

11.08.2022

I am looking forward to provide the introduction presentation for the 34th iBsing pioneers call on Mon, 22nd Aug at 16:00 to 17:00 CET. The topic will be the “WHY, HOW and WHAT of IBP.” From my experience, most IBP teams have a great focus on the “WHAT” and the “WHY” (e.g. Financial Health). However, […] more

iBsing Newsletter

02.08.2022

– The other department has no clue – IBP will never work – newsletters will always suck 👎 😟 For those who are more optimistic and who are looking into… – fostering collaboration and team 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 across organisations – boosting organisational 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 and improvement via IBP – the Integrated Business Sensing (𝒊𝑩𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈) framework … please just let me know. I could […] more

Is your IBP information ESSENTIAL for your organisation?

28.07.2022

“If it isn’t a clear yes, then it’s a clear no.” (Greg McKeown) Thanks to Ling Pizzinato, Director Global Supply Chain at Teva, for the insightful presentation: “How to connect, simplify and filter information in IBP?” in yesterday’s 33st iBsing pioneers call. Despite the holiday period we had a fantastic group of eight S&OP/IBP practitioners who […] more

IBP transformation must be driven internally!

11.07.2022

Integrated Business Planning (IBP) is a brilliant process to nurture cross-functional team engagement and achieve outstanding organisational performance. From my experience a 𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏 𝑰𝑩𝑷 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔. However, there are some areas, where external consultancy can be of great support. Principles for a successful IBP transformation: ⇨ […] more

More Focus on the Common Ground!

06.07.2022

In last week’s “iBsing pioneers” session we explored the question “How to align different IBP stakeholders with different departmental requirements?” One group had a suggestion: Let’s put less focus on the different departmental needs, and more focus on the common ground! How should we balance time, resource, and cost to get the best outcome for […] more

IBP in a government organisation – how to align different stakeholders

17.06.2022

I am pleased to announce the speaker of the 32nd iBsing pioneers call on 27th June 2022 at 16:00 to 17:00 CET: Fernando Collazo, Senior Manager IBP at ANSTO will share profound insights about IBP in governmental organisations. In the breakout sessions we will explore how to facilitate between stakeholder groups with different interests and […] more

How to sell S&OP internally? Avoid the penguin zone!

02.06.2022

Last week in the iBsing pioneers call we discussed the topic “How to sell S&OP internally?”. Nearly 20 S&OP / IBP practitioners from different industries and regions joined the call. The breakout groups discussed an impressive number of ideas how to address typical objections against S&OP (see post-it notes). Alexandra Eberhard, Director Supply Chain Global […] more

How to sell S&OP internally?

20.05.2022

The 31st iBsing pioneers call on Mon, 23rd May from 16:00-17:00 CET will focus on “𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑺&𝑶𝑷 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚?”. In small breakout groups, 𝑺&𝑶𝑷 / 𝑰𝑩𝑷 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 from different sectors will discuss that topic with peers for 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈. I am thrilled that Alexandra Eberhard – Director Global Supply Chain at Selectchemie AG […] more

“Transforming the Business” can’t be separated from “Running the Business”

02.05.2022

“𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍” was the topic in last week’s CSCMP Networking Event in Zug, and I looked at the topic from an IBP perspective: What does “𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐈𝐁𝐏)” have to do with “𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬” ⁉️ The people who are “𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬” on the ground and who are close to the customer or to […] more

S&OP = the right choices for the resource plan

20.04.2022

I am pleased to announce the speaker for our next iBsing pioneers call on Monday, 25th April from 16:00 to 17:00 CET: Rym Khelil (Division Sales and Operations Planning Manager at Schlumberger) will talk about “S&OE application in the energy service industry”. Please check out the website to get a flavour of the complexities of that […] more

4 or 15 IBP Groundrules – too simple or too complex?

15.04.2022

In last week’s iBsing pioneers call we discussed 𝐈𝐁𝐏 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬. Whilst everybody strongly agreed about the importance of common IBP principles, the outcome of the different breakout sessions were quite different. ⇨ Group 1 came up with 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 and argued to “keep it 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞”. ⇨ Group 3 came up with 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 and argued […] more

Take a helicopter view, trust your senses and IBP will transform your business!

30.03.2022

𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐈 𝐀𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘! 1: We set up a 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞-𝐭𝐨-𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐒𝐂𝐌𝐏 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 for Supply Chain professionals on the 28𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐙𝐮𝐠, the last one having taken place more than two(!) years ago. 2: Since the topic is about “𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧”, my friends from the CSCMP Swiss […] more

Conflicts are the most important IBP ingredient!

23.03.2022

People generally quarrel because they cannot argue. Gilber Keith Chesterton (English writer and philosopher) Fear not those who argue but those who dodge. Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (Austrian writer) The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress. Joseph Joubert (French moralist and essayist) Creativity comes from a conflict of ideas. Donatella […] more

Do you have an IBP constitution?

17.03.2022

Integrated Business Planning (IBP) is the core process to realize the purpose of the organisation whilst strengthening the financial health. à Most IBP teams know “𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐈𝐁𝐏!” Product Management Review, Demand Review, Supply Review, Reconciliation Review, Management Business Review… à Most IBP teams know “𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐁𝐏!” Many organisations […] more

In IBP you don’t need pressure, you need suction

16.02.2022

«In life you don’t need pressure, you need suction. If you want to fly, you need thermals. Airplanes fly because suction is built up.» 𝑮ö𝒕𝒛 𝑾𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓* Same applies for organisations and for running Integrated Business Planning (IBP) ⇨If the IBP process is designed in a way that 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 is created, people will sooner or later […] more

Is IBP the solution for EVERYTHING?

01.02.2022

A German speaking customer told me last week: “Manche Leute denken, IBP ist die eierlegende Wollmilchsau!” (𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 “𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬, 𝘐𝘉𝘗 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘨𝘨-𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘬-𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘭-𝘱𝘪𝘨!”) Maybe those people are right… A well functioning 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐈𝐁𝐏) process includes ⇨ a solid Sales & Operation Execution (𝐒&𝐎𝐄) Process to manage short term exceptions […] more

Competition versus Value Creation

28.01.2022

Our competitor is producing similar products as we are. Our competitor is providing similar services to customers as we are. Our competitor is enriching the life of consumers as we are. Nobody resembles us more than our competitor. Why is it that we want to beat our competitor? Less focus on competition, more focus on […] more

How to improve trust in S&OP?

19.01.2022

In 2000, Charles H. Green has described the insightful Trust-formula: “𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭” = (“𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲” + “𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲” + “𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲”) / “𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧” There are three variables in the numerator that determine “Trust”: ⇨ “𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲” – 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 ⇨ “𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲” – 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 ⇨ “𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲” – 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 The variable in the denominator is […] more

The Tyrannosaurus Rex amongst all S&OP Biases

10.01.2022

S&OP without bias seems impossible. Much can be gained by creating awareness of different manifestations of bias during the implementation and execution of S&OP. Here are a few examples of bias in an S&OP context: ⇨ “𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫-𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠” is a smart paraphrase for “Under-forecasting Bias” – who can be blamed for selling “too much”? There may be […] more

The iBsing journey will continue in 2022

21.12.2021

A big thank you to all S&OP/IBP practitioners who have been contributing to fantastic learnings this year. Here some facts: 19 meetings in 2021 average 12 participants per meeting 16 fantastic guest speakers ~200 S&OP/IBP practitioners and SC leads are registered to the network representing 150 companies from 15 industries In 2022 we will continue […] more

An innovation in 1964 and outdated today!?!

14.12.2021

In 1964, 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐌𝐑𝐏) was invented by Joseph Orlicky. In the same year the 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 has been introduced. Compact cassettes are 𝐨𝐮𝐭-𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝! To hear a song you do not need to rewind a tape, just stream it. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐌𝐑𝐏? Does the original “predict and control” approach still make sense in the current […] more

The 3rd Law of IBP

06.12.2021

The energy cost of doing good things must be lower than the energy cost of doing bad things! In Alpine folkloristic tradition, St. Nicholas and his devilish companion Krampus are visiting children: 🎅St. Nicholas praises the children for their good deeds and rewards them with mandarins, figs, dates, and nuts. 👹 Krampus punishes misbehaving children […] more

How to get buy-in for S&OP? Fail your way to success!

30.11.2021

In yesterday’s iBsing pioneers call we discussed “𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏 𝑺&𝑶𝑷 (IBP) 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏?” In many organisations, top managers are hesitant to invest resources into an S&OP implementation and improvement, because they do not see an immediate financial benefit. 𝑻𝒐𝒑 𝑻𝒊𝒑: Analyse the top 5 business failures in the recent past […] more

Are you monitoring lead-times?

24.11.2021

The importance of responsiveness has changed over the last couple of years due to more and more Supply Chain disruptions. In the past, responsiveness could be defined as the ability of the supply chain to respond purposefully and with appropriate timeframe 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬. Mature Supply Chains monitor those lead-times versus standard lead-times and follow […] more

In S&OP it’s never wise to praise firefighters to the skies

16.11.2021

We are prone to 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 and to give them 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐛𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭.” (Kahneman, Daniel – “Thinking, Fast and Slow”) On the other hand, we are prone to 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐬. How to overcome that […] more

You need to start small with S&OP, before running a world-class IBP!

09.11.2021

S&OP is like football – a 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱 game! To become world-class, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 is required. Yesterday we had a fantastic iBsing pioneers call with ~20 IBP practitioners. The key question was around “𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝-𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐁𝐏”. Please find enclosed a few slides with findings from the breakout session. IBP and Football […] more

S&OP is all about conflict resolution

02.11.2021

Resolving conflicts in 𝐒&𝐎𝐏 can be 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐥 when participants react to a business dilemma by… being 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 and avoiding conflicts 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫-𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 towards other departments blowing their own horn with 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐏𝐏𝐓 excessively prioritising the own short-term 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 Resolving conflicts in 𝐒&𝐎𝐏 can be 𝐟𝐮𝐧 when participants respond to a business dilemma by … […] more

How to implement S&OP/IBP and S&OE? How to boost existing processes?

26.10.2021

Here is my question to you: Many S&OP implementations are not meeting the expectations. Where do you see typically the most critical 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒&𝐎𝐏 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? (1),(2),(3) or (4)? Implementing and Running an S&OP (1) – The cross-functional teams do not share the same 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧? (2) – The 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 around process, system, organisation and […] more

Financial Reconciliation in S&OP

19.10.2021

“When we give ourselves permission to fail…we at the same time, give ourselves permission to excel.” (Eloise Ristad) In yesterday’s iBsing pioneers call we discussed the 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐒&𝐎𝐏 between commercial and operations. Here some highlights from our discussion. 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬: 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒂: must be comparable, units of measure need to be clear, average selling […] more

It’s a magical moment in S&OP…

12.10.2021

…when the right person is taking the right decision at the right time! In 97% of the cases, employees are not satisfied with organisational decision-making. That is the surprising result after 40 interviews with Supply Chain professionals at different levels in the organisation from 10 different companies. A strong S&OP / S&OE can be the […] more

Evolutionary decision-making is driving engagement and performance!

05.10.2021

97% of business tensions are related to suboptimal decision-making[1] This is due to many organisations relying solely on an analytical decision-making approach, which may work well in orderly and highly predictable environments, but not so well in a more complex business landscape. iBsing leverages existing business processes and business transformation initiatives to embed evolutionary decision-making into the organisation A direct way to short and […] more

Human skills – learning by doing!?

29.09.2021

In yesterday’s iBsing pioneers call we focused on decision-making in S&OP. The decision-making process can be described in 5 steps: 1. 𝐈𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 – typically the change is triggered by a “tension”, when the current perception of the business situation is not aligned with the expectation. We talk about the “Human Sensor Network”, because each […] more

The human sensor network is the most under-utilized business asset

21.09.2021

Humans have the gift to feel 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 between the personal perception of a current business situation and the personal expectation of the same situation. Employees in an organisation can be regarded as “𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 (𝐇𝐒𝐍)” responding to business triggers. The HSN is an underutilized web with huge potential to drive in your organisation 𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐞 […] more

Don’t develop other people – develop the organisation!

14.09.2021

Where to start with behavioural 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕? ☞ Personal Development? ☞ Organisational Development? In my view, the catch is the 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚. Whilst the organisational leadership team is accountable for organisational development, each 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒆 is accountable for the own personal development. As an organisational leader, you can work on organisational development, you can work on your […] more

What happened with your S&OP?

07.09.2021

Sometimes the initial 𝑺&𝑶𝑷 𝑽𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 and the 𝑺&𝑶𝑷 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 look quite different! In the 21st iBsing pioneers discussion S&OP/IBP practitioners from different industries investigated the key reasons for the 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑺&𝑶𝑷. The list is long! Three Top tips to make your process sustainable arising from the session: 1. Secure top 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 2. Clear […] more

About bicycles and supply chain planning solutions…

30.08.2021

Why walk a long distance, when you can ride a bicycle? Why run S&OP in Excel, when we can use better tools? The 𝐛𝐢𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞 is a brilliant human invention, of which we can make the most if we… ⇨understand the requirements ⇨select the appropriate one ⇨learn how to ride it ⇨keep on improving our fitness […] more

Supply Chain – the most exciting function in the business!

18.08.2021

…and not to forget: Supply Chain professionals know a lot about 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄, because they are… – connecting departments, – communicating at all levels of the organisation, – resolving issues in a fact based manner. Do your S&OP-, S&OE-, and IBP-processes already drive maximum 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 and 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞? LinkedIn Post more

Remaining proactive towards year-end

10.08.2021

What can we do to avoid a shift from a 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 S&OP to 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 S&OP towards the second half of the year? I am curious about your experience and suggestions! The 𝐭𝐨𝐩 5 𝐢𝐁𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 to achieve the financial targets 2021 whilst remaining proactive and focused on the organisational purpose: 😱 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 issues […] more

It’s hard to control the soft side of business!

03.08.2021

𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 “𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘮, 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯, 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.” (W. Edwards Deming, American Engineer, Statistician, Professor) 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 “𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴: 𝘈 “𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦?” 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦-𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵” (Mark Samuel, CEO, Author)How can organisations fully leverage the people […] more

A story about “entrepreneurship”…

28.07.2021

…and about an Austrian Olympic 🥇 winner, who… – 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 her academic career over her athletic career – is resolving 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 as a researcher and lecturer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne and practises 𝒄𝒚𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 “𝒉𝒐𝒃𝒃𝒚” – nevertheless 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 as a 30 year old Olympic debutant – leverages her […] more

Supply Chain has the Facts!

20.07.2021

“You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynihan Once I conducted an S&OP audit at a country organisation that was 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞. I was wondering what it was that they were doing differently than the other S&OP teams. At the Executive S&OP board meeting,... more

Before focusing on the Customer, focus on your Sales Rep!

29.06.2021

In yesterday’s iBsing pioneers call we discussed the collaboration between 𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒔 and the 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝑹𝒆𝒑 during a 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 🔥. ✰The Sales Rep is the 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 to the customer and wants to build a relationship of 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 with the customer. ✰The Sales Rep is directly confronted with the customer’s 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 and is highly […] more

Too many heroes – business is in trouble!

24.06.2021

Your leaders behave like heroes? Your business may be in trouble! The Cynefin framework distinguishes five contexts which are defined by the nature of the cause-and-effect relationship between business challenges and appropriate solutions. From my perspective each context requires a different leadership style. Typical organisations seem to have too many HEROES, and too few GARDENERS […] more

20th iBsing pioneers meeting

22.06.2021

iBsing pioneers call Customer Focus Next week we will have our 20𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝑩𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍! I would like to thank the S&OP/IBP practitioners for the 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓲𝓬𝓲𝓹𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷, support in 𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 of content, 𝓮𝓷𝓰𝓪𝓰𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽 during break-out sessions and 𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 and 𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓹𝓲𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷! Looking forward to the next session with an excellent guest speaker: 𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘵 […] more

Put yourself into the shoes of a sales rep!

16.06.2021

The best way to drive Supply Chain improvement is to put your self into the shoes of a sales rep. The 20th iBsing pioneers call will be special: we invite our 𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓶𝓮𝓻𝓬𝓲𝓪𝓵 colleagues to celebrate & learn with us! I am delighted that Olivier Wolber, Managing Director at Smith & Nephew, will kick off our next […] more

How to get out of chaos back into order?

14.06.2021

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to share the framework of “𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐢𝐁𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠)” at the 17th 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒔 S&OP conference and the 5th 𝑪𝑺𝑪𝑴𝑷 Europe conference last week. Many companies have been challenged recently with complex external business issues such as 𝓰𝓵𝓸𝓫𝓪𝓵 𝓻𝓪𝔀 𝓶𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓪𝓵 𝓸𝓻 𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓹𝓸𝓷𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓪𝓰𝓮𝓼. Remaining too long in […] more

Diversity is driving performance

08.06.2021

Strength lies in differences, not in similarities. (Stephen R. Covey) 𝓓𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓲𝓽𝔂 𝓲𝓼 𝓭𝓻𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓸𝓻𝓰𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓼𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮! ⇨ Traditional organisations with a “predict and control” approach recognize (and sometimes overestimate) the importance of “𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲”, more

S&OE in turbulent times

01.06.2021

The Sales & Operations Execution (S&OE) process has been especially critical to manage the pandemic crisis and for some companies the focus shifted excessively to short term firefighting. One interesting insight: The 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 the 𝐂-𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 board is in the operational execution, the better. A solid S&OE process is run 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐮𝐩 – escalation to […] more

S&OE – The “ugly duckling”

27.05.2021

S&OE – the “ugly duckling” is becoming “the most beautiful bird”. 𝐒&𝐎𝐏 and 𝐈𝐁𝐏 are core business processes in many organisations and we love to be 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓉𝓮𝓰𝒾𝒸 and 𝓅𝓇𝓸𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓋𝓮. What about 𝐒&𝐎𝐄, where it seems to be all about 𝓇𝓮𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓃𝓰 on current challenges? Many companies focus mainly on day to day operational activities in their […] more

Business Organisations and Natural Ecosystems

25.05.2021

The extermination of Yellowstone’s gray wolf provides an example of the consequences of a “𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭” approach, where a change is imposed onto a complex system from outside. 𝑩𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 and 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒔 have a few things in common: ⇨ Complex systems are in a 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 state of 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐱. ⇨ Cause and effect relationships […] more

The Magic Formula for Customer Centricity

19.05.2021

In our IBSing pioneers call we discussed “Customer Centricity” with nearly 20 S&OP experts from different industries. Pierre Mille provided a great introduction speech with storytelling around 3 simple steps to drive customer centricity: 👉 #1 – Address the right number: manage the metrics and KPIs which matters to your Customer 👉 #2 – Address the […] more

Measure the metrics and KPIs in the way your Customer does!

14.05.2021

👉 #2 – Address the number right: measure the metrics and KPIs in the way your Customer does That is one of three steps proposed by Pierre Mille in his recent LinkedIn Article https://lnkd.in/dXtQyQu Looking forward to the IBSing pioneers call today on Monday, 17th May from 16:00 to 17:00 CET with Pierre Mille as guest! Please let […] more

Star Performance vs. Team Performance

06.05.2021

Traditional 𝐇𝐑 Performance Management is about 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬, 𝐒&𝐎𝐏 Performance Management is about 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. A whole new ball game… Collaboration in S&OP is often hampered by contradicting financial 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬. The 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 ranking of high, medium & low performers can be a painful exercise, that also undermines S&OP teamwork. Personal performance targets, that are based on 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 […] more

Performance Management Challenges

05.05.2021

“PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES” was the topic of Monday’s IBSing Pioneers call. PERFORMANCE refers to how well an activity or job is done. On discussing the topic “HIGH-PERFORMERS” and what we admired most, we came to the conclusion that “INTRINSIC MOTIVATION” is the key to excellent performance. The traditional “carrot and stick” approach that is still being used […] more

A conscious decision how to take decisions

29.04.2021

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 has traditionally been the most popular way to resolve business challenges in large corporations. Especially in functional areas like NPD, Operations and Business Planning . While consensus decision making has its merits in allowing all stakeholders a voice and it fosters a climate of engagement, there is sometimes a cost associated with this […] more

Action is the foundational key to success! (P. Picasso) …

26.04.2021

but….No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. (A. Einstein) Reflecting on the evolution of SC Management, it was initially focused on storage of products and its 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 flow. Planning systems then shifted its focus towards mastering the E2E 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 flow. With the implementation of S&OP and IBP, SC […] more

Artificial Intelligence will not replace S&OP Teamwork

20.04.2021

In yesterday’s IBSing pioneers call, S&OP leaders from different industries talked about “Artificial Intelligence (AI) in S&OP”. It took us about 2 minutes to come up with > 20 examples of AI in private life. However we struggled to come up with really exciting AI examples as part of our S&OP. Do you have examples? […] more

What I dream of is an art of balance (H. Matisse)

14.04.2021

Running a big corporate business is an 𝓐𝓡𝓣! The 𝓐𝓡𝓣𝓘𝓢𝓣𝓢 are the S&OP and IBP leads who balance “Standard Work”, “S&OE” and “IBP”. Thanks to participants of last week’s IBSing pioneers group meeting for sharing practical insights on that topic! On Monday at 16:00-17:00 CET we will talk about how to bring 𝓐𝓡𝓣𝓕𝓘𝓒𝓘𝓐𝓛 Intelligence into […] more

“7 Habits of Highly Effective People”

12.04.2021

𝐊𝐔𝐃𝐎𝐒 to Nathalie Tu 🙏 for that awesome visualization of the book “7 𝐇𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞” from 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑹. 𝑪𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒚. That book had a profound impact on my 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 life & new 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 venture ( www.IBSing.com ). Many other insightful books fit nicely into the frame of the “7 HABITS”: ✰ 1) BE PROACTIVE ⇨ Full Catastrophe […] more

30% success rate is no longer good enough!

07.04.2021

“70% 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥 to achieve their goals, largely due to employee resistance and lack of management support.“ (𝘉. 𝘌𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯, 𝘔𝘤𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘺, 2015) McKinsey article The journey towards success in change programs is never a direct one. We always encounter 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬, and 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭. When a team’s potential is fully exploited in overcoming a challenge […] more

I am so 🥚-cited!

31.03.2021

🥚-cellent Easter! Run 🥚-strashifts in the hen house Build 🥚-cess inventory to cover the 🥚-ceptional seasonal demand Prevent inventory 🥚-spiry issues Secure 🥚-sternal supplier capacity Strengthen 🥚-schange of information Ask your IBSIng 🥚-sperts for 🥚-samples and always 🥚-spect the un-🥚-spected You are an 𝐒&𝐎𝐏/𝐈𝐁𝐏 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 in a corporate company? You are passionate about the 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 […] more

“Machine Learning” and “Consciousness in Business”

29.03.2021

“𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠” and “𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓼𝓬𝓲𝓸𝓾𝓼𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓲𝓷 𝓑𝓾𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼” in combination have the potential to make our workplace ̳a̳w̳e̳s̳o̳m̳e̳! 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 is an important trend to master the 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 activities in organisations. That insightful article more

“People say, you are a wimp!”

25.03.2021

“All the things which you don’t like about yourself are your greatest assets. They are simply overamplified.” Debbie Ford. Dark Side of the Light Chasers (Hodder & Stoughton) More than 20 years ago, in the early stage of my career, I was leading a production team. One day, the most senior leader on the site provided […] more

Is your S&OP fit for a global raw material shortage?

23.03.2021

Yesterday 12 S&OP experts from different industries discussed how to address a global RM shortage. Instead of jumping directly onto solutions, we first identified underlying changes in fixed, governing and enabling constraints. The excellent EU field guide “managing complexity (and chaos) in times of crisis” (Dave Snowden and Alessandro Rancati) more

My Customer is out of stock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

18.03.2021

“ALLOCATION BY DECIBEL” is a chaotic way of reacting to sudden product shortage. “ALLOCATION BY DECIBEL” may damage relationships and overall business results. Without robust processes, that’s a natural way of behaving. Commercial teams are doing everything possible to protect supply for key customers, and supply chain professionals want the same and feel overwhelmed by […] more