GenAI Transforms S&OP: Better Alignment and Improved Employee Experience

GenAI Transforms S&OP: Better Alignment and Improved Employee Experience

The pace of technological evolution is pushing organizations to the brink. This is more evident in supply chain, where time-tested methods are being replaced with new ones. These new approaches not only improve existing processes but also reimagine them altogether.

Enter Generative AI (GenAI).

The groundbreaking technology is transforming how companies manage sales and operations planning (S&OP). By eliminating department silos and decision latency, it improves alignment and enhances the supply chain employee experience. This ensures everyone - from planners to finance executives - is equipped to make smarter decisions, faster.

S&OP provides the perfect starting point for companies interested in putting AI to work. Jonathan Doller, senior business consultant at Logility, explains, "GenAI introduces a new language of planning that incorporates insights, business challenges, and market activities into a single model not just S&OP processes but really any planning process in general."

Using Generative AI to Reimagine the S&OP Process

To learn more about the role of GenAI in sales and operations planning (S&OP), watch or read more below on Logility business consultant, Joe Slater's, and Jonathan Doller's presentation, "Using Generative AI to Reimagine S&OP and Improve Employee Experience," given at the North American Supply Chain Executive Summit (NASCES).

Joe Slater and Jonathan Doller at NASCES 2024.

Breaking Down Silos for Accelerated Department Alignment

S&OP has long been plagued by one key issue: departmental silos. Sales, operations, finance, and other functions often operate in isolation, resulting in disconnected strategies and slow, reactionary decision-making.

When one department updates its forecast or makes a critical adjustment, the impact often isn't fully understood until after the fact - leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities. Traditional methods of aligning these departments rely on time-consuming meetings, manual data reconciliation, and an often slow, sequential decision-making process that creates a lag in response times.

GenAI, however, offers a radical new approach. Instead of relying on slow-moving processes and outdated information, AI provides real-time insights to stakeholders across all departments. This eliminates the need for lengthy back-and-forth communications and manual data entry by delivering a single source of truth. The impact is immediate: departmental alignment becomes smoother and more efficient, with all teams able to access the same data and respond to changes in real time.

As Logility business consultant Joe Slater points out, "GenAI and large language models have expanded S&OP capabilities. Not just to navigate around and quickly find things we're looking for, but to assist us in analyzing information, providing insight, and making better decisions happen."

A significant advantage of GenAI in S&OP is the automation of complex data analysis. For example, budgeting becomes less of a guessing game when AI can instantly calculate and simulate different scenarios. Planners, sales teams, and finance departments no longer need to wait for updated spreadsheets or manual input from colleagues. Instead, AI gives them up-to-the-minute insights to make aligned, data-driven decisions faster.

This new-found alignment extends beyond the technical side of the business. It also breaks down information and communication silos. Employees across departments can collaborate without barriers, speaking the same language on a unified platform for insight access.

Elevating the Supply Chain Employee Experience with Insight

Alignment is not the only issue for supply chain teams. Employees also spend most of their time on repetitive, manual tasks - such as data entry, reporting, and analysis - that do little to challenge or engage them.

GenAI changes this situation by automating routine processes and providing employees with user-friendly tools that make their jobs easier. Imagine a supply chain planner who spends hours each week reconciling data across different systems. The task can be automated to free time to focus on more strategic, value-added activities, including scenario planning or supply chain optimization.

In this case, "AI already understands how the drivers of demand like seasonality, promotions, and non-promotional events impact sales," shares Slater. This benefit reduces the risk of errors and allows employees to contribute more meaningfully to the business.

By enabling conversational interfaces, GenAI allows employees to ask natural-language questions and get instant and actionable insights. Doller emphasizes the benefits: "This makes the data accessible to any user, whether it's planners, executives, or other stakeholders, without having to know how to write queries or run reports."

The result? A more engaged and empowered workforce that understands the whole business picture.

By reducing the burden of manual work and enhancing access to information, GenAI transforms the S&OP process while creating a more positive and supportive environment for everyone across the supply chain. And when employees feel more confident in their roles, they are likely more satisfied with their jobs and consistently highly productive.

Taking a Closer Look: A Use Case for GenAI in S&OP

To visualize how GenAI works in a real-world S&OP setting, consider a global consumer goods company grappling with fluctuating demand and supply chain disruption. In the past, managing these challenges required multiple rounds of communication between sales, operations, and finance. Each department worked off its own set of data and unstructured information such as e-mails, documentation, and contracts - often resulting in misaligned forecasts, delayed decisions, and inefficient resource allocation.

But with the adoption of GenAI, this company can completely reimagine its S&OP process. AI-driven insight gives all departments access to the same real-time data. The need for repetitive meetings and manual data reconciliation decreases. So, instead of waiting for formal updates, each team sees the immediate impact of changing demand on inventory, production schedules, and budgets.

Doller outlines the benefit of using real-time insights: "AI-powered insights help [employees] anticipate rather than simply react when changes occur." The company can quickly run different scenarios using AI to assess the impact on everything from supply chain capacity to financial forecasts. In return, responses to market changes are faster, stockouts are avoided, and revenue potential is maximized.

Transforming the S&OP Process and the Future of Supply Chains

GenAI is a critical tool reshaping how companies approach sales and operations planning. Embracing this technology in S&OP processes puts businesses on a direct course toward dramatic improvements that align and empower the entire workforce with immutable integration and real-time insight delivered through a fast and easy experience.

As the supply chain operations continue to evolve, AI will be a driving force behind that evolution. With the right tools and strategies in place, organizations can not only reimagine S&OP but also build a future where employees are at the heart of ongoing business growth.

To learn more about the role of GenAI in sales and operations planning (S&OP), watch Joe Slater's and Jonathan Doller's presentation, "Using Generative AI to Reimagine S&OP and Improve Employee Experience," given at the North American Supply Chain Executive Summit (NASCES).

It's time to reimagine your supply chain

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