Very few companies have a sales and operations planning (S&OP) process driven by finance, while the majority of companies have failed to make this strategic business link, according to a new report from analyst firm Aberdeen Group.
In "Sales and Operations Planning: Integrate with Finance and Improve Revenue," Aberdeen highlights the result of 214 companies participating in a survey of sales and operations planning related initiatives. The goal of this study, co-sponsored by Supply Chain Consultants, was to compare and contrast the view points of supply chain and finance organizations relating to S&OP processes.
Aberdeen reports that just 4 percent of companies have an S&OP process that is driven by finance. While ideally the output of the S&OP process should be used to drive the income statement and balance sheet of a company, the Aberdeen study shows that only 24 percent of companies have an automated workflow between S&OP projections and the revenue projections.
"Many companies are facing pressures that better managing the S&OP process and integrating data with the finance function could help reduce," said Nari Viswanathan, vice president/principal analyst with Aberdeen.