Business Forecasting 2013 Predictive Intelligence Summit

On June 24 and 25, there was a conference in Chicago.  It was the Business Forecasting 2013 Predictive Intelligence Summit.  There were four hundred attendees to hear 25 thought leaders in the industry.  CR Supply Chain Consulting was well represented at the Summit by Mark Gavoor, Managing Director of CR Supply Chain Consulting, and Ara Surenian, President of our sister company Cadent Resources, Inc.   Both spoke on Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP).  Both are experts in implementing and optimizing S&OP in smaller companies.

Ara Surenian's presentation was "What is Old is New:  Marketing Mix and S&OP."  Ara advocated using a different hierarchy and aggregation of planning.  The standard practice is to forecast at the family level and apportioning down to the product level using history.  Ara has a method that he uses in his consulting with great success.  His planning methodology is based on forecasts on retailers and channels of distribution.  He has had success in improving forecast accuracy dramatically using this method.

Mark Gavoor's presentation was "S&OP Framework."  Mark talked about what organizations need to do to prepare for both the implementation of S&OP and then what is required to make it work.  He noted that S&OP is a complicated planning process that requires that functions such as Operations, Sales, Marketing, and Finance cooperate in ways they never have before.  He outlined the maturity stages of S&OP and the effort required for companies to move from stage to stage.  Mark spoke on the critical role of Senior Management to make S&OP a success.  He also said that a continuous improvement must be designed into the S&OP process to ensure that it is a success.

Ara said "Mark is gifted at taking the complex and simplifying it so everyone can understand.  People left his presentation with a much clearer view of the challenges to implementing S&OP and how to better deal with those challenges." 

Mark noted that "Ara's hands on coaching and customer/channel driven approach is exactly what companies struggling with S&OP need.  Furthermore, he has developed an excellent software system, DemandCaster, that can aid companies of any size better facilitate the data and data manipulations required in S&OP."  Both Ara and Mark specialize in making S&OP work in smaller businesses.

It was an excellent Summit overall.  All the speakers were very good and the participants were well informed and engaged.

Please contact us if you would like Mark or Ara to give their presentations to your team.