VEKA - North America’s Post

Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP), The goal of S&OP is to achieve operational excellence, optimize resource utilization, and maximize customer satisfaction while meeting business objectives and financial targets. Overview of the key components and steps involved in the S&OP process: Demand Planning: Predicting future demand for products or services based on historical sales data, market trends, customer orders, and other relevant factors. Market Intelligence: Gathering market insights, customer feedback, and competitive intelligence to inform demand forecasts and identify emerging trends or opportunities. Reviewing and validating demand forecasts with input from sales, marketing, and customer service teams to ensure accuracy and alignment with business objectives. Supply Planning: Assessing production capacity, inventory levels, and resource availability to determine the organization's ability to meet forecasted demand. Developing production schedules, inventory targets, and procurement plans to optimize resource utilization, minimize lead times, and ensure timely delivery of products to customers. Evaluating supply plans against demand forecasts, identifying potential constraints or bottlenecks, and making adjustments to address capacity limitations or inventory imbalances. Integrated Business Planning (IBP): Facilitating collaboration and communication between sales, marketing, operations, finance, and other departments to align business plans, priorities, and objectives. Conducting "what-if" scenario analysis to assess the impact of various business decisions, market changes, or external factors on sales, production, and financial performance. Identifying and mitigating risks, uncertainties, and disruptions that may affect the organization's ability to meet its sales and operational goals. Executive Review and Decision-Making: Holding regular executive-level meetings to review and approve the integrated sales and operations plan, discuss key performance metrics, and make strategic decisions to drive business growth and profitability. Monitoring and tracking performance against the agreed-upon sales and operations plan, KPIs, and financial targets, and taking corrective actions as needed to address deviations or variances. Continuous Improvement: Continuously refining and improving the S&OP process, tools, and methodologies to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and alignment with business objectives. Conducting regular reviews and post-mortems to evaluate the effectiveness of the S&OP process, identify areas for improvement, and implement corrective actions to drive continuous improvement and innovation. Overall, (S&OP) is a dynamic and iterative process that integrates sales, marketing, operations, and finance functions to develop a comprehensive, synchronized plan that optimizes resource utilization, minimizes risks, and maximizes business performance and customer satisfaction.

Who should I delegate to? For small to medium businesses with minimal employees, growth may quickly eventuate to new tasks or responsibilities that need to be fulfilled. Of course, new staff can be hired but resource to train can be limited and it’s all hands-on deck to keep forward momentum without distraction. In context of the supply chain - retailers, production, vendors, and warehouses may run into this problem when it comes to the sudden requirement to use hire pallets. It is rare for there to be an existing pallet controller and even rarer to hire someone just for this role (especially with low volumes). We find it common for these Pallet Control tasks to be delegated to: 1. A Receptionist 2. Warehouse staff 3. Customer Service representative It is fine if the tasks are delegated to someone who has time – this is a great use of existing resource. However, the employee responsible for Pallet Control needs to have at least a basic understanding of: - Mitigating losses. - Invoice reconciliation. - Supplier rules of transfer. - Use of software. - Pallet Control terminology. - Negotiating to settle disputes and claims. - Reporting KPIs including pallet position. Outsourcing pallet management removes risks and brings expertise to your business. We tailor our service to meet the requirements of any business size and requirements. If this post resonates with you, get on top of your pallets now so they don’t affect your bottom-line later. QUESTION: What task have you done before that wasn’t in your job description? Comment below. If you’re interested in handballing your pallets to us, DM me for a free pallet account review.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐠 ✏️ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬: 𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 🤝 To help shed light on the ‘how,’ the ‘why,’ and the skepticism of procurement becoming a “customer of choice,” State of Flux tapped SAMA’s own Harvey Dunham, Managing Director of Strategy and Marketing, and Chris Jensen, Director of Customer Solutions for their expert perspectives. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ee6iT7jb #blog #newpost #blogarticle #blogpost #procurement #sales

🚚 Unlocking Efficiency and Success: The Power of Exceptional Freight Account Management! 🌟 Let's talk about the remarkable advantages of top-notch account management from your trusted freight supplier! 📦💨 🔗 Seamless Communication: Effective account management fosters clear and timely communication. The Zend team becomes your point of contact, we’ll ensure you're always in the loop. No more endless back-and-forths – just smooth sailing towards your cargo's destination. ⏱️ Time is Money: With Zend, you can bid farewell to time wasted on paperwork, tracking, and troubleshooting. Zend takes care of the nitty-gritty, allowing you to focus on core business activities. 💡 Tailored Solutions: Zend doesn't offer one-size-fits-all solutions. We take the time to understand your unique needs, designing personalized strategies to minimize costs, and enhance overall efficiency. 🛡️ Issue Resolution: Every journey has its bumps, but with Zend, you have a dedicated problem-solver on your side. They proactively address issues, finding solutions and minimizing disruptions to keep your shipments on track. 🤝 Trusted Partnership: Beyond the business transaction, exceptional account management builds a solid partnership. The Zend team becomes an extension of your team, invested in your success and growth. Ready to experience the transformative benefits of stellar freight account management? 🌍📊 Reach out to us today and let's elevate your logistics journey to new heights! 🚀💼

I am excited to have our new Executive Team formally established, and so proud to have each member on our team as we look to enhance our customer focus and results in the years ahead! BOON EDAM ANNOUNCES NEW EXECUTIVE TEAM FOR THE AMERICAS Promotions and Internal Appointments Strengthen Domestic Strategy Raleigh, N.C. – January 9, 2024 – Boon Edam Inc., a world-leading manufacturer of secured entry solutions, is proud to announce several enhancements to company leadership following the internal merger of the company’s commercial and manufacturing teams. The new Executive Team for the Americas reflects Boon Edam’s growth in the changing market climate, as well as the company’s commitment to nurturing talent and fostering innovation in its working environment. “Security entrances have rapidly become a new security imperative across virtually every vertical,” said Patrick Nora, President and Managing Director, Boon Edam USA. “The creation of these new leadership positions reflects the way in which we are driving the evolving market, while also enabling us to create opportunities to better service our existing and new customers.” Boon Edam Americas Executive Team is comprised of: Kevin Bates, now Director of Engineering & Development, formerly the International Engineering Manager. While his work will continue to ensure Boon Edam is aligned globally, he lets go of his official international duties to fully focus on the business in the Americas. Tonya Parker, now Boon Edam’s Human Resources Director. Parker brings a fresh vision regarding the HR team’s role in supporting the company’s vision and objectives ahead. Stephanie Parker, now Director of Quality Management. Parker naturally progresses into this leadership position from her previous title of Quality Manager and will continue to help implement and ensure the delivery of quality end-to-end solutions.  Kurt Measom, now Vice President of Global/Enterprise Accounts. With this promotion, Measom steps into an expanded role on the international stage while continuing to manage the portfolio of products, technologies, and features for the Americas. Sam Nussman, now Vice President of Service, formerly Director of Technical Services. Nussman’s new focus will enhance and expand Boon Edam’s service capabilities for its customer base. Sandra Williams, now Vice President of Operations, responsible for the manufacturing process and installation of products in the field. She will also oversee a formal Continuous Improvement effort across these areas. Greg Schreiber maintains his role of Senior VP of Sales & Marketing for the Americas, where he will continue to ensure the delivery of outstanding customer experiences. Dan Camp, now Chief Financial Officer for the newly consolidated Americas group. Camp has served this organization in a CFO role for many years and brings that knowledge and experience to assist the new team.

A great process goes a long way when it comes to sales and operations planning ⚙️ Master the art of building an efficient process thanks to our S&OP tips and best practices. https://hghspot.co/438FylN #sales #operations #bestpractices

IS STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT WORTH IT? Be it as a single contributor or as a people manager having to optimize resources allocation, time and budgets, the question about implementing respectively a strategic account management approach or program keeps coming back. Is it always worth dedicating personnel - often the most senior - and enhanced resources to valuable clients in order to develop a mutually beneficial relationship, considering that strategic account programs can lead to increased costs and lower margins? Is this the inevitable outcome of giving a customer greater resources and often your best discounts? My experience is that the key to successful strategic account management - provided your business, your customer base and your staff are a fit! - is in the longevity of the clients, not the immediate profit margins. Their tenure with your business (and the money that comes from it) more than makes up for the investment. When properly executed, such a strategy can ALSO lead to: 1. Increased customer retention rates 2. More growth opportunities 3. Valuable, field-led insights ...so much so that this strategy often is the perfect example of the Pareto Principle where 20% of the inputs bring in 80% of the results. Do you agree?

The Importance And Strategy Of Account Planning

How to Excel in Account Management: Keeping Major Clients Happy To excel in managing major clients, it's all about understanding their business inside and out and building strong relationships. Here’s how I’ve made a difference: 1. Understanding Your Client's Business Doing My Homework: I dive deep into each client’s business, figuring out what keeps them up at night and where they want to grow. 2. Building Strong Relationships Staying Connected: I make sure I’m always in touch and responsive. Building trust is key to keeping clients happy and renewing contracts. 3. Delivering Top-Notch Service Being Proactive: I’m on top of any issues before they become big problems. Keeping clients happy means solving problems fast and making sure they feel heard. Finding Solutions: When issues pop up, I analyze them carefully and come up with smart solutions that fit their goals, saving them time and money. 4. Adding Value and Driving Results Planning Ahead: I create detailed plans that go above and beyond, delivering results that exceed expectations. Spotting Opportunities: I’m always looking for ways to grow our relationship, whether it’s suggesting new services or expanding current ones. 5. Teamwork Makes the Dream Work Working Together: I collaborate closely with our team to make sure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. Being Their Voice: I make sure our clients’ voices are heard within our company, so we’re always focused on what matters most to them. 6. Staying Sharp and Innovating Keeping Up: I stay on top of trends and changes in our industry so I can offer clients the latest and greatest solutions. Thinking Outside the Box: I love finding new ways to solve problems and bring fresh ideas to the table that really make a difference. 7. Showing Results and Keeping in Touch Tracking Progress: I keep close tabs on how we’re doing, using metrics to show our clients the value we’re delivering. Listening and Learning: I take their feedback seriously and use it to keep improving our service and relationship. 8. Always Learning and Growing Getting Better: I’m always learning new skills and keeping up with what’s happening in our field, so I can be the best partner possible. Adapting Quickly: Things change fast, and I’m quick to adjust our approach to make sure we’re always ahead of the curve. 9. Putting Clients First Their Success is My Success: I’m passionate about their success and always put their needs first. Building trust and lasting relationships is what it’s all about. By focusing on these everyday steps and using my experience in fast problem-solving, strategic thinking, and ensuring contract renewals, I’ve become a trusted partner for major clients. Consistency, flexibility, and a dedication to delivering value keep me on track to keep them happy and growing together. #accountmanager #accountmanagement #customersupport #customersuccessmanager