Assessing the Impact of Sales and Operations Planning Process Maturity and Strategic Consensus on S&OP Performance: The Fischer Italia Case Study

This thesis investigates the relationship between Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process maturity, strategic consensus and organisational performance, through an in-depth case study of fischer Italia srl. In an environment marked by demand volatility and growing supply chain complexity, S&OP has emerged as the key process for balancing customer demand with supply capabilities. However, the literature has not yet demonstrated that greater S&OP maturity alone leads to superior performance and the link between S&OP maturity and strategic consensus remains almost unexplored. The research therefore addresses the following question: whether and to what extent, the relationship between S&OP process maturity and strategic consensus affects organisational performance. The guiding hypothesis is that higher levels of S&OP maturity, combined with greater strategic alignment within the top management team, are associated with better performance. Methodologically, the thesis combines two complementary instruments. S&OP maturity is measured through a structured questionnaire based on Lapide's (2005) four-stage model, while strategic consensus is assessed following the Strategic Consensus Mapping framework of Tarakci et al. (2014), using Cronbach's alpha as an index of internal alignment. The analysis is based on a survey administered to the key participants of the S&OP process at fischer Italia and the results are compared with those of two additional companies analysed with the same instruments. Financial performance is measured through eight indicators normalised against sector benchmarks and aggregated into a Composite Performance Index. The results classify fischer Italia's S&OP process as a Classic Process, with a maturity score of 3.1 out of 4 and reveal a relatively high level of strategic consensus (alpha = 0.71). Both values exceed those of the two comparison companies. fischer Italia also records the highest Composite Performance Index (1.37), well above its peer average. Although the small sample (three companies) prevents causal inference, the evidence is coherent and supports the hypothesis that higher S&OP maturity, combined with stronger strategic consensus, is associated with performance above the sector benchmark. The thesis offers an integrative and replicable methodological approach at the boundary between operations planning and strategic management and identifies directions for future research based on larger samples.