Development of a Digital Platform for Synchronization and Maintenance of Sales and Operations Planning Process Activities

The aim of the following project was the development of an Inter-Organizational Information System (IOIS) to support the Sales and Operations Planning process of Acciaierie Valbruna, allowing to effectively manage material flows and stocks within the complex network of production plants and branches. Born as Aggregated Production Planning (APP) in the 50s and evolved in Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) in the mid-80s, Sales and Operation Planning (S&OP) has become a fundamental business process in recent decades, that aims to integrate the different business functions and to prompt strategic alignment, in order to increase business performance in various aspects. A particular contribution to the process nowadays is given by the use of information systems capable of managing the collection, integration, analysis, and distribution of data among the different business functions, automating standard procedures, and allowing to simulate potential scenarios deriving from hypothetical decisions. Considering what mentioned, the first part of this analysis will be dedicated to the description of the Sales & Operation Planning, including its historical development, its structure, and potential advantages it can bring to an organization, along with an overview of stock management through the Re-Order Point method. Following, after an introduction to the corporate reality, a section concerning Valbruna’s S&OP process will delve into how the theoretical literature has been adapted to the firm, and then move on to discuss the implementation of the digital platform that supports the S&OP process. Finally, the expected long-term results of the software will be outlined.