New Oliver Wight Demand Management White Paper

Business improvement specialists, Oliver Wight have released a new white paper on managing demand. Authored by Oliver Wight Partner, Debbie Heaton, the white paper explains why organisations need sales and marketing to take ownership of the demand management process if they are to keep up with the competition.

“In the current business environment it’s more important than ever that companies are consumer-driven; that means not only capturing and understanding demand, but influencing it. Thus, the process needs to be led and managed by those closest to the consumer - sales and marketing,” explains Heaton.

With more than 15 years and a wealth of experience in sales and marketing, Heaton offers invaluable insight in to managing the supply chain from a customer demand perspective. In addition to providing constructive advice on market segmentation and demand optimisation, Heaton presents supply chain collaboration as a key component of demand insight.

“Collaboration puts the customer at the centre of everything, and in retail for instance, who knows the customer better than the retailer or franchiser? Understanding consumer buying patterns sanctions faster relay of demand signals and the ability to action real-time response,” she says.

Heaton also believes demand analytics have a key role to play. “The quality of the demand plan is only ever as good as the input it receives. With so much information coming at the business, a specialist demand analyst within the marketing team can allow the calibration of assumptions, and continuous review of activity, which will ultimately optimise the customer experience.”

An effective demand management process, driven by sales and marketing, is essential in driving competitive advantage, but Heaton is keen to emphasise it’s not just about meeting customer demand today. “The white paper sheds light on how to implement the right processes to adapt to customer demand, whatever lies ahead,” she concludes.

Notes to editors

About Oliver Wight

Oliver Wight has a 40 year track record of delivering business improvement to some of the world’s best-known organisations. With a team of professionals offering a wealth of experience, Oliver Wight is the largest consultancy of its type, with offices throughout Europe, South Africa, North and South America, and the Asia Pacific region. We believe that sustainable business improvement can’t be delivered by external consultants but only by our clients’ own people, so unlike other consultancy firms, we transfer our knowledge to them, helping deliver performance levels and financial results that last.

Integrated Business Planning
At the leading edge of management thinking and practice, our Integrated Business Planning (IBP) model lies at the heart of our clients’ journey to outstanding business performance. Oliver Wight are the originators of sales and operations planning (S&OP) and IBP can most simply be described as advanced S&OP. However, unlike S&OP, IBP brings a truly strategic perspective, integrating diverse processes - in the extended supply chain, product and customer portfolios, customer demand and strategic planning - into one seamless management process.

Supply Chain Design and Optimization
Oliver Wight supply chain design and optimization allows organisations to understand their position within the extended supply chain; identify where value is being created and destroyed; develop profitable relationships with suppliers customers and consumers; and optimize their supply chain (however complex) for the ultimate in customer service and business performance.

Performance Benchmarking for Supply Chain
Oliver Wight Performance Benchmarking provides a qualitative and quantitative assessment of supply chain performance, allowing organisations to identify opportunities for improving customer service at the same time as dramatically reducing supply chain costs.

Meeting the Class A Standard
The Oliver Wight Class A Checklist is the longest standing and most successful business assessment tool. The latest, Sixth Edition, raises the bar, and sets ever more demanding standards for companies on their journey to business excellence and the Oliver Wight Class A standard.

Zoe Davis
Oliver Wight EAME
zoe.davis@oliverwight-eame.com
www.oliverwight-eame.com

Oliver Wight EAME LLP
The Willows
The Steadings Business Centre
Maisemore
Gloucester
GL2 8EY
United Kingdom

This release was published on openPR.