Oliver Wight Launch New Integrated Business Planning White Paper

GLOUCESTER, ENGLAND, September 19, 2012

Business improvement specialists, Oliver Wight, have published 'Integrated Business Planning for Effective Decision Making', a white paper revealing how businesses can configure their Integrated Business Planning process and optimise decision-making to prepare for the future whatever it holds.

Integrated Business Planning (IBP) has become the management process of choice for thousands of organisations to plan the organisation across a 24-month rolling horizon. But whilst businesses may well be able to see gaps in future plans coming, the paper's author, Oliver Wight Partner, Jerry Shanahan, believes many companies instinctively feel they either have plenty of time to sort it out, or circumstances will most likely change again by the time they get there. However, not making an explicit decision is tantamount to an implicit decision being made and the results can be catastrophic.

"The challenge," explains Shanahan "is to create the same sense of urgency when analysing future business issues as reacting to those which are here and now." The white paper outlines how to do this through creating the decision-imperative and making lead times clearly visible; enabling the leadership team to see into the future, identify issues heading towards the business and any financial gaps emerging.

"The result?" says Shanahan "Businesses will be able to respond positively to changing conditions and make real decisions, now, in plenty of time, to positively impact the future position of the company."

"This," he concludes, "will allow businesses to continue their progression on the maturity journey and reap the true rewards Integrated Business Planning brings."

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.