In the heart of Berlin, in the beautiful atmosphere of the Eurostars Hotel, the 2nd Annual S&OP Excellence Forum: Supply Chain, Demand & forecasting Refined took place, in the period of 10-11 September 2019.
Is Change Management crucial for a successful Digital Transformation? Antonio Greco highlighted the value of change management and triggered reflections on its importance when it comes to the transformations we are constantly living in our different companies. During the opening speech of the Second Annual Excellence Forum in Berlin, he pointed out the importance of understanding and practicing change – points that were discussed throughout the two days.
Day one was all about the process – as Riccardo Tudino explained, the key components for a successful S&OP are the people, processes and technology. Nurles Kirgiz stressed the importance of the integrated end-to-end platforms for maximum visibility in S&OP. The case studies are always useful in terms of learning and comparing. One such case study was presented by Toni Sirvio and their journey at Konecranes. The morning session was closed with an impressive lecture followed by discussion, about the theory of triangle, the supply chain strategy and financial metrics by Bram Desmet.
The process and technology were still in focus during the afternoon part – Mustafa Siddiqui talked about the financial forecast. Alexander Hein continued with the AI based forecasting. Sven Crone sparked the discussion during his future of demand planning with artificial intelligence talk, as part of the improving S&OP by leveraging technology session.
Day one was closed with Samuel Torres Ortega and the Repsol story about the digital transformation of the supply chain.
The finance part of the process was more visible during the day two. With an impressive opening presentation about the current I-S&OP process in PepsiCo, Oznur Us planted so many questions for discussion. Continuing with Dirk Dijkstra and Sjoerd Lemm human excellence in S&OP, Maciej Orlikowski’s followed with his order in chaos. The importance of open and honest presentation about the company’s processes, including the learning component, was noticeable during Christan Carlsson’s speech. The morning session was closed during the educational presentation of Jan Roodenburg.
The afternoon sessions started with the provocative presentation of our chairman Chris Turner, imposing thoughts for thinking throughout the two days.
Different aspects of the risk management were elaborated first by Kieran O’Connor and later by Martin Kurtz. The Conference was closed with Frans Kempen with the detailed explanation about the possibilities blockchain brings along.
The positive energy in the conference room was present from the first moment people gathered. The exclusive, intimate atmosphere motivated the participants to engage in open and honest discussions, to learn and network. At the end, the sole purpose of this event was to create family-like atmosphere so the professionals in the same field can openly discuss and share the same issues. And so it was.
Looking forward to our next year edition.