Advanced Supply Chain Planning and S&OP Training Course – Amman, 22 Aug – 2 Sep 2027

Supply Chain Planning and S&OP is a 2-week training course for demand planners, supply planners, master schedulers and operations managers who balance sales forecasts against capacity, inventory and materials, and each participant builds a monthly S&OP cycle blueprint for their business unit. Volatile demand, longer supplier lead times and tighter working capital now punish plans that are set once a year. Jupiter Prime Training delivers this course on supply chain planning and S&OP.

Why Supply Chain Planning and S&OP Matters Now

Three groups pull on every planning decision today: commercial teams who want product available for promotions and new customers, finance leaders who watch inventory as tied-up cash, and plant and distribution managers who need stable schedules to run efficiently. When these groups plan separately, the result is excess stock of slow lines alongside shortages of fast movers, expediting costs and missed service targets. Organisations that run one consensus plan each month trade off service, cost and cash openly. The course draws on the planning disciplines set out by ASCM, the Association for Supply Chain Management, and uses examples from fast-moving consumer goods and industrial manufacturing.

Who Gains Most from Supply Chain Planning and S&OP

• Demand planners who own statistical forecasts and market intelligence inputs
• Supply and production planners who convert demand into capacity and material plans
• Master schedulers who set the master production schedule and its time fences
• Inventory controllers who set stocking policies and safety stock targets
• Operations and logistics managers who chair or contribute to the monthly planning review

Planning functions that send a demand planner, a supply planner and a finance partner together gain most, because they can redesign their own cycle during the course.

Supply Chain Planning and S&OP Capabilities

Participants move from single forecasts and schedules to a joined-up monthly cycle that links volume, mix, capacity and money.

• Measure forecast accuracy and bias by product family — the demand review owner
• Calculate rough-cut capacity against the aggregate plan — plant and contract manufacturing heads
• Set safety stock and reorder policies by segment — inventory and finance leads
• Design time fences and freeze rules for the master schedule — production and sales
• Build gap-closure scenarios that weigh service, cost and cash — the executive S&OP meeting
• Specify planning KPIs and a calendar for each review step — the planning leader

Key Supply Chain Planning and S&OP Terms

• Sales and operations planning (S&OP) — a monthly cross-functional cycle that agrees one volume plan balancing demand, supply and financial targets.
• Master production schedule (MPS) — the time-phased plan of finished items a plant commits to build, driving material and capacity plans.
• Rough-cut capacity planning — a quick check of the aggregate plan against critical resources before detailed scheduling begins.
• Forecast bias — a persistent tendency for forecasts to run above or below actual demand, distinct from random error.
• Safety stock — inventory held above expected demand during lead time to protect service against variability.
• Time fence — a point in the planning horizon inside which changes to the schedule need higher approval.

Supply Chain Planning and S&OP Day by Day

Day 1: The Planning Hierarchy and Its Horizons

• Strategic, Tactical and Operational Horizons — Where Each Decision Belongs
• Product Family Aggregation — Choosing the Right Planning Level
• Planning Process Maturity Models — Locating the Current State
• Planning Roles and Decision Rights — Who Owns Which Number
• Service, Cost and Cash Trade-Off Triangle — Framing Planning Choices

Day 2: Demand Planning Foundations

• Demand History Cleansing — Removing Stockouts and One-Off Orders
• Time Series Methods and Seasonality — Baseline Forecast Selection
• Forecast Value Added Analysis — Which Adjustments Improve Accuracy
• Accuracy and Bias Metrics — MAPE, Tracking Signal and Bias
• Promotions and New Product Inputs — Commercial Overrides With Evidence

Day 3: Segmentation and Inventory Policy

• ABC-XYZ Segmentation — Matching Policy to Volume and Variability
• Safety Stock Calculation — Service Level Versus Holding Cost
• Reorder Point and Periodic Review Models — Replenishment Rules
• Inventory Targets by Echelon — Plants, Hubs and Branches
• Slow-Moving and Obsolete Stock Reviews — Write-Down Prevention

Day 4: Supply and Capacity Planning

• Aggregate Production Strategies — Chase, Level and Hybrid Plans
• Rough-Cut Capacity Planning — Testing the Plan Against Bottlenecks
• Make, Buy or Subcontract Decisions — Flexing Constrained Capacity
• Supplier Lead Time and Capacity Inputs — Upstream Feasibility
• Distribution Requirements Planning — Moving Stock to Demand Points

Day 5: Master Scheduling and Materials

• Master Production Schedule Construction — Weekly Build Commitments
• Time Fences and Freeze Rules — Protecting Schedule Stability
• Available-to-Promise Logic — Reliable Customer Order Dates
• Material Requirements Planning Outputs — Planned Orders and Exceptions
• Campaign and Batch Sequencing — Changeover Cost Versus Responsiveness

Day 6: Designing the Monthly S&OP Cycle

• Five-Step S&OP Calendar — Data, Demand, Supply, Pre-Meeting, Executive
• Demand Review Agenda — Agreeing the Unconstrained Forecast
• Supply Review Agenda — Identifying Constraints and Options
• Pre-Meeting Gap Resolution — Escalating Only Real Decisions
• Executive Meeting Charter — Decisions, Minutes and Follow-Through

Day 7: Financial Integration and Scenarios

• Volume-to-Value Conversion — Linking Units to Revenue and Margin
• Plan Versus Budget Reconciliation — Explaining Variance Early
• Scenario Modelling for Demand Swings — Upside and Downside Plans
• Working Capital Impact of Inventory Plans — Cash Release Options
• Integrated Business Planning Extension — Portfolio and Strategy Reviews

Day 8: Planning Performance and Governance

• Planning KPI Tree — Forecast Accuracy, Schedule Adherence, Service
• Plan Stability and Nervousness Measures — Reducing Firefighting
• Exception-Based Planning Routines — Prioritising Planner Time
• Data Ownership and Master Data Quality — Lead Times and Bills
• Planning Policy Documents — Rules That Survive Staff Changes

Day 9: Planning Under Volatility

• Demand Sensing With Short-Term Signals — Adjusting the Near Horizon
• Supply Risk Buffers and Dual Sourcing — Protecting Critical Items
• Postponement and Late Customisation — Holding Generic Stock
• Planning Software Capability Review — Spreadsheets Versus Planning Suites
• Change Management for Planning Redesign — Winning Sales and Plant Support

Day 10: Practising the S&OP Cycle Blueprint

• Applying Forecast Accuracy Review — Consumer Goods Case Portfolio
• Applying Rough-Cut Capacity Check — Industrial Plant Case Data
• Applying Safety Stock Policy — Segmented Case Inventory
• Simulated Executive S&OP Meeting — Gap Decisions Under Pressure
• Completing the Monthly S&OP Cycle Blueprint — Ready for Launch

Applying Supply Chain Planning and S&OP After the Course

• Run a forecast value added and bias review on the top product families and present the findings at the next demand review.
• Pilot the five-step calendar for one business unit, with a rough-cut capacity check and a written executive decision log.

Supply Chain Planning and S&OP Questions (FAQ)

What is supply chain planning and S&OP and why does it matter now?

It is the discipline of turning demand into capacity, inventory and material plans and agreeing them in one monthly cross-functional cycle. It matters now because volatile demand and long lead times make annual plans obsolete within weeks.

Which roles gain most from supply chain planning and S&OP training?

Demand planners, supply planners, master schedulers, inventory controllers and operations managers gain most. You benefit if you prepare forecasts, set schedules or sit in the monthly planning review in sectors such as consumer goods, industrial manufacturing or distribution.

How does supply chain planning and S&OP training differ from a general logistics course?

It concentrates on the planning decisions that come before goods move. A logistics course covers transport, warehousing and distribution execution; this course covers forecasting, inventory policy, capacity, master scheduling and the monthly S&OP cycle that sets them.

What do you bring back from supply chain planning and S&OP training?

You bring back a calendar and agendas for each review step, a planning KPI set and tested methods for forecast, capacity and safety stock checks. These let you launch or repair a monthly cycle in your own organisation.

Supply Chain Planning and S&OP: The Way Forward

The monthly S&OP cycle blueprint first informs which product families and constraints go on the agenda of the next executive review. Planners, schedulers and operations managers use it to run each step on time. After its first cycle, revisit the time fences and safety stock targets, since early results usually show where the plan is still too nervous or too buffered.