Sold Out Crowd at 4/20 IBF NY Metro Chapter Meeting

Chapter_leaders_keynote
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On a raw pouring rain kinda night, John Gallucci, Director of Demand Planning at Nestle with his college Hugh McCarthy led a successful sold out IBF chapter meeting with demand planning and supply chain folks from well known companies such as L'oreal, Coty, Pfizer and Tastykake. Jay Nearnberg, Senior Director of Demand Planning at Wyeth presented "The Myth of Consensus in the S&OP Process". Folks from CPG, Pharmaceutical and other industries, had lots of questions for Jay as many companies grapple with setting up their own successful Sales and Operations/ S&OP process.

Terra Technology was the meeting sponsor and President Robert Byrne was on site to meet and greet the attendees. They will be the meeting sponsor for the remainder of the year. The chapter meetings will be quarterly with the next meeting date to be set shortly.

Podcast Interview of Swiss IBF Chapter Leader Thomas Hsu from Lonza AG

March 31, 2009 was the first Institute of Business Forecasting and Planning/IBF Swiss Chapter meeting lead by Thomas Hsu of Lonza AG. Hsu considers the inaugural event to be a success with over 30 people in attendance that included major European companies such as Dow Chemical, Kraft and LEGO. IBF chapters are built on local communities interested in fostering the growth of Demand Planning and Supply Chain Forecasting.

Anish Jain, Managing Director with the IBF recently met with the Swiss Chapter Leader to discuss the success of the first meeting and answers a series of questions at Payard in New York City.

Have a listen to the podcast here:
http://www.garageband.com/mp3player?|pe1|WdjZPXLrvP2rYVWzZ2FkBA

Zappos Chief Accounting Officer Amanda Nevins to Keynote Demand Planning & Forecasting Conference

The IBF has launched their full agenda for the upcoming Demand Planning & Forecasting: Best Practices Conference including an Optional CPG/Retail Forecasting Forum to be held at The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada April 29-May 1-2009. Chief Accounting Officer Amanda Nevins from the Online Shoe Retailer Zappos, will Keynote and present "An Inside Look at Zappos' Sales, Inventory, Systems and Planning". Other topics include: "How Nestle manages customer events to enhance business results", "How Logitech setup and ran a multi-channel Collaborative, Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) Process" and learn how to properly organize data and information that will enable a successful S&OP process. More information can be found on the IBF website here.

Online Training Program, 1st Term to Launch March 3rd

IBF to offer a series of 9 modules covering topics from The Demand Planning Process to Corporate Benchmarks, Best Practices, and Gaining Buy-in Through Better Communication in Demand Planning. Senior educators will use their wealth of real-world experience to provide valuable knowledge for empowering employees, uniting departments, gaining consensus, minimizing inventory and improving customer fulfillment & retention. Plus, it is geared towards every industry and level of experience.
Have a look at the course schedule and register now for only $129 a session.

Director of Forecasting and Planning Job Posting, New Jersey

Qualifications.....
-- BS degree in any discipline [Engineering, Mathematics, Business, or Other]. Advanced degree desirable.

-- 10+ years experience in Forecasting Demand Planning in a pharmaceutical or other FDA regulated environment.

-- Strong project management skills.

-- Expertise in sophisticated demand planning and forecasting tools [ie Manugistics Logility, Demand Solutions, etc.

-- Strong leadership, communication, and team building skills.

-- Knowledge of and experience in clinical materials and supplies,

-- IBF Certified Professional Forecaster (CPF)

VIEW FULL DESCRIPTION AND APPLY FOR THIS JOB (Requires login but it is free)

Senior Demand Planning Job Posting, IL USA

Principle duties include support over the implementation of a new S&OP process, managing the sales forecasting and demand planning process, and acting as the primary contact representative for sales and marketing when participating in the demand planning and supply planning process.
See Posting and Apply

Buy In and the Politics of Forecasting

Forecasting demand and safety stock can prevent delays, disruptions and overstock situations. However, a recent survey of 180 top retail, manufacturing and wholesale/distribution companies concluded that less than 30% of these companies surveyed do not have a process in place.

Planning Improves Processes, Lowers Costs

Now more than ever, top management should recognize the importance of forecasting and have a formal Sales and Operations Planning Process. Need some help? An article recently published in the Journal of Business Forecasting talks about the Politics of Forecasting and how to get buy in from upper management.

"The Politics of Forecasting In Sales And Operations Planning"
Chris Whisenant
Shaw Industries

“The Key Players of Politics In Corporate America Are The Executive Branch (senior Management), The Legislative Branch (sales And Marketing), And The Judicial Branch (finance) … To Win The Support Of Finance You Must Show Cost, Average Selling Prices And Margins … One-number Forecasting Is The Key To The Success of the S&OP Process.”

Institute of Business Forecasting and Planning/IBF members can download this for free, or non-members pay $10. Click Here to download and search more articles on demand planning, forecasting and Sales and Operations Planning.