"Let me discuss our experience in implementing sales and operations planning. After more than fifteen years helping companies to implement, we have found what works and what doesn't work," Ross says. He explains that the approach that has been most effective involves the following steps:

1. Education

2. Process design

3. Getting started

4. Learn by doing

"This is not a long-winded implementation. It is not like when you implemented enterprise resource planning or other information systems," Ross adds. "We are talking about getting started within months, not years. We are seeking benefits from the process as quickly as we can get them."

Ross tells the group that a fundamental principle, which he and Nolan will emphasize during the implementation, is that time is the enemy. The longer it takes to implement, the more it costs, the more benefits are missed, and the greater the potential that management will lose interest.

"We always find a few key business areas that require improvement early in the implementation," Ross says. "We also find areas where it is difficult to improve without additional processes and tools. However, we discover the need for these improvements by doing sales and operations planning. You do not want a big expensive study from some consulting firm, including ours, to help you get started in sales and operations planning."

Ross shows the group a diagram (Figure 49). "These are the key elements of the implementation, which will be reviewed in detail in the managers' session. Nolan will be reviewing the process elements...