Oliver Wight Hot Topic Presenter At Supply Chain Management Conference

Online, August 31, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Stuart Harman, Partner at business improvement specialists, Oliver Wight, will be presenting at the 'Mastering Supply Chain Management with SAP' conference in Melbourne on Monday 17th September 2012.

Harman's presentation, 'S&OP - Why is the forecast the problem', taking place on day one of the three-day event, examines the issue of why, for many people, the root cause of all Sales and Operations Planning problems is the forecast.

"People commonly believe 'if we can get better at forecasting all of our problems will be solved'," explains Harman, who has over twenty years experience helping businesses improve their supply chain processes. "But blaming your problems on an inaccurate forecast doesn't resolve the issue. S&OP is about more than just planning the supply chain, it is about delivering operational and strategic plans. To do this, and become truly competitive, a company has to get beyond forecasting."

S&OP is a 'hot topic' at this year's Mastering Supply Chain Management with SAP and Harman's presentation will go on to explore roles and responsibilities in S&OP; why the supply chain may be stifling S&OP; and how S&OP has evolved over the past thirty years to become the Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process it is today. He will also introduce the concept of competitive S&OP.

Over 160 supply chain professionals from a wide range of industries from all over the world will attend the conference, marketed as the only event of its kind in the region. Held at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne, it will run from 17th - 19th September.