Simpler & Better – A Powerful Combination

Someone once said, "Complex things get studied; simple things get done."

Things all around us are becoming more complex, and as a result making improvements often rests with our ability to keep things simple. While not everything can be simplified, Lean Manufacturing has certainly moved us to that direction.

Progress with Executive S&OP has also moved towards simplicity. Executive S&OP helps us handle complexity through the use of simplifying assumptions:

•    About revenue projections
•    About capacity consumption
•    About the relationships of individual products to their families

This has enabled us to do medium and long-range planning more effectively and much more easily. Done well, this kind of planning sets the conditions for success in the short term.

But don't confuse simple with easy. Doing things more simply is often more difficult because it is not intuitive and it can be very different from our experience. When achieved, however, simpler & better is a winning combination. Keep it simple!