Since Hanley Energy introduced Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) into the global business, the process has rapidly become the drumbeat of our operations worldwide. That’s largely thanks to an expert executive team led by Paul O’Donnell, Global Head of Procurement and ESG, and the support and buy-in across the entire company from the ground up.
LISTEN to the audio version
Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) at Hanley Energy
Like any global business, Hanley Energy operates with considerable complexity throughout the supply chain. But unlike many multinationals that maintain that complexity, Hanley Energy has always flourished by keeping things simple.
One way that Hanley Energy supports streamlined executive decision-making, clarity, and simplicity is through Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP). The process was introduced to create and align sustainable, resilient supply chains. It’s an initiative that sets our teams up to successfully deliver on our commitments to our customers.
What is S&OP?
The Hanley Energy story that began in 2009 with a fresh vision for the critical power sector has evolved faster than even founders Clive Gilmore and Dennis Nordon might have predicted – from 3 employees in Ireland then to more than 1,000 employees and contractors around the world today.
There’s one trajectory that rapidly rising businesses tend to follow that Hanley Energy definitely wanted to avoid. It was the one where big, bold decisions no longer happen. Instead, individual business units become siloed, competition takes an internal focus, and planning becomes mired in meetings and memos.
That wasn’t an option, and Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) offered the solution. By implementing S&OP, Hanley Energy could align business plans for the short, medium and long term to better bring together the demand and supply sides of the business.
The process combines all the plans for business departments and our extended supply chain and key suppliers into a single agreed master plan. In other words, making big decisions as a global company.
What does S&OP look like in practice? It’s more of a tempo, setting the cadence of all departments of the global business with standard terms of reference, and business data intelligence continuously recalibrated through established cross-functional meetings. That organisational pulse helps align demand and supply with the strategic business plan to successfully deliver for our customers.
Why did Hanley Energy introduce S&OP?
The rationale behind implementing S&OP at Hanley Energy was to establish an end-to-end process for a business that is now global, from the supplier all the way to the customer. You only need to consider the range of business units involved — Sales, Operations, Manufacturing, Commissioning, Projects, Research and Development, Design & Engineering, Procurement and Supply Chain, Service, Field Operations, Talent Acquisition and Finance — to appreciate how many dots there are to join up.
Perhaps the more interesting question is “Why now?”.
The impetus behind S&OP
Foreseeing that supply chain issues might well become a permanent feature of global business, the leadership team at Hanley Energy sought a process that could reduce the complexity and risk of operations and put a plan in place for any potential failures.
Paul O’Donnell, was tasked with developing a strategy to implement S&OP into the business. Having taken on a similar challenge at other companies, he was able to complete a review and come up with a plan.
The S&OP plan is now reviewed and recalibrated on a continuous basis, and approved by the Senior Leadership Team each month, before being applied globally across the Hanley Energy business.
Crucial to its success is the buy-in from the top, and the feeding in of information, data, and potential risks from the teams on the ground.
How will the introduction of S&OP help our business?
Through S&OP, we are able to create more robust supply chains that are better equipped to get through the next pandemic or geopolitical situation.
There are now established processes in place to enable success through an “iterative process” of continuous improvement.
- Regular cadence S&OP meetings where data is discussed, reviewed and decisions are made
- Risk management as a core element
- Decisions and data filtered down from Senior Leadership Teams to departments on the ground, underpinned by transparency and accountability, with no room for miscommunication
- Reports and KPIs embedded in the business – what gets measured, gets managed.
Internally, the success of S&OP has even swayed those who might have been initially skeptical of the benefits. But as always at Hanley, it’s the external customer relationship that serves as the most important measure of success.
How S&OP helps our clients and suppliers
The central benefit of S&OP for our clients is that they can count on us to an even higher standard for the following (and more):
- Reliability of delivery
- Capacity planning to ensure we have the available resource to meet the demand
- Resource management to operate effectively and efficiently
- Quality
Ultimately, S&OP allows us to build our customers’ confidence and their trust in Hanley Energy.
For our suppliers, S&OP gives better visibility of what is needed down the line. It’s about sharing information to enable them to service our needs better.
The focus on more streamlined, strategic planning also empowers us to facilitate ESG and sustainability best practices, a vital aspect of our modern business. By allowing ourselves more long term planning, we have more flexibility in choosing suppliers, so we can select those who share our commitment to operating sustainably and ethically and are ESG friendly.
With S&OP beating the drum, procurement is fortified by informed decision-making. We can assess clear predictions of what is needed and increasingly for up to 3-5 years.
The S&OP Team at Hanley Energy
The S&OP Executive team includes the most senior executives in the business. Their commitment to S&OP adoption and ongoing support for its implementation has been key to the success of the initiative.
Global Head of Procurement & ESG, Paul O’Donnell, is a seasoned Supply Chain Management expert with more than 30 years’ experience in managing complex high-volume supply chain and procurement operations including implementation of S&OP and Risk Management. O’Donnell is supported by S&OP Manager and executive team and brings a wealth of experience in planning, manufacturing, and supply chain management.
Conclusion
S&OP is yet another example of Hanley Energy putting customer obsession at the forefront of our work, both the projects we’re immersed in today and the ones we’re preparing for months or even years ahead. Good planning practices are in our DNA and strategically aligned decision-making is now tangibly present across the entire company.
