From Hidden Decisions to Shared Alignment: How S&OP Creates a Positive Domino Effect

In most organizations, decisions don’t happen in isolation. A choice made in one function—marketing, supply, finance—almost always sets off a chain reaction elsewhere.

But here’s the catch: when those decisions are made in silos, the effects are often hidden.

Instead of a smooth chain of alignment, you get random scatter, unintended consequences, and internal friction.

This is the challenge Oliver Wight described decades ago as the problem of “hidden decisions.”

🌐 The Problem: Hidden Decisions and Random Scatter

Consider a few familiar scenarios:

• Marketing launches a promotion without full supply chain visibility.

• Production adjusts schedules without knowing sales forecasts are shifting.

• Finance sets new targets that commercial teams aren’t fully aligned to.

  
  

Each decision seems rational locally—but together, they create chaos: mismatched inventory, missed sales, service risks, and a cycle of blame.

The dominoes are falling, but instead of forming a pattern, they scatter in different directions.

🚀 The Solution: S&OP as a Visibility Engine

Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) tackles this head-on. It turns decision-making from hidden and fragmented into explicit, transparent, and cross-functional.

Rather than each function working in isolation, S&OP brings supply, demand, and finance to the same table. The result is a positive domino effect:

• Good information replaces hidden assumptions.

• Structured routines align decision-making.

• Trade-offs are understood and agreed, not imposed.

  
  

With everyone operating from the same facts, the chain reaction becomes constructive rather than chaotic.

🔍 Why This Matters

The shift is more than operational—it’s cultural.

Organizations without strong S&OP often operate reactively: each team optimizes for its own objectives, firefighting issues as they arise. With S&OP, the business operates proactively:

• Decisions are taken with visibility across the chain.

• Capacity, demand, and finance are reconciled before surprises hit.

• Leaders gain confidence that the plan is realistic and aligned.

  
  

Instead of a scatter of uncoordinated choices, you get a deliberate, sequenced domino effect that drives the business forward together.

🌟 Conclusion

S&OP isn’t just about balancing supply and demand. It’s about exposing hidden decisions, creating visibility, and engineering collaboration.

In a world where no department can afford to work in a vacuum, S&OP ensures that every domino falls in the right direction—towards shared goals, stronger alignment, and better results.