Removing the Red Tape: Why Sales Planning and S&OP Can’t Afford Data Silos Anymore

For decades, Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) has promised alignment: demand and supply in balance, commercial ambition grounded in operational reality. Yet in practice, many organizations still struggle to achieve this promise, not because of a lack of process sophistication or technology, but because of a more human and institutional barrier: the red tape and stigma surrounding data sharing.

Internal data is guarded, and external data is distrusted. The result is a planning cycle built more on negotiation and intuition than on shared truth.

If sales planning and S&OP are to evolve from periodic alignment exercises into true decision-making engines, organizations must fundamentally rethink how and why they share data.

The Hidden Cost of Data Protectionism

Most companies would say they are data-driven, but fewer are truly transparent with their data. Internally, data is often treated as currency: sales holds customer intelligence close, marketing protects pipeline signals, finance polices forecasts, and operations questions demand assumptions. Each function has valid reasons – accountability, incentives, risk exposure – collectively, this behavior creates friction that slows planning and weakens outcomes. Externally, the problem compounds. Market indices, retailer sell-through, syndicated data, macro indicators, and even customer-shared forecasts are often dismissed as “directional,” “too late,” or “not trusted enough.” Organizations default back to internal historicals, even when markets are volatile, and history is no longer a reliable guide. The irony is clear: S&OP was designed to break silos, yet data silos are still the system’s biggest constraint.

Red Tape vs. Real Risk

One of the most persistent myths in enterprise planning is that sharing data inherently increases risk. However, the greater risk lies in planning with incomplete or biased information. Red tape often grows out of good intentions, such as data privacy, compliance, and quality control. However, over time, governance can become an inhibitor rather than an enabler of better decisions.

The question S&OP leaders should be asking is not: “Who is allowed to see this data?”

But rather: “What decisions are we trying to improve, and what data is essential to improve them?”

When governance is decision-centric rather than ownership-centric, data sharing becomes purposeful instead of political.

De-Stigmatizing External Data

Another deeply rooted challenge is the stigma attached to external data, especially in sales planning. External signals are often criticized for not matching internal forecasts exactly, but that critique misses the point. External data is not meant to replace internal forecasts; it is meant to challenge, enrich, and contextualize them. The goal is not precision; it is preparedness. Treating external data as a second-class input leads to planning cycles that are internally consistent but externally disconnected.

In high-performing S&OP organizations:

• External market data frames the range of plausible demand scenarios

• Customer data validates or questions sales assumptions

• Macroeconomic indicators inform risk and opportunity discussions

• Competitive signals explain deviations, not just numbers

From Forecast Ownership to Forecast Transparency

A critical mindset shift is required: moving from forecast ownership to forecast transparency. When forecasts are owned, they are defended, but when forecasts are transparent, they are improved. This applies internally and externally, as sales should not feel exposed by sharing assumptions, and operations should not feel blindsided by commercial ambition. Additionally, finance should not act as referee by default. Instead, all parties should operate from a shared data foundation where assumptions are visible, challengeable, and continuously refined. Accountability requires clarity, not secrecy.

Modern sales planning and S&OP require:

• Shared metrics and definitions

• Open access to underlying drivers, not just top-line numbers

• Clear separation between accountability and data visibility

The Role of Leadership: Modeling Openness

Ultimately, removing red tape and stigma around data sharing is not a technical problem – it is a leadership one. When executives model curiosity rather than control, the organization follows.

Leaders set the tone by:

• Rewarding collaboration over forecast “wins”

• Asking better questions instead of demanding better numbers

• Treating data conflicts as learning moments, not failures

• Explicitly valuing external perspective alongside internal expertise

The Future of S&OP Is Open by Design

As volatility becomes the norm and planning horizons shorten, S&OP can no longer rely on closed systems and protected views. The organizations that will outperform are those that treat data as a shared enterprise asset, not a departmental possession. Removing red tape does not mean removing rigor, and reducing stigma does not mean abandoning judgment. The quality of S&OP decisions will always be limited by the willingness to share, challenge, and trust data, wherever it comes from. The future of sales planning and S&OP belongs to organizations that are not just data-driven but data-transparent.