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You are here: Experts > Business > Small Business: Canada > Managing a Business > Operational planning
Expert: Brian Thompson - 11/7/2009
Question
Dear Brian,
I work for a mid-size company and was promoted to MD recently. We distribute multiple brands & distribution channels. Our organization structure has therefore managers responsible for brands and others that are responsible for specific distribution channels. Basically, sales target due to the way to the organization is structured is the direct responsibility of many managers (Brand as well as dist channel). Every end of the year however, each manager prepares its sales plan and budget independently after which the previous MD would make adjustments so that all the numbers would add up. I believe there should be a better way since the responsibilities of meeting sales objectives is shared. So my question is, what type of operational planning method would you recommend so that all concerned managers work together and agree on a sales plan? They need to compromise and agree on sales objectives as well as budgets for the year.
Thanks for the help
Answer
Hi David
Operational planning comes down to a Strategic planning process which is regularly reviewed so that outcomes are monitored and objectives aligned with corporate vision.
A Brand Manager could be expected to have an overall picture of brand position in the market and knowledge of products coming on stream and the product life cycle of existing products. Tempering this knowledge with information from those closer to the coal face is essential and aligning the objectives (clear measurable targets) is the MD's responsibility. There is a product in the market place called Corpalign which facilitates the communication of objectives and targets through various levels of management to ensure full alignment. In this structured methodology objectives and sub objectives are collated and monitored so that the high level corporate objectives are both communicated and broken down. This is done through a process of participative planning meetings
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