This fact has not gone unnoticed as many leading consulting firms and software firms have introduced processes and applications to support Integrated Business Planning (IBP), a holistic approach which enables effective decision making and control over the entire organization and more closely aligns the goals of sales and operations with those of finance and shareholder objectives. IBP is a great step forward in the maturation
of S&OP, and according to an Aberdeen Research Study, enterprises that deploy integrated S&OP programs consistently outperform those companies whose approach to S&OP is more
tactical and less integrated.