Kinaxis has created a new edition of its RapidResponse software with additional resources for sales and operations planning (S&OP). The tool is aimed at Fortune 500 manufacturing companies, the vendor said. RapidResponse, S&OP Edition allows for the integration of all planning layers and functions. Users can balance finance and operations with demand and supply in a single system. They can generate plans simultaneously at an aggregate and detailed level, linking top-line demand forecasts to the lowest level of a complex supply chain. The tool also promotes cross-functional and cross-organizational collaboration. According to Kinaxis, the use of a single application to manage S&OP eliminates the lag in planning and decision-making caused by the integration of data from multiple software modules, and manual number-crunching performed in Excel. Users can now run S&OP on a calendar cycle, while engaging in off-cycle processes when portions of the plan require adjustment.
