Helppp Write half a page response to the topic/case and include sections of the chapter that apply to the topic such as sales/operations planning and yield management.

Consider the dilemma of Southwest Manufacturing Company's executive staff at their monthly planning meeting. Things are tough, and it seems that everyone is complaining. The president has been reviewing reports from marketing. We keep running out of product. How can we sell stuff if we don't have it when the customer wants it? And the response time on customer questions is terrible. It is often days between when the question comes in and when we get around to responding. This cannot continue. The supply chain executive responds, Our forecast from marketing was terrible last month. They sold 30 percent more than they had forecast. How do you expect us to keep this stuff in stock?" . Ma Marketing chimes in with, "We had a great month; what are you complaining about? We told you mid-month that things were going well. The plant manager replies, "There is no way that we can react that quickly. What are you expect- ing from us? Our schedules are fixed six weeks into the future. You want us to be efficient, don't you?" The president asks, "Should we just bump everything up 30 percent for next month? I sure don't want to run out again." Marketing responds, "Only if you are willing to keep running that 2-for-1 deal that we were running last month. Our customers pass on that discount to their customers and that keeps sales going. I am not sure that we are making much money when we discount like that." This wakes up the finance guy, "Oh, so now I understand why we have such a big negative revenue variance. We can't give away the stuff anymore." This struggle between those selling the product, those supplying the product, and those keeping track of the money goes on month after month. The problem is one of matching supply with demand at a price that makes the firm profitable. It is a diffi- cult balancing act and one that plays out at Ryan McVay/Getty Images most companies. Today, many companies are using a business process called sales and opera- tions planning (S&OP) to help avoid such problems. This chapter defines S&OP and discusses how to make it work