Mind The S&OP Gap

Yesterday, I was delivering an S&OP conference for the Finance Leaders of a major food company. As always, one topic inevitably came to the table — Gap Management.

And it triggered a passionate debate.

In Business Planning terms, the gap between the latest view and the objective is often perceived as a problem. In the art of Sales & Operations Planning, it’s actually the solution.

Because as Michael Kami brilliantly described in Trigger Points,

“Gap Management is not a failure to be fixed — it’s a force to be used.”

A gap is not a weakness. It’s a trigger point — a spark that sets in motion the crucial conversations that make S&OP so powerful.

The Gap as a Source of Energy

Kami used the Greek letter Δ (delta) to symbolize difference — the space between what is and what could be. That space, he warned, “cannot remain untouched,” because the status quo has been disturbed. It demands action — innovative, decisive, creative action.

That’s exactly what great S&OP is all about. The gap between the forecast and the ambition, between the plan and the strategy, is not something to hide in a deck. It’s the space where transformation happens.

In every world-class company I’ve supported — across food, cosmetics, and B2B — the best S&OP leaders don’t fear the gap. They mine it. They turn it into a conversation platform where possibilities emerge:

What’s really driving the deviation? 

What new levers could we activate? 

What would it take to exceed, not just meet, the target?

These are not accounting questions. They are leadership questions — and they are where true growth begins.

From Business-as-Usual to Breakthrough Thinking

Michael Kami wrote:

“Gaps cannot be filled by wishing or hoping — they must be filled by forceful, innovative actions.”

In S&OP, that’s exactly what we do when we turn “the gap” into a crucial conversation.

We shift the organization from an avoid-to-lose attitude ➡️ to a growth-mindset, aim-to-win mode.

Each time a team analyses a gap honestly, they challenge their Business as Usual. They test assumptions. They explore scenarios that were never considered before.

And very often, that’s how breakthroughs are born:

• A new route-to-market.

• A fresh demand signal.

• A smarter inventory posture.

• A bold investment in capacity or innovation.

The gap becomes a creative tension, forcing cross-functional teams to move from “reporting the past” to designing the future.

Gap Management = Leadership in Action

Too often, S&OP is treated as a compliance meeting — a ritual to reconcile numbers. But when it’s done right, it becomes the leadership operating system of the enterprise.

A place where Finance, Operations, and Commercial leaders align not on what is convenient, but on what is possible.

Kami warned decades ago that planning should never become a bureaucratic exercise. It should be a

“creative, interesting, fun endeavor engaging the minds of key managers throughout the company.”

That’s the spirit we need to rediscover. S&OP should be fun — not because it’s easy, but because it’s where the company’s future is being designed. When the conversation becomes energizing, the numbers start to move — not the other way around.

So, S&OP Leaders — Mind the Gap

Don’t fear it. Don’t hide it. Don’t fill your decks with “Non-Identified Projects”.

Instead: Confront the delta. Make it visible. Turn it into a shared challenge.

The gap is not the enemy — it’s the invitation. An invitation to act, to collaborate, to imagine.

As Michael Kami concluded,

“A good planning process refuses to accept the status quo and battles complacency. It forces managers to deal with greater challenges — but it makes management fun.”

So next time you see a gap in your S&OP review… Smile. Because you’ve just found your next Trigger Point for Growth.