Frequently Asked Questions - Integrated Tactical Planning (ITP)

This page provides answers to frequently asked questions covering the topic of Integrated Tactical Planning (ITP), in addition, we also have pages answering questions on other specific topics including: Integrated Business Planning (IBP), Supply Chain Management (SCM) and more general questions. With a team of professionals offering a wealth of experience if you have any specific questions not answered on these pages and you would like to ask, please contact us.

What is Integrated Tactical Planning (ITP)?

Integrated Tactical Planning (ITP) is a process for the functional alignment of daily and weekly changes in your product portfolio, demand, or supply plans, to drive the best customer outcomes, while re-optimizing financial performance. It can be implemented and delivering results in just six weeks.

A tightly orchestrated set of weekly and daily processes, the successful deployment of Integrated Tactical Planning will define and calm the process of management and communication within the one-to-three-month tactical horizon, integrating the key functions within your organization, and ultimately leading to improvements in customer service, inventory levels, and other key metrics.

Learn more about the role of Integrated Tactical Planning in our white paper, Effective Execution of S&OP/IBP Plans through Integrated Tactical Planning.

Integrated Tactical Planning (ITP) operates within the short-term horizon, inside the ‘planning time fence’, where focus moves from planning to effective execution, and when expenditure on variable and semi-variable expenses begins. ITP is complementary to Integrated Business Planning (IBP), which focuses on the medium-to-long-term planning horizon.

Oliver Wight Partner Dawn Howarth discusses this in more detail in her blog post, How to transform your IBP plans into reality using Integrated Tactical Planning.

All levels of execution plan are managed within ITP, including launch plans, sales plans, master schedule, supplier plans, inventory plans and finance.

The successful deployment of ITP will define and calm the process of management and communication within the one-to-three-month tactical horizon, integrating the key functions within your organization, and ultimately leading to improvements in customer service, inventory levels, and other key metrics.

ITP is managed by the people responsible for the execution of the plans – typically master schedulers, order management, demand control and project managers. They operate in a framework with clear decision-making and escalation processes to ensure that information flows through the organization where needed to allow leadership to be comfortable that they are in control of meeting the plans determined by IBP.

Each department or function will have its own detailed daily and weekly cadence of processes. ITP ensures that these are integrated with a suite of metrics that show overall performance, and a governance process that connects them on at least a weekly basis through governance meeting(s). Here they will align on the latest plan and advise of any gaps to the original IBP plan.

Learn more in our book, Integrated Tactical Planning Respond to Change, Increase Competitiveness, and Reduce Costs.