S&OP Meeting Agenda Template

An S&OP meeting agenda keeps the monthly planning meetings focused on decisions, and a good one fits on a page. The usual problems with S&OP meetings are not a lack of effort but a lack of structure: they run over, wander into operational detail, report results without choosing anything and end without clear actions. This template gives you an agenda for the executive S&OP meeting and a shorter one for the pre-S&OP, with suggested timings, the pre-read each needs, a decision log and action tracker you can copy, and tips for facilitation. It is part of demand planning and inventory optimization, follows the S&OP process and S&OP vs. IBP, and leads to the S&OP maturity model and S&OP software. The plan it approves shapes cash flow management.

Executive S&OP meeting: 90-minute agenda

Check: 10 + 15 + 15 + 15 + 25 + 5 + 5 = 90 minutes. The time for decisions, 25 minutes, is the heart of the meeting. If the first four items consume the time, the pre-work was not good enough.

Pre-S&OP meeting: 60-minute agenda

Pre-read checklist

Send the pack at least two days before the executive meeting. A strong pre-read includes:

• A one-page summary: the recommended plan, the key changes since last cycle and the decisions required.
• Demand: the plan by family against last cycle, last year and budget, with accuracy and bias.
• Supply: capacity and material constraints, inventory projection, service risk.
• Finance: revenue, gross margin, inventory and cash against budget and prior plan.
• Scenarios: two or three options with numbers.
• Risks and opportunities: what could change the plan, with probability and impact.
• Open actions from the last cycle with status.

Keep it short. A pre-read of eight to ten pages is plenty. Slides are less important than tables that show the key numbers.

Decision log template

Record every decision made in the meeting. Review the log at the start of the next cycle. A log builds institutional memory and prevents the same question being relitigated.

Action tracker template

Limit the number of actions per meeting, and make each specific: who, what, by when. Mark actions that are late and discuss them first at the next meeting.

Facilitation tips

Start on time and end on time. Respect for time builds the habit of preparation. Decisions first. If time is short, cut reporting, not the decision segment. Ask for the number. When someone says a risk is "significant," ask for units, dollars and dates. Park detail. Move operational problems to a separate working session. Keep the sponsor engaged. Ask the sponsor to state decisions clearly at the end. Rotate presentation so that functional leaders, not only the planner, present their sections. Close with the read-back. Repeat each decision and action to confirm understanding.

How to adapt the template

For a smaller company, a 45-minute monthly meeting around a one-page summary can work: five minutes on the last cycle, ten on demand, ten on supply, ten on finance and ten on decisions. For a company with many product lines, hold category meetings first and an enterprise meeting for escalations. In peak season, hold a short weekly check-in alongside the monthly cycle. Whatever the format, keep the same logic: review, understand, decide, record.

Want a working version?

If you would like help setting up an S&OP calendar, the pre-reads and a first few cycles for your own business, contact us. Newtown Analytics is a demand planning and inventory optimization consultancy, and we can tell you plainly whether this is something we can help with.