Rebecca Livingston of Synder’s-Lance and Dan Spatz of Oliver Wight delivered a joint-presentation at the 2016 edition of the North American Supply Chain Executive Summit entitled, “Bucking Trends: Pursuing Business Improvement from the Demand and Detailed Perspectives.” Many companies pursue S&OP or IBP as the launch point for business process transformation and improvement, but Snyder’s-Lance decided a demand-led, bottoms-up approach made more sense. This case study will discuss how they identified the key focal points of the initiative and the results to be delivered, as well as how the pursuit of integrating the business played into a long-term journey of transformation.
Rebecca Livingston has been with Snyder’s-Lance for 19 years leading several projects and holding increasingly senior positions across the organization’s Supply Chain, including Product Supply & Materials Management, Demand Planning Business Process Lead and ORACLE ERP Implementation Planning Business Lead. She is currently the VP of Supply Chain Optimization, responsible for aligning our Supply and Demand organizations with the Sales and Marketing strategies while supporting the optimization of Capacity Management, Production and Materials Inventory Planning Functions. Her focus on building supply chain planning and execution knowledge and skills has continued through multiple mergers and acquisitions as Snyder’s-Lance has become the 2nd largest salty snack business in North America. Rebecca holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and is studying for her MBA with a concentration in Project Management. She is APICS certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) and Supply Chain Professional (CSCP).
Dan Spatz is an Oliver Wight principal with diverse experience in demand, supply, and service functions in both commercial and non-commercial organizations. After serving with Catholic Relief Services and at the U.S. Embassy in Guinea, Dan began a business career with the Mars Corporation. During 19 years with Mars in Russia and the US, he worked in Logistics, Procurement, Supply Planning, Marketing, and Finance. He also led two Integrated Business Planning programs and co-founded the Global S&OP+ Community in Mars. While in Russia, Dan coached three graduate management associates to achieve executive-level roles. Most recently, as Director of Integrated Business Management with The Nutro Company, Dan reignited a Sales and Operations Planning program with Portfolio Management, Demand Management, Supply Chain Management, and Financial Reconciliation.