Hi Rens
SOP is a higher level planning tool, which is generally used to create an integrated and simple sales/production plan. Maybe if you analyze from a production planner perspective, LTP may may be a more complete tool, however, if you are looking for a simple tool that can be used by both sales and production people, then SOP is a more suitable tool.
The main advantages in my opinion are:
- Generate a forecast based on past consumption data.
- Use flexible planning and create your own infostructure where you can plan on different levels (such as sales organization, distribution channel, division...) and then use aggregate/disaggregate tools to see the planning on another levels.
See Flexible Planning in SOP process flow...for more details.
- Use Rough-cut capacity planning to validate if your sales plan is actually feasible.
Regards
Caetano