Sales & operations planningIn the first of a new series of articles on sales and operations planning, John Schorr argues that S&OP is much more than a tactical logistics and supply chain process; itÔÇÖs a way of managing the business as a whole. Over the years many companies have moved from disconnected management processes, with all their informality and fire-fighting activities, to having capable planning and control processes in place.

Spring is in the air, and as Tennyson almost said, in the spring, a young businessmanÔÇÖs fancy lightly turns to thoughts of acquisition. Martin Ashcroft ponders the poetry of this strategy for growth. ÔÇÿBirds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do itÔÇÖ; letÔÇÖs do it, letÔÇÖs merge and acquire. With apologies to Cole Porter, merger and acquisition are in season, and seem almost as common as falling in love. The global business environment dictates that companies have to grow to consolidate their footprint in the market place.

As manufacturers discover that lean can bring improvements in processes away from the shop floor, service industries are adopting lean principles, too. Ron Wince traces the migration. What does Toyota have in common with the Johns Hopkins Medical System, Wells Fargo, and General Electric? More than you might thinkÔÇöthe last three are a part of a growing trend of service companies who are . . . . . . adopting the tools that have made Toyota arguably the best automotive manufacturer in the world.

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Russ Widmar and his management team at Fresno Yosemite International Airport have made their business a beacon of excellence in the regional airport sector. He talked to Ruari McCallion about investment, retaining staff and solar panel-covered car parks. ThereÔÇÖs been an airport in Fresno, California since the 1920s, and itÔÇÖs been at its present location since 1947.

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Pinnacle of success┬áEllisDon Corporation is midway through the construction of a prestigious new addition to the Toronto skyline. Senior project manager Jon Thompson talks to Gay Sutton about the challenges of building on a small footprint of land and how great relationships have kept the schedule on track. TorontoÔÇÖs skyline is evolving fast, and one of the newest additions to its cosmopolitan outline is a slim inspirational shaft of glass, rising 53 stories into the sky.

Living┬álarge┬áField construction manager Phil Gardner tells Gary Toushek some of the challenges Ledcor Construction faced in building VancouverÔÇÖs tallest tower, with its five-star luxury hotel and high-priced condos, during a major construction boom. Phil Gardner is Ledcor ConstructionÔÇÖs field construction manager for the Living Shangri-La project, a 62-story tower with a five-star hotel up to 15 stories and 47 floors of the most expensive condos in the city (the penthouses are each in the $10ÔÇô15 million range) during one of the most explosive con

In the pipeline┬áMacro Industries is at the heart of the oil and gas extraction that is driving CanadaÔÇÖs economy from some of its remotest regions: terrain that demands special expertise and flexibility. John OÔÇÖHanlon looks at the company and the industry. The stone flung into the world economy has rippled every part of it, and the energy sector is no exception.

Driving new opportunities┬áTarpon Energy Services has grown rapidly during its five-plus years in business, evidence of the strong demand for its electrical products and services and its related expertise. With its six-year anniversary on the horizon, Tarpon is eyeing growth in the US and other markets. Even with oil prices well off their historic highs of a year ago, energy companies remain active in the exploration and production of both alternative and traditional sources of fuel for power.