Our ten years of partnership with OMP has helped planning leaders turn ideas into action. We cover shared governance models, data as a foundation, cross-functional alignment, and embedded collaboration, plus real examples from the field.
Bluecrux and OMP began working together in 2015. Since then, the collaboration has spanned industries, continents, and supply chain maturities. We’ve partnered on planning transformations ranging from tactical interventions to global design and rollouts.
But it’s not just the timeline that matters. It’s what we’ve learned by doing it.
“Ten years of collaboration has shown how shared values lead to successful projects. Together with OMP, we’ve built a foundation that helps us stay ahead, not by chasing trends but by transforming planning into something truly connected.”
— Olivier Souffriau, Global Business Alliance Manager, Bluecrux
Over the years, we’ve seen planning programs succeed when teams focus on a few shared fundamentals. These are the best practices that show up again and again in our work with OMP and our joint customers.
The complexity of today’s value chains has only increased. Hybrid networks, volatile demand, sustainability targets, and regulatory pressure have all raised the bar for planning performance.
That means it’s no longer enough to rely on process knowledge alone. Today, planning leaders need clear governance, structured data, and cross-functional ways of working to make systems and solutions stick.
What we’ve learned alongside OMP is that the most effective programs don’t just configure a system. They align people, data, and decision-making toward a shared operating model.
AI adoption does not start with a training session. It starts when planners see how the system makes their work easier. Trust builds when models reflect reality, when users see their input matters, and when quick wins reduce scepticism.
The best teams support adoption by designing around experience. They do not just roll out tools; they pilot with users, embed learning moments, and build confidence by showing progress early. When AI reduces friction instead of creating it, engagement follows naturally .
That’s where these best practices come in.
Here are a few of the practices we carry into every planning transformation:
One of the most consistent success factors is clear, shared governance. This means well-defined roles and responsibilities, global-to-local process ownership, and decision rights that evolve with maturity.
In our experience, aligning this structure early allows teams to scale fast without getting bogged down in exception handling or unclear accountability.
It sounds simple, but it is still one of the hardest pieces to get right. Master data quality remains the most common stumbling block in planning programs.
In nearly every joint engagement, we’ve helped teams shift their mindset around data. Rather than treat it as a one-off clean-up, we help operationalize it as an asset. That includes defining ownership, establishing governance, and building feedback loops that keep it alive.
Most programs bring the right functions to the table. But what we’ve seen work better is role-level alignment. That means bringing schedulers, supply planners, QA leads, and capacity owners together early to test assumptions, validate changes, and ensure usability.
Embedding that collaboration directly into the transformation – not just in workshops – has helped our joint projects stay grounded and scalable.
This November at the OMP Conference in Florida, we are especially looking forward to AstraZeneca’s session on scaling planning from adoption to innovation.
The focus will be on how the company has built on its initial deployment of OMP to drive continuous improvement across planning processes. This includes lessons on scaling governance, aligning global teams, and enabling structured change in a highly regulated environment.
We have had the opportunity to support parts of that journey and have seen first-hand how the organization brings together planning, manufacturing, and data ownership to support both performance and agility.
Anneleen Tronquo (Managing Partner Planning Solutions at Bluecrux) will be joining AstraZeneca on stage during Tuesday’s session, bringing an external perspective on long-term transformation and what it takes to sustain planning excellence across global networks.
On day 2, Olivier Souffriau will lead a breakout session on bridging supply chain and quality planning. The session builds on ongoing work to integrate OMP Unison Planningâ„¢ and Binocsâ„¢ in other life sciences programs.
Both sessions reflect a shared goal across the planning community: to move from siloed tools toward more connected, actionable planning across the value chain.
The OMP Conference 2025 is a chance to connect with peers and planning leaders from across the ecosystem. For us, it’s also a moment to reflect on a partnership that has delivered real results for more than a decade.
We’re proud of the work behind us, but more excited about what comes next!
