What is operational SC planning?

• A. Daily/weekly decisions: scheduling, deliveries, order processing
• B. Long-term capital budgeting
• C. Setting strategic alliances
• D. Forecasting market trends.

Answer: (A)

Operational planning in the supply chain is the short-term, execution-focused layer that turns plans into actions. It centers on daily to weekly decisions that keep operations moving: scheduling production and labor, planning deliveries, and processing orders. It takes into account current capacity, on-hand inventory, and service level targets to meet customer demand promptly. A concrete example is deciding which orders to fulfill first, how to route deliveries, and how to assign workers for a shift. By contrast, long-term capital budgeting looks at investments in facilities and equipment over years, strategic alliances concern partnerships shaping the network, and forecasting market trends estimates future demand. Those areas inform strategy, but the day-to-day decisions described here are what operational planning handles.