Build a Claude Project for S&OP Executive Reporting

S&OP numbers touch forecasts, margins, and sometimes customer-level order data. Before uploading anything, confirm your company's AI policy for this kind of internal financial data. If your company has a Claude Team or Enterprise account with data controls, use that instead of a personal account. If not, plan to round sensitive figures and strip customer names from anything you paste in.

1. Ask your manager or IT contact whether a company Claude account exists for this kind of work
2. If not, decide now which figures you'll round or omit rather than deciding case by case under deadline pressure

What you should see: A clear answer on which account to use. Troubleshooting: If your company has no formal answer yet, default to the cautious path and keep this project working from rounded figures.

1. Go to claude.ai and sign up or log in
2. Open Settings and find the privacy or data controls section
3. Turn off any setting that allows your conversations to be used for model training, especially if you're on a personal account

What you should see: Confirmation that training on your conversations is off. Troubleshooting: If you can't find the setting, search Settings for "privacy" or "training."

1. Click Projects in the left sidebar
2. Click New Project
3. In the setup fields, name it something specific, like "S&OP Executive Reporting," and describe what you're trying to achieve

What you should see: A project workspace with a Project instructions field and a Project knowledge upload area. Troubleshooting: If Projects doesn't appear in your sidebar, confirm you're logged into the right account. It's available on every plan, including free, so a missing option usually means an account or app-update issue rather than a plan limit.

1. Click into the Project instructions field
2. Paste in a version of the following, edited for your company

I am a supply chain manager at a mid-market [manufacturer / distributor / consumer brand] and I run the monthly S&OP cycle. When I give you this month's S&OP decisions and numbers, write an executive summary for the COO and CFO.

STRUCTURE:
- Lead with the headline: are we on track, at risk, or in trouble this month, and why
- Numbers first for the CFO: inventory turns, fill rate, OTIF, freight cost per unit, versus target
- Risk framing for the COO: what could go wrong in the next 30 to 60 days and what we're doing about it
- Close with the 2 or 3 decisions that need executive sign-off, stated as clear asks, not open questions

TONE: Direct, no filler, 200 to 300 words. Assume the reader has 90 seconds, not a briefing.

Ask me for anything missing: this month's KPI numbers versus target, any disruptions or exceptions, and any decision that needs their input.

1. Click Add content or the upload icon in the Project knowledge area
2. Upload 2 or 3 past executive summaries, with figures rounded or redacted if needed, so Claude can match your voice and format
3. Confirm the files appear in the knowledge list

What you should see: Uploaded files listed and available to reference in every chat inside the project. Troubleshooting: If you have no past summaries yet, skip this step and let the saved instructions carry the format for your first cycle. Add real examples after your first one or two runs.

1. From inside the project, start a New chat
2. Confirm the project name appears at the top, meaning your instructions are active
3. Paste in this month's numbers and decisions

What you should see: A structured draft matching the format in your instructions, ready for light editing rather than a full rewrite. Troubleshooting: If the draft runs long or buries the headline, tell Claude directly: "Cut this by a third and put the headline in the first sentence."