Acknowledging the obstacles to IBP success
At Fidenda, we know that Connected Planning doesn’t start connected. We believe that the only way to successfully adopt IBP (or any fundamental new way of doing things that touches the entire business) is to acknowledge the realities of how complex organisations work – and having a plan for them. That’s what the following nine principles are all about.
We think of these as our manifesto, or if you like, a promise to ourselves and to our customers. They explain – to some degree – why we approach things the way we do. We hope they resonate with you and give you food for thought. You might even disagree with some of them. In any case, we’d love to hear your opinion, and hope we can kick off an active dialogue about IBP, Anaplan, and the opportunities you can see it delivering for your business.
9 principles that can help complex organisations adopt IBP in real life
The below comes from over seven years’ experience helping complex businesses adopt IBP with Anaplan. It’s by no means comprehensive, but we hope it may be useful to anyone starting out on their IBP journey (or those already halfway through it). In any case, we hope these principles serve to inspire discussion and dialogue (maybe even disagreement!). Whether you’re IBP-curious, an IBP professional, or still unsure what IBP means: we’d love to hear your thoughts (and it’s “Integrated Business Planning”).
1. Connected Planning is a game changer that businesses cannot afford to ignore
Connected planning is an essential capability that enables organisations to make better, more informed business decisions, based on their own data and processes. It only makes sense for them to adopt it if it benefits the entire business, not just one department. That’s where the discussion needs to start with business decision-makers.
2. But IBP has to start small, with a single use case, for a single department.
Without the “connected” vision, IBP will forever stay siloed in a single department, where it will deliver significant productivity gains, but won’t move the needle for the entire organisation.
Somewhat paradoxically, though, the business journey to IBP has to start small (after all, we can’t expect a large enterprise to commit to an untested promise). Businesses buy a point solution to a specific problem (such as FP&A, demand forecasting, workforce planning, etc). If that delivers measurable results, they’ll grow it from there. In other words: IBP is a journey, but it has to drive value at every step along the way.
3. An IBP roadmap has to be designed to break down silos
Any IBP initiative needs to deliver value from its first use case. But the transformational power of IBP multiplies the further it’s embedded in an organisation and the more siloed departments are connected. That’s when it becomes truly strategic technology, and that’s what we need to aim for way.
4. An IBP solution has to work BOTH at department level and for the entire organisation
This is one of the key reasons we’re committed to Anaplan. While there are department-specific solutions (eg for Supply Chain, Workforce Planning, FP&A) in the market, we believe that the power of IBP multiplies when you start to break down departmental silos. That’s why a good platform has to work at both levels. As enterprise specialists who’ve seen a number of similar solutions across industries, departments and use cases, we’re convinced Anaplan is the most mature, flexible and comprehensive technology available today. (even for SAP-run organisations).
5. We don’t work for Anaplan. Technology is only a means to an end.
We work for our customers. We will never recommend anything that we don’t think isn’t in their best interest.
6. The time to act is now, before IBP becomes table stakes
We’re convinced that in due time, IBP will become common practice for all organisations. The earlier businesses embrace connected planning, the sooner they’ll realise competitive advantage over those who don’t.
7. IBP needs an energetic champion willing to drive change. And they need support.
Currently it’s nobody’s job to connect planning processes in any organisation. We only know a few “Heads of IBP” (Hi Dale!) who work in organisations that have recognised the need to adopt Connected Planning. Everywhere else, it takes a visionary champion with the ambition to stop disconnected planning and drive change for their organisation.
They can’t do this on their own. It’s our job to support them with all the knowledge, resources and technology at our disposal and help them design realistic business cases and roadmaps that will convince the wider business and drive measurable ROI.
8. IBP a practice as much as it is a technology
For an organisation to embrace connected planning, it takes more than a piece of software (however sophisticated). It requires robust technical foundations (from data quality and integrations to complementary tech) as well as the process expertise, training and change management to embed the discipline in the business – and harness insights for decision-making. We are committed to helping them bridge the gaps on their journey to IBP, whether that means comms, training, or hands-on technology work. It’s our job to complement and guide their team until they can do it without us.
9. Every business feels “dysfunctional” in one way or another
No two companies do planning the same way, even within the same industry and departments. Most organisations know that, over time, they’ve developed workarounds that are probably not highly efficient (but are working for them, for now). This is normal and no cause for concern.
IBP best practice exists – and we’re happy to train our customers’ staff in it and show them the art of the possible – but it does not make sense for every organisation. We’re committed to helping our customers figure out what’s right for them and navigate the path between customisation and best practice.
We’d love to hear about your IBP experiences.
What would you add? Let us know!
