The Benefits of Having a Centralized Planning Process
Written by: Mark Ishikawa
With the right structures, tools and strategies in place, companies with centralized planning processes enjoy exceptionally high visibility into all areas of operation. Staff, management and business leaders can better understand how different parts of the organization fit together and how different areas of the company influence each other.
This strategy informs real-time decision-making across the organization. The advantages extend into strategic action planning in regard to forecasting, budgeting, resource management, data analysis and many other aspects of operation.
Let’s take a closer look at the details of a centralized planning process and how tools like Anaplan foster the development of it.
What is a centralized planning process?
A centralized planning process helps to ensure all of the data spread through an organization is an asset as opposed to a liability. Instead of siloing the decision-making process within various departments and teams, a company can bring all of its data together into a single source. This makes it easier to both determine specific objectives and track progress toward them.
Centralized planning supported by the right technology connects key members of staff and leaders across the business. This strategy allows them to collaborate more effectively. Unified decisions can be made with all relevant information. . This approach brings key decision makers together.
With centralized planning and the right tools, the most appropriate available data is used to create the strongest plan possible. Businesses can take on the issues that require careful consideration and deep analysis with confidence. They can also spend far less time working to break down or move around the traditional barriers in business structures that delay planning and progress.
Who is normally responsible for developing a strategic action plan?
A strategic action plan helps businesses take a carefully crafted concept or operational strategy and turn it into an active method of operations. Owners, executives and leaders play critical roles in plan implementation.
Strategic plans generally involve one or many goals or metrics that allow companies to measure progress, as Anaplan explained. Between the need to create an overall vision for the company and determine specifics about who will lead individual projects and initiatives, this duty is best suited for the C-suite and executive leadership.
The value of a centralized planning process is clear in this context. As a single source of truth, a centralized process makes it easier to accurately determine the risks and opportunities that come with following through on a strategic action plan.
When should an organization consider starting strategic planning?
Strategic planning should be an early goal for new companies and companies planning for growth. The sooner it has a defined pathway from a foundational concept to its strategic goals, the better. Businesses that don’t yet have a strategic action plan in place should make it a priority to implement one. In all cases, planning software can help provide the operational information, scenario planning and budgeting forecasting that support this effort.
How can an organization link technology with their strategic plan?
A strategic plan can be remarkably complicated. While some goals can be easily measured through manual methods, a more modern technology is often required. A strategic plan needs the support of accurate metrics. Similarly, it can only be moved forward with a dependable forecasting system.
A centralized planning process supported by a solution like Anaplan has some major advantages in terms of a strategic action plan. Leaders know they can rely on a single source of truth for all questions related to their plan, and effectively make adjustments with reliable analysis and forecasting if needed.
Crucially, Anaplan allows for a high degree of flexibility when it comes to strategic, centralized planning. Anaplan’s design means it can effectively adapt to an incredibly broad array of industries, business structures and operational needs. It allows for everything from deploying a new data set to incorporating an acquired entity into your existing business structure.
What is an Anaplan platform?
Anaplan’s overarching goal is connected planning. It’s easy to see how critical this quality is when it comes to deploying a centralized planning process. This cloud-based planning software offers a competitive advantage on a high level by boosting communication and understanding among executives and between different parts of a company.
Connected planning through Anaplan enables better decision-making on tight deadlines, increasing agility and bringing the collective knowledge, experience and expertise of an organization to bear. Anaplan has highlighted three key qualities that come along with connected planning:
Dynamic response: Companies can adjust how they use Anaplan just as quickly as as business conditions, operational best practices and other important factors change.
Collaboration: Anaplan helps an organization leverage the unified whole of its staff, skills and resources. A business as a whole can be much more than the sum of its parts.
Intelligence: Anaplan utilizes predictive technology to support decision and action, allowing enterprises to build a better picture of the future that drives today’s actions.
Connected planning is applicable to nearly any business use case. That’s true in general industry, consumer goods and retail, transportation and many other areas. Even in highly specialized markets with substantial regulatory burdens, like health care, Anaplan can make a strong and positive difference. Similarly, institutes of higher education can utilize Anaplan to gain better insight into core concerns related to tuition, enrollment and retention. With an experienced and skilled team leading implementation efforts, Anaplan can help nearly any organization.
How does Anaplan connect data, people and plans?
Anaplan is specifically designed to support all aspects of an organization. Its Hyperblock concept allows diverse data sets to come together, making for more informed and complete planning and analysis. By breaking down barriers between different areas of the companies that use it, Anaplan brings together the most qualified people and the most accurate and recent data to support planning in all areas.
The support your business needs to realize a centralized planning process
Anaplan’s flexibility, extremely broad range of applicable uses and ability to empower a centralized planning process can transform the way a business operates for the better. However, organizations need reliable support from experts to ensure a smooth implementation and quickly begin realizing the benefits.
Allitix combines the necessary technical and advisory services with an all-in attitude that prioritizes client success on the individual level. Learn more about how we can help you realize a centralized planning process - get in touch with us today.