Integrated Business Planning

Let’s Rethink How We Manage Business

 

IBP is provocative, challenging, and, at times, contentious, yet the benefits are unquestionable. We have experience navigating the dynamics which impede IBP implementation in a variety of different businesses. This experience affords us the opportunity to help others take the concepts of IBP and provide pragmatic operational solutions, avoiding rabbit-holes, minefields, and some of the frustration associated with the deployment.  This site is created to provide online support, answer questions, and help others on their IBP implementation journey.

person writing on notebook
Business

Aligning Business Chaos with Integrated Business Planning

I have a business with a great product and tremendous opportunity with a great team, however I am concerned with our ability to achieve our aggressive growth targets. It seems like we have so many issues with just getting through the month on plan that I am concerned our longer-term goals just won’t happen.  Our current sales plans continue to decrease each month and yet supply chain backorders continue to increase.  My sales team is suggesting that revenue growth will turn around next quarter, but our supply chain continues to struggle with the current demand claiming that the forecast is…
Debbie Evans
May 31, 2023
Operations

Navigating the Complexities of S&OP: Beyond Demand Planning

In the realm of Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP), demand planning is often portrayed as the primary culprit when things go awry. It's easy to assume that inaccuracies in forecasting and demand projections are the root causes of S&OP process challenges. However, in reality, demand planning isn't always the problem. This article aims to shed light on why other factors within the S&OP process can also contribute significantly to its success or failure. Supply Chain Disruptions While demand planning focuses on forecasting customer demand, disruptions in the supply chain can derail even the most accurate demand predictions. Factors like natural…
Debbie Evans
September 21, 2023
Business

Finance and Integrated Business Planning

The real value of integrated business planning (IBP) is the ability to establish credible plans that enable the business leadership to make the appropriate tactical and strategic decisions that aligns with the business’s ambitions over the long-term horizon.   To accomplish this, the IBP process requires transparency of bottom-up plans with credible assumptions that can be financialized that leadership trusts.   Unfortunately, integrating finance into the IBP process can be challenging for an array of reasons that often result in financial leaders becoming frustrated.  This frustration is recognized when you hear comments such as, “the business doesn’t know how to plan”, or…
Debbie Evans
June 1, 2021
Integrated Business Planning

Behavior Challenges when Implementing IBP

Behavior is a critical issue in the implementation of Integrated Business Planning (IBP) because the success of IBP relies heavily on people and their ability to work collaboratively and align their behaviors with the goals of the process. There are several reasons why behavior can be a challenge in IBP implementation. Firstly, IBP requires a significant shift in the way people work and think. It involves breaking down silos and encouraging cross-functional collaboration, which can be difficult in organizations where departments have historically worked independently. This requires a change in behavior at both an individual and organizational level, and this…
Debbie Evans
April 4, 2023