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.

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Capability

How do you know if your IBP Process is working

For many organizations reflecting upon their IBP performance, demand planning is considered as the primary indicator on determining a successful IBP process. A demand plan that achieves utopia by perfectly aligning demand with supply and when this does not occur it must be a demand planning issue and therefore IBP must be broken.  Conceptually we can all accept that there is no such thing as a perfect forecast, in practice however many organizations expect this elusive perfection and as an IBP practitioner, I am often besieged by supply chain leaders on the failures of supply chain performance as a result…
Debbie Evans
September 20, 2021
Business

Integrated Business Planning for New Start-up businesses

Integrated Business Planning (IBP) is a comprehensive planning process that aligns business strategy with operational plans and financial forecasts. It is an essential tool for any business looking to achieve its goals and objectives. While IBP is often associated with established businesses, it can also benefit new start-up businesses. In this article, we will explore the benefits of integrated business planning for a new start-up business. Provides a framework for growth: IBP provides a framework for growth by aligning business strategy with operational plans and financial forecasts. This helps start-ups to identify areas of growth and to create a plan…
Debbie Evans
May 1, 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

Truth Beats Stretch: An S&OE Story

On Monday at 8:07 a.m., the war room smelled like dry-erase and coffee. Ravi, the supply planner, clicked his laptop shut with a little flourish. “Good news,” he said. “I bumped the plan eight percent. Bit of a stretch, but it’ll light a fire.” Maria, who ran the bottleneck filler line, raised an eyebrow. “We have one filler,” she said. “It runs at one filler speed.” “Totally,” Ravi said. “But if we aim higher, we’ll get more. People step up.” By noon the “stretch” had turned into schedule musical chairs. To hit Ravi’s number, the plan jammed in two extra…
Debbie Evans
October 8, 2025