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
Learn More
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
Business

Supply Plan vs. Demand Plan — What’s the Difference and Why It Matters

Think of the demand plan as the company’s best read on the market—an unconstrained forecast of what customers will buy if nothing gets in the way. It’s built from history, seasonality, price and promo plans, sales pipeline, and a healthy dose of competitive intel. It should be honest about uncertainty and explicit about assumptions, because its job is to preserve a clean market signal and highlight revenue risk and opportunity. The supply plan hears that signal and replies, “Great—here’s the constrained, feasible way we’ll make, buy, and ship it.” Supply translates the demand plan into real-world actions: purchase orders, production…
Debbie Evans
October 2, 2025
Integrated Business PlanningStructure

The Importance of Strategy for IBP

Integrated business planning designs a business structure that facilitates alignment across the organization with transparency to performance issues, that enables the business to focus on the critical decisions in order to achieve business long-term ambitions. Although many leaders in an organization are eager to realize the potential benefits that are derived from a fully operational IBP process, many are not cognizant of the significant change such an implementation will need to endure.  It is common that deployments of IBP began within the supply chain organization by enabling alignment between supply and demand, however, it quickly becomes exhausted by foundational capability…
Debbie Evans
September 21, 2020
Integrated Business Planning

“The Comedy of Integrated Business Planning: An Unparalleled Adventure”

Integrated Business Planning (IBP) - a concept that sounds as exciting as a spreadsheet party! While it may be a critical business process, let's take a lighthearted approach and dive into the world of IBP, where strategic decisions meet the unexpected twists and turns of corporate life. The Perils of Forecasting: IBP starts with forecasting, where businesses try to predict the future like fortune-tellers armed with spreadsheets. But alas, forecasting can sometimes feel like gazing into a crystal ball that stubbornly refuses to reveal its secrets. Just when you think you've got it all figured out, reality does a cheeky…
Debbie Evans
June 29, 2023