Anaplan vs Infor Lawson SCM

• I think the greatest strength of Anaplan is that the entire model is interconnected. The ability to update a single variable and have that change propagated through the entire model is unparalleled.
• Another strength is the ability to have multiple users working in a given model simultaneously. We have had the experience of actively modeling to meet a deadline and realizing that some of the underlying assumptions and/or layout needed to be changed to support a new approach. While our model-builder made the back-end adjustments in Florida, our analyst continued to work through a new set of variables. We ended up with a completely refreshed approach in less than a half hour. With only two hours before our deadline, we NEVER would have even entertained making the change in Excel.
• The thing that Anaplan does -- that I haven't seen elsewhere -- is the ability to get to data-driven analysis of the future. BI tools are great for reporting what has already happened, but fall short of predictive analytics and sensitivity analysis. Anaplan handles those with ease.

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• Automation approval flow is by far the best feature as it allows a user to set their own checkpoints and users to approve and reject orders.
• Being able to track and find orders in the system makes it a robust application to allow for quicker delivery and receipt of POs. At the same time it helps vendors get paid quicker since everything can be tracked quicker.
• User interface built for end users who do not go into Lawson everyday. This interface shows only what a requester would require to place an order similar to Amazon.

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• The charts. It has been a battle for years to have Anaplan add little nuaces here and there. For example, you can't change the font on tables on a dashboard. The little things do matter. Most of the time I just export my data and create a graph in Excel.
• If I want to add an available column to my view, I have to show all on everything and then dig through ALL the rows/columns on the screen. It's like having to create the (original carefully constructed) view from scratch.
• Desktop Support is weak. When we first acquired it was one of the strengths of anaplan. Gurus were always available and you could solve a problem at first contact via a GoToMeeting. Nowadays guru availability is spotty and it usually takes several conversations where someone has to ask someone else how to solve the issue. By the time I finally get an answer I've already found an alternative and have moved on to something else.

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• The User Interface that everyday SCM users access is out of date and needs updating. Luckily in version XI the entire user experience is being enhanced to fix this issue.
• Tracking of POs and Receipts and invoices are difficult for end users to research. They usually would require lawson access and/or need to get a buyer involved. Luckily there are third party companies that built add-ons for lawson to allow end users to track this info.
• Out of the box reporting doesn't have a great look to it. Many folks from finance do not like the appearance of the reports. Again Lawson has finally listened and now allows users to customize the look of those reports.

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• I'm sure the impact is positive. We have streamlined many processes and created capacity for our finance team.
• It's great to have "one source of truth" and know that everyone is looking at the same metrics.

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• As a customer of the tool it allowed for quicker responses when issues came up. It allowed for quick feedback and issue resolution since everything could be tracked.
• The ability to add images into the application allows for better use of the tool as both buyers, vendors, and the AP Department can gain advantages from the built in imaging allowed for users.
• Approval flows allows for custom tailoring for what kind of expense goes to which people for approval. This makes getting orders approved easier and more concise.

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