Anaplan vs Microsoft Dynamics AX

Anaplan

Anaplan is great for Sales Ops, FP&A, and basically anything that is heavy Excel-based. It's great at summarizing large amounts of data, like pivot tables. It's also great for crunching Salesforce data. I don't have a need for SQL, but I'm sure it would great for any kind of database summarization use case.

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Dan Shuwarger

Finance Manager, FP&A

SplunkComputer Software, 1001-5000 employees

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Microsoft Dynamics AX

Great if you have a lot of interconnection between departments and need to break up invoices amoung several cost centers.

It's not helpful if you have multiple people on a team who track a budget because only one person can access the information.

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Verified User

Administrator in Corporate

Media Production Company, 201-500 employees

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Feature Rating Comparison

Anaplan

7.4

Microsoft Dynamics AX

—

Long-term financial planning

7.4

—

Financial budgeting

8.1

—

Forecasting

7.7

—

Scenario modeling

6.5

—

Management reporting

7.6

—

Anaplan

6.5

Microsoft Dynamics AX

—

Financial data consolidation

7.7

—

Journal entries and reports

6.6

—

Multi-currency management

6.2

—

Intercompany Eliminations

5.9

—

Minority Ownership

6.0

—

Local and consolidated reporting

7.1

—

Detailed Audit Trails

6.1

—

Anaplan

7.5

Microsoft Dynamics AX

—

Financial Statement Reporting

7.0

—

Management Reporting

8.3

—

Excel-based Reporting

6.9

—

Automated board and financial reporting

8.0

—

Anaplan

6.7

Microsoft Dynamics AX

—

Personalized dashboards

5.3

—

Color-coded scorecards

6.0

—

KPIs

7.0

—

Cost and profitability analysis

7.0

—

Key Performance Indicator setting

7.4

—

Benchmarking with external data

7.2

—

Anaplan

8.3

Microsoft Dynamics AX

—

Flat file integration

8.3

—

Excel data integration

8.3

—

Direct links to 3rd-party data sources

8.2

—

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

7.9

Pay calculation

—

7.8

Benefit plan administration

—

7.6

Direct deposit files

—

8.0

Salary revision and increment management

—

8.4

Reimbursement management

—

7.8

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

8.0

API for custom integration

—

7.9

Plug-ins

—

8.1

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

7.6

Single sign-on capability

—

8.2

Role-based user permissions

—

7.1

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

6.3

Dashboards

—

6.3

Standard reports

—

6.1

Custom reports

—

6.6

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

7.7

Accounts payable

—

7.7

Accounts receivable

—

7.8

Global Financial Support

—

7.2

Primary and Secondary Ledgers

—

7.6

Intercompany Accounting

—

7.5

Localizations

—

7.7

Journals and Reconciliations

—

7.7

Enterprise Accounting

—

8.0

Configurable Accounting

—

7.7

Centralized Rules Framework

—

6.6

Standardized Processes

—

7.3

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

7.4

Inventory tracking

—

8.2

Automatic reordering

—

7.7

Location management

—

7.4

Manufacturing module

—

6.2

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

7.3

Pricing

—

7.8

Order entry

—

7.2

Credit card processing

—

7.1

Cost of goods sold

—

7.1

Order Orchestration

—

7.2

End-to-end order visibility

—

7.7

Order exception Resolution

—

7.2

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

7.3

Automated Invoice Processing

—

7.8

Shared Services Payments

—

6.9

Billings Management

—

7.6

Customer Receipt Applications

—

6.9

Customer Collections

—

7.6

Revenue Recognition

—

7.9

Cash Management

—

6.9

Asset Management

—

7.0

Travel & Expense Management

—

6.7

Budgetary Control & Encumbrance Accounting

—

6.1

Period Close

—

7.9

Transactions Tax

—

7.3

Subledger Reconciliations

—

8.1

3rd Party Accounting Systems

—

7.7

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

7.9

Budgeting and Forecasting

—

8.0

Project Costing

—

8.0

Cost Capture

—

8.6

Capital Project Management

—

6.9

Customer Invoicing

—

8.1

Customer Contract Compliance

—

7.5

Project Revenue Recognition

—

8.5

Project Financial Performance Analysis

—

8.5

Project Financials Dashboard

—

8.5

Real-time Financial Reporting

—

8.0

Embedded Business Intelligence

—

6.5

Project Planning Collaboration

—

7.5

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

6.6

Project Planning and Scheduling

—

8.1

Project Manager Dashboard

—

7.9

Resource Manager Dashboard

—

7.1

Task Insight for Project Managers

—

6.9

Project Manager Mobile Functionality

—

7.2

Team Member Task Collaboration

—

6.4

Team Member Mobile Functionality

—

6.1

Project Candidate Search

—

6.9

Project Candidate Comparison and Analysis

—

6.6

Defineable Resource Pools

—

5.9

Defineable Resource Pools

—

6.2

Talent Profiles

—

5.0

Real-Time Project Reporting

—

7.5

Absence Management

—

6.0

Product Lifecycle Management

—

5.0

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

7.8

Award Lifecycle Management

—

6.5

Spending Control

—

7.0

Indirect Cost Management

—

9.0

Billing

—

8.5

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

6.6

Sourcing Team Collaboration

—

6.7

Sourcing Analysis

—

8.0

Bids Analyzed and Compared

—

5.9

Catalog Shopping E-Commerce for Employees

—

6.6

Contract Authoring

—

6.0

Contract Compliance Management

—

6.8

Contract History

—

5.9

Contract Renewal Automation

—

7.0

Contract Repository

—

3.9

Contract Standardization and Enforcement

—

6.8

Electronic Signatures

—

8.3

Invoice Automated Matching

—

8.0

Purchasing Risk and Compliance Management

—

6.9

Requisitions-to-Purchase Orders Integrated

—

6.8

Spend Compliance Management

—

6.0

Supplier Assessment

—

7.3

Supplier Communication and Collaboration

—

6.2

Supplier Management

—

7.2

Supplier Portal

—

4.9

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

7.6

Risk Repository

—

7.0

Control Management

—

8.0

Control Mapping

—

7.0

Control Efficiency Assessments

—

7.0

Automated Control Assessments

—

8.0

Assessment Capture

—

8.0

Issue Detection

—

8.0

Automatic Notification

—

7.0

Remediation and Certification

—

8.0

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

6.3

Transportation Planning and Optimization

—

5.3

Transportation Sourcing Management

—

5.3

Transportation Process Integration

—

5.3

Transportation Execution Management

—

4.6

Freight Payment Automation

—

4.6

Trade Management

—

5.3

Trade Regulatory Compliance Management

—

7.5

Customs Entry Management

—

8.0

Customs Document Management

—

7.0

Customs Document Collaboration

—

8.0

Fulfillment Management

—

8.0

Inventory Visibility

—

8.0

Warehouse Workforce Management

—

4.9

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

7.2

Production Process Design

—

7.0

Supply Chain Business Flows

—

7.0

Production Management

—

7.0

Contracted Manufacturing Management

—

6.5

Configuration Management

—

8.0

Work Definition

—

8.0

Work Execution

—

8.0

Advanced Fulfillment

—

6.0

Manufacturing Costs

—

7.0

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

6.9

Forecasting

—

7.0

Inventory Planning

—

7.2

Multi-tier Supply Chain Planning

—

6.6

Performance Monitoring

—

6.9

Anaplan

—

Microsoft Dynamics AX

7.7

Ideation Management

—

4.5

Requirements Management

—

4.5

Proposal Management

—

8.0

Innovation Portfolio Management

—

10.0

Product Master Data Management

—

7.0

Vendor Portal

—

10.0

Project Portfolio Management

—

10.0

Pros

Anaplan is great for headcount reporting. We have reports by dept, office location, and subsidiary that is great for planning and also for full company reporting.
Although they can be complicated to set up, Anaplan is also great for setting up complex P&L views. For example, setting up a P&L with a combination of subs/depts., that still needs to consolidate to the total P&L.
Systems-wise, I like that it's impossible to #REF the model! Anaplan shows you where everything is referenced, so it's very difficult to break anything.
I also like that formulas copy across, so there is no chance of pointing to the wrong cell, like in Excel

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Dan Shuwarger

Finance Manager, FP&A

SplunkComputer Software, 1001-5000 employees

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Has an easy interface for users so training and learning is fast
The module organization allows an easy integration between processes
It's easy to be customized both on the interface and in adapting the processes to business needs

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Verified User

C-Level Executive in Information Technology

Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Company, 1001-5000 employees

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Cons

Larger workspaces.
Ongoing support contracts based on LOE.
Better formula support and explanation within the model.

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Michael Lauer

Director of Quota and Territory Management

EquifaxFinancial Services, 5001-10,000 employees

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Self-reporting for users - the available report seldom fits the users need and often needs to be customized
Definition of standard process workflows - this implies there is too much flexibility
The available documentation, manuals or instructions are very rare and not well designed
MRP run time is too high

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Verified User

C-Level Executive in Information Technology

Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Company, 1001-5000 employees

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Likelihood to Renew

Anaplan8.2

Based on 3 answers

I don't think we could function without the collaboration capabilities built into Anaplan that replaced disparate Excel files in the workforce planning model

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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Microsoft Dynamics AX8.0

Based on 4 answers

Likely to renew use as we are in the process of upgrading.

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Verified User

Analyst in Finance and Accounting

Tobacco Company, 1001-5000 employees

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Usability

Anaplan8.2

Based on 2 answers

There is a dependency in this rating - in that I find Anaplan extremely easy to use, but I've spent the necessary time developing a strong understanding of the platform. Once you understand how to use it, the platform is flexible, easy to use, and fun to use.

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Chris Friederich

Director, Financial Planning & Analysis

Cherwell SoftwareComputer Software, 201-500 employees

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Microsoft Dynamics AX9.0

Based on 1 answer

Dynamics AX MES is a good product, once deployed and stable, much easier to manage for the operationally than legacy systems.

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Verified User

Director in Information Technology

Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employees

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Reliability and Availability

Anaplan10.0

Based on 1 answer

In nearly 3 years, I have only had 1 issue of being unable to access my model for an unplanned maintenance. Even planned maintenance windows are handled during low traffic hours on the weekend.

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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Microsoft Dynamics AX7.0

Based on 1 answer

Some integration and high volume ramping challenges, particularly with BizTalk and SQL Server, but getting sorted out. Outages over time appeared to be more dependent on integration complexity than AX MES.

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Verified User

Director in Information Technology

Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employees

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Performance

Anaplan9.0

Based on 1 answer

Everything is calculated in memory in the cloud. It's nearly instantaneous updates when you make changes. The only time things get a little slow is when you have a massive model with very intricate calculations...but "slow" for Anaplan is not what I would call "slow" for something like Hyperion. We used to have Hyperion calcs that ran for 60 mins before you could use data. The equivalent would be 60 seconds in Anaplan.

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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Microsoft Dynamics AX7.0

Based on 1 answer

Some integration and high volume ramping challenges, particularly with BizTalk and SQL Server, but getting sorted out. Outages over time appeared to be more dependent on integration complexity than AX MES.

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Verified User

Director in Information Technology

Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employees

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Support

Anaplan8.0

Based on 2 answers

I feel like the support team is a little lacking in product knowledge. Several times I have contacted them to get help, and ended up finding a solution to my own problem before the team could get back to me with anything useful. I have also submitted a few bugs, and never got updates to when they were fixed in later releases.

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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Microsoft Dynamics AX8.0

Based on 1 answer

Microsoft did a reasonably good job supporting the deployment efforts to multiple factories and ongoing stabilization. I don't think that MES was intended for the large enterprise volume and complexity levels our operations required.

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Verified User

Director in Information Technology

Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employees

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In-Person Training

Anaplan3.0

Based on 1 answer

The in-person training is simply not worth the cost. After a few weeks of playing in Anaplan, I went to the basic training and knew more than the person teaching it. a year down the road, I was the first person to complete the advance training, and again could have been teaching the class better than the person running the session. Spend some time on your own trying out different things and you will get all the understanding you need to be successful.

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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Microsoft Dynamics AX9.0

Based on 1 answer

It took a lot of work, but Microsoft ultimately did a good job with in-person training, including being onsite in multiple global locations for extended periods.

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Verified User

Director in Information Technology

Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employees

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Online Training

Anaplan5.0

Based on 1 answer

I'm giving this a 5 simply for the anapedia outline of calculations. The online videos and trainings leave a lot to be desired, but having anapedia around to help you understand calculations has been helpful. The drawback to anapedia is the depth they go into for calculations, it is lackluster at times. Because of that, I have been working through a much more in-depth look at each calculation on my website for users to reference: http://www.anaplanguru.com/formulas/

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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Microsoft Dynamics AX8.0

Based on 1 answer

Our solution deviated from a number of key out-of-the-box standards that were included in Online training. We just used that for introduction to the general functionality.

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Verified User

Director in Information Technology

Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employees

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Implementation

Anaplan6.8

Based on 12 answers

Implementation using Anaplan's internal customer success team left much to be desired. We've found much better success with outside consultants

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Christopher Pope

Manager

Seagate TechnologyComputer Hardware, 10,001+ employees

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Microsoft Dynamics AX7.3

Based on 2 answers

Users in some cases were busy and not engaged, so those areas went slower. Configuration by the consultants was good, but at time complicated.

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Jay Omdahl

President and Principle Managing Consultant

Trusted Advisors ERPInformation Technology and Services, 11-50 employees

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Alternatives Considered

Anaplan provided a whiteboard that allowed us to set up our unique business as we saw fit. Other programs had built-in forecasting modules that we needed to adapt to. Our company is retail but also collections so flexibility was the key when making the final decision. Plus, Anaplan seemed more cutting edge, new school, in comparison to the other competitors.

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David Cintron

Operational Analyst

Aaron's, IncRetail, 10,001+ employees

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I found a smaller cost in AX and higher flexibility in process definition and in features customization

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Verified User

C-Level Executive in Information Technology

Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Company, 1001-5000 employees

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Lines of Business and Business Impact

It has provided a means to forecast while testing scenarios within multiple versions. It engaged the home office directors and operational managers to see their forecast and assess the changes that should be made. It became the much needed centerpoint where forecasting and budgeting data lives and breathes. In the past, forecasting was done via multiple Excel sheets, not standardized, and prone to human error.

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David Cintron

Operational Analyst

Aaron's, IncRetail, 10,001+ employees

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No answers on this topic

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Selection Process

Adaptive and Host Analytics

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More flexible and able to handle more data.

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Tommy Bettles

Sr. Manager, Finance

AtlassianComputer Software, 1001-5000 employees

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Scalability

Anaplan7.0

Based on 1 answer

It's going to handle most of what you can throw at it. The problem lies in the sparsity of some datasets. When you have over 5ish dimensions of sparse data, the size of the model gets bloated for not much value. In several cases, I have had to adapt my model to account for sparsity in a way that minimized use of space, but also made interacting with the data more cumbersome.

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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No score

No answers yet

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Return on Investment

Workforce Planning efficiency - so much easier than excel to maintain sensitive information planning
Long range plan lead time - the old excel model took weeks to update. The Anaplan model takes hours

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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Improved supplier aging visibility
Improved financial and controlling visibility

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Verified User

C-Level Executive in Information Technology

Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Company, 1001-5000 employees

View all 15 answers on this topic

Pricing Details

Anaplan

General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Yes

Entry-level set up fee?

Optional

Additional Pricing Details

Request a personal demo: https://www.anaplan.com/request-demo/ Free trial for existing customers for any app in the App Hub: https://apphub.anaplan.com/

Anaplan vs Microsoft Dynamics AX

Add comparison

Likelihood to Recommend

Anaplan

Microsoft Dynamics AX

Feature Rating Comparison

Long-term financial planning

Financial budgeting

Forecasting

Scenario modeling

Management reporting

Financial data consolidation

Journal entries and reports

Multi-currency management

Intercompany Eliminations

Minority Ownership

Local and consolidated reporting

Detailed Audit Trails

Financial Statement Reporting

Management Reporting

Excel-based Reporting

Automated board and financial reporting

Personalized dashboards

Color-coded scorecards

KPIs

Cost and profitability analysis

Key Performance Indicator setting

Benchmarking with external data

Flat file integration

Excel data integration

Direct links to 3rd-party data sources

Pay calculation

Benefit plan administration

Direct deposit files

Salary revision and increment management

Reimbursement management

API for custom integration

Plug-ins

Single sign-on capability

Role-based user permissions

Dashboards

Standard reports

Custom reports

Accounts payable

Accounts receivable

Global Financial Support

Primary and Secondary Ledgers

Intercompany Accounting

Localizations

Journals and Reconciliations

Enterprise Accounting

Configurable Accounting

Centralized Rules Framework

Standardized Processes

Inventory tracking

Automatic reordering

Location management

Manufacturing module

Pricing

Order entry

Credit card processing

Cost of goods sold

Order Orchestration

End-to-end order visibility

Order exception Resolution

Automated Invoice Processing

Shared Services Payments

Billings Management

Customer Receipt Applications

Customer Collections

Revenue Recognition

Cash Management

Asset Management

Travel & Expense Management

Budgetary Control & Encumbrance Accounting

Period Close

Transactions Tax

Subledger Reconciliations

3rd Party Accounting Systems

Budgeting and Forecasting