Item: Anaplan
Rating: 9
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Anaplan is being used globally within our organization. We are having 10+ operating models by different departments such as Finance, Supply Chain, Sales & Marketing, etc. It helps us to accomplish the idea of connected planning by incorporating different planning processes into Anaplan. Now, a more reliable Supply Chain demand planning can be done base on Sales Forecasting & Finance Forecasting figures loading from other Anaplan models. Data are now being stored in an Anaplan data hub which provides better data governance and facilitates data integration with other data sources.

Pros and Cons

Scalable model building
Multi-versioning / Scenario planning
In-app collaboration in new UX
On-the-fly calculation which provides instant feedback to users upon data input
Connected Planning

Lack of in-app action scheduling function
Limited functionalities in Anaplan Excel-add ins comparing to Hyperion SmartView
Inflexibility in hierarchy change

Most Important Features

New UX
Scenario Planning
Connected Planning

Return on Investment

Key Insights

Do you think Anaplan delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Anaplan's feature set?

Yes

Did Anaplan live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Anaplan go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Anaplan again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

Anaplan is suitable for regional/global offices that need to consolidate budget submission from country users. Model builders can set up a standardized template for country users to fill in their budget numbers and submit it for regional/global approval. Such design does not only minimize the manual effort required for budget consolidation but also ensures approvals are traceable/managed within the app rather than using Email. However, Anaplan might be less appropriate for data visualization as it is mainly targeting for facilitating the planning procedure within the organization. Having said that, it has made significant improvements to its visualization feature in the latest release of the new UX. The new UX provides basic but aesthetic (comparing to the classic UX) reporting features for users to have a quick peek into the planned numbers within the app so that they can make prompt changes if they see anything wrong in the report. As far as complex reporting, I would suggest keeping those requirements in a BI tool for presentation.

The new era - Connected Planning

Overall Satisfaction with Anaplan