Item: Anaplan
Rating: 9
Author: Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Anaplan

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

ChatGPT said:We use Anaplan to streamline our Master Production Scheduling (MPS) and Material Requirements Planning (MRP) processes for a CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) client. Before Anaplan, the client struggled with disconnected Excel-based planning, limited visibility across supply and demand, and frequent stockouts or overproduction.
Anaplan helped centralize and automate their planning process. The MPS model enabled planners to balance supply with demand using real-time data, while the MRP model calculated material requirements based on production plans, inventory levels, and lead times. This helped reduce excess inventory and improved service levels.
The scope of the project included demand inputs, inventory planning, BOM explosion, capacity checks, and purchase planning across multiple manufacturing locations. With Anaplan, the client achieved better visibility, faster planning cycles, and improved decision-making. It also allowed cross-functional collaboration between supply planners, procurement, and production teams.
Overall, Anaplan addressed key business challenges like manual errors, siloed data, and lack of agility in supply planning—resulting in a more resilient and responsive supply chain

Pros and Cons

Pros

Scenario planning
Connected planning since on a single platform, you can build any process/use case
single source of truth & real-time data sharing
unify data collection, analyzing & reporting

Cons

Limits of workspace or model size
concurrency issue arises when multiple users are active
since most of the formulas are excel equivalent, would like to see more functions coming in
as models grow (e.g., millions of cells or complex hierarchies), calculation time slows significantly

Return on Investment

Reduced time for planning cycles, reduced monthly planning time from weeks to days through automation and centralized models.
Planners spend more time on planning rather than consolidating reports for planning
All data resides in one place & everyone referring to single source of truth hence data accuracy
Increased Visibility & Transparency, leadership has better visibility into plans, assumptions, and variances for quicker decision-making.

Usability

The platform is highly flexible and intuitive for users familiar with planning tools. Its interface, especially the new UX, allows for interactive dashboards, real-time updates, and smooth collaboration across teams. Business users can access and interact with models without relying heavily on IT, which empowers faster decision-making.
That said, there is a learning curve, particularly for users without prior modeling experience. Building and maintaining models requires a good understanding of Anaplan's structure and formula language. Usability also declines with very large or complex models, where performance issues like slow calculations can affect user experience.
Despite these challenges, once users are trained, the platform becomes a powerful tool for planning, forecasting, and scenario analysis. With a few enhancements—like better performance at scale and simplified formula debugging—it has the potential to become even more user-friendly across all levels.

Alternatives Considered

Anaplan is a cloud-native, in-memory platform built specifically for enterprise performance management and connected planning. It allows users to easily build, modify, and maintain planning models without deep technical knowledge. Its no-code interface and real-time calculation engine enable fast scenario planning, cross-functional collaboration, and high user adoption. Anaplan is particularly well-suited for business-driven planning use cases, such as sales forecasting, supply planning, financial planning, and workforce planning.
In contrast, SAP APO and IBP are more structured, ERP-centric planning solutions deeply integrated with the SAP ecosystem. They follow a more rigid data model and require technical expertise to configure and maintain. SAP tools are often favored for operational planning at a transactional level, such as demand sensing, inventory optimization, or production scheduling, and are typically better suited for handling large volumes of ERP-level data.
While SAP focuses more on supply chain execution and integration, Anaplan emphasizes agility, usability, and rapid deployment for strategic and tactical planning. Organizations often use Anaplan to complement SAP by enabling more responsive, business-owned planning processes outside the core ERP environment.

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?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Anaplan go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Anaplan again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Informatica B2B Data Exchange (legacy), SAP Business Warehouse, SAP Integrated Business Planning

Likelihood to Recommend

Anaplan primarily falls under the Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) category, making it best suited for planning, forecasting, and decision support. It is not intended to function as an ERP system, as it struggles with handling large volumes of transactional data efficiently. However, businesses often overlook this distinction and attempt to use Anaplan as a transactional system, which leads to performance issues and underutilization of its true strengths as a flexible and collaborative planning tool.

Anaplan Feature Ratings

Using Anaplan

Users and Roles

10 - all process related to supply chain planning

Anaplan Training

Training Types Used

Online Training

In-Person Training

Online Training

The training materials are well-structured and cover most of the key concepts effectively. The interactive modules and real-world examples make learning engaging and practical. However, there is some room for improvement in terms of pacing and the depth of advanced topics, which could benefit from additional detail to better support users at different skill levels.

Anaplan Support

Support Rating

The support team is generally responsive and knowledgeable, delivering helpful solutions in a timely manner. They are proactive in addressing issues and open to feedback, which creates a positive experience. However, on some occasions, product issues are passed between different teams on their side, causing delays in receiving solutions or answers to questions.

Anaplan Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Knowledgeable team Kept well informed Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None

Premium Support

The decision to purchase premium support for Anaplan was not within my responsibility, so I wasn’t directly involved in that process.

Bug Resolution

Yes - There was one particular bug we reported where the issue was transferred between different teams on the Anaplan side, and by the time it was resolved, the situation had already moved past its critical point. However, this has only happened once or twice. For the most part, the support team has been very active and quick in resolving issues, which we really appreciate.

Exceptional Examples of Anaplan Support

One memorable instance of exceptional support from Anaplan was when a model builder accidentally deleted an important model. We reached out to the support team, and they responded swiftly and efficiently. Thanks to their quick action and expertise, the deleted model was restored promptly, minimizing disruption to our operations. Their responsiveness and ability to resolve such a critical issue made a strong positive impression on us.

Using Anaplan

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using	None

Easy Tasks

Model building and customization: Intuitive interface for creating and modifying complex models without heavy coding
Dashboard creation: User-friendly drag-and-drop tools for building insightful, interactive dashboards.
drill down functionality, you can trace entire path of how the output arrived

Difficult Tasks

Handling very large datasets: Performance can slow down when working with extremely large or highly granular data models
User interface customization: Limited options for UI customization beyond standard dashboards may restrict tailored user experiences.

Mobile Interface Availability and Impressions

Yes, but I don't use it

Anaplan Reliability

Scalability

The platform is highly flexible and can be deployed across multiple departments and locations, supporting growth and varying business needs effectively. Its cloud-based architecture allows for scaling model size and user access as required. However, there can be some challenges with performance and model complexity as the scale increases significantly, which slightly limits its scalability in very large or highly complex environments.

Reliability and Availability

I would rate Anaplan’s availability as 9 out of 10. The platform is reliable and consistently accessible when needed, with very few instances of unplanned outages or application errors. Maintenance windows are well-communicated and minimally disruptive. While there is always room for improvement to achieve perfect uptime, overall, Anaplan delivers excellent availability that supports continuous business operations.

Performance

Generally, pages load quickly and reports complete within a reasonable timeframe. However, when working with large or complex datasets or during times of multiple active users, performance can sometimes be impacted. That said, much of the performance depends on how the model is built and whether best practices have been followed. Optimized models tend to perform much better, so the experience can be somewhat subjective based on the setup.

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