Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are navigating one of the most disruptive business environments in history. Inflationary pressures, evolving consumer expectations, supply shortages, and retailer demands have compressed margins and intensified competition. In this climate, supply chains are no longer back-office functions — they are boardroom priorities directly impacting profitability, shareholder value, and brand reputation.
ERP systems remain indispensable as systems of record. They document the past with precision, ensuring compliance and execution. Yet, the future of profitable growth depends not on what happened yesterday, but on how well organizations anticipate and shape tomorrow.
This is where Anaplan’s suite of supply chain applications become a strategic differentiator — enabling connected, financially aligned planning across demand, inventory, supply, and finance.
Why planning excellence is a boardroom issue
For CPG executives, supply chain planning is not about tactical firefighting — it’s about building resilience, protecting margins, and sustaining growth. Leaders today need to answer questions such as:
- How do we profitably meet demand volatility without over-investing in inventory?
- How can we align marketing promotions, trade spend, and supply plans to deliver stronger ROI?
- How do our supply chain scenarios translate into financial outcomes for the P&L, cash flow, and balance sheet?
- What is the cost of resilience, and how do we balance it with efficiency?
These are not questions ERP systems can answer. They require a strategic planning platform like Anaplan that unites operational decisions with financial impacts — enabling faster, more confident decision-making at the speed of business.
Anaplan applications: Integrated planning for strategic outcomes
Anaplan’s supply chain suite is designed to help executives move from reactive management to proactive leadership. Here’s how it translates into value for CPG organizations:
1. Demand planning: Anticipating the consumer
Volatile consumer demand erodes forecast accuracy and drives waste. Anaplan leverages demand sensing and predictive analytics to align forecasts with market realities.
Executive Value: Higher forecast accuracy reduces stockouts and excess inventory, protecting both revenue and margin.
2. Inventory planning: Unlocking working capital
Inventory is often the largest balance sheet asset in CPG. Optimizing it without compromising service unlocks cash flow and reduces carrying costs.
Executive Value: Free up millions in working capital while sustaining service levels to key retailers.
3. Integrated business planning (IBP): Aligning the enterprise
IBP connects demand, supply, and finance to create a single, enterprise-wide view of risks and opportunities. Anaplan enables scenario modeling, so leadership teams can evaluate trade-offs and align decisions across functions.
Executive Value: Faster decision cycles, improved resilience, and alignment of supply chain actions to financial strategy.
4. Merchandise financial planning (MFP): Retail collaboration at scale
For CPG companies, retail partnerships define success. Anaplan MFP connects promotional investments, category strategies, and financial targets with retailer execution.
Executive Value: Increased trade spend ROI, stronger retailer collaboration, and revenue growth through more targeted promotions.
5. Integrated financial planning (IFP): Bridging operations and the P&L
Supply chain leaders can no longer operate in isolation from finance. Anaplan IFP connects operational plans directly to financial statements, ensuring every decision is evaluated through a profitability lens.
Executive Value: Transparent financial impact of supply chain decisions, enabling leadership to balance cost, margin, and resilience.
Platform independence, strategic flexibility
Unlike bundled ERP modules, Anaplan is platform-independent — designed to sit above and connect with your existing systems. This independence is critical for executives because it:
- Avoids lock-in with a single ERP vendor
- Enables rapid integration with external data sources, retailers, and suppliers
- Provides flexibility to evolve planning capabilities as strategy shifts
This means companies don’t just buy software; they invest in a strategic capability that adapts with the business.
The executive payoff
For CPG executives and supply chain leaders, the payoff is clear:
- Resilience against supply and demand volatility
- Agility to adapt plans quickly in uncertain markets
- Financial alignment to ensure every decision drives shareholder value
- Sustained growth through better trade-offs, optimized investments, and improved customer satisfaction
CPG companies that thrive in today’s environment will be those that treat supply chain planning not as an operational necessity, but as a strategic advantage.
ERP systems record the past.
