7-Eleven Malaysia chooses Anaplan to transform financial planning & analysis and streamline reporting processes

7-Eleven Malaysia, the country’s leading convenience store chain that operates more than 2,400 outlets nationwide and serves more than 900,000 customers daily, has adopted the Anaplan platform to transform its financial planning and analysis (“FP&A”) process and systems. This strategic initiative aims to streamline planning and reporting processes, enabling operational efficiency and more accurate predictions via unified data sources. By leveraging Anaplan’s cloud-based platform, which supports some of the world’s largest retailers, 7-Eleven Malaysia seeks to knock down organizational silos and replace manual spreadsheet-based processes, with a data-driven, single source of truth. The FP&A project with Anaplan is expected to be completed in Q1 2024.

7-Eleven has established a strong brand presence in Malaysia since it first opened its doors in 1984 as the pioneer and largest 24-hour standalone convenience store operator. The company employs more than 11,000 staff and is an active contributor to local philanthropic causes, recognized for its commitment to minimizing its environmental footprint while supporting the local communities where it operates.

“7-Eleven Malaysia operates as an essential business, providing uninterrupted convenience to customers around the clock. To optimize our operations effectively, we needed to efficiently manage and interpret vast amounts of data. Transitioning from labor-intensive spreadsheets and siloed ways of working is crucial for proactive business management, as we strive toward a fully automated and centralized data environment. By adopting the Anaplan platform, we can gain real-time visibility into critical performance metrics, foster improved collaboration and empower informed decision-making across departments," said Aaron Ng, Finance Director, 7-Eleven Malaysia.

Additionally, 7-Eleven Malaysia will be guided by data science partner Metora, in tailoring the Anaplan platform and customizing reporting dashboards to meet its unique business needs. As key enablers in the long-term success of a business, 7-Eleven’s finance teams will have the ability to provide more accurate predictions from unified data sources as well as create projections, modeling, and scenarios, to effectively partner with the wider organization in strategizing overall business directions.

“AI and Machine Learning tools have revolutionized financial planning and analysis, generating relevant insights for actionable outcomes. Internal finance teams now have the power to gain deeper insights, visualize real-time data, and make timely decisions. The collaborative efforts of the Metora and Anaplan teams are poised to contribute significantly to 7-Eleven's digital transformation journey,” said Kumaran Singaram, CEO, Metora.

FP&A plays a critical role in retail businesses, where profit margins tend to be low and costs have a significant impact on profitability, as consumer preferences continue to rapidly evolve. The Anaplan platform brings significant benefits across the entire retail value chain, including store and supply chain planning and operations, to improve cost efficiencies and revenue predictability, maintain market segments, and ensure adequate staffing.

“Anaplan continues its successful expansion into Malaysia with the addition of 7-Eleven Malaysia as a customer. Given today's rapidly changing global economy and market conditions, finance teams can no longer be confined to static budgets and historical data. With Anaplan, 7-Eleven Malaysia’s FP&A will evolve to become a strategic function that drives data-informed decisions with predictability and agility,” said Alvin Liew, Vice President, APAC Customer Success, Anaplan.

To learn more about the ways Anaplan helps businesses make the right daily planning decisions, visit https://www.anaplan.com/customers.