Connected Planning for Financial Outcomes and Sustainability

Procurement professionals are no strangers to planning. In the past, however, their efforts have been siloed, conducted apart from other functions and distanced from the objectives of the business as a whole. Procurement should want to take an active role in planning, and their impact should be apparent in the company’s financial outcomes.

Bryan Baum, Head of Solutions, Sourcing and Procurement at Anaplan, describes connected planning as “joining people, data, and plans together to accelerate business.” Any lack of access to data or breakdown in the flows of information can lead to lost insights, lost value, and lost cost savings.

These potential risks point out just how large the opportunity is for teams that embrace connected planning. As we learned in this AOP Live session, connected planning:

• Positions procurement to align with C-level objectives,
• Drives financial and non-financial benefits, and
• Opens the door to continuous improvement through centralized data.