Best Practices in Planning
Steve Whinnery and Scott Stevenson
eCapital Advisors
eCapital Advisors
Founded in 2001 – Headquartered in Minneapolis
Performance Management & Business Analytics consulting firm
Over 250 customers
eCapital Advisors employees:
• Dedicated to Enterprise Performance Management and Business Analytics, enabling clients to make better business decisions
• Proven customer satisfaction and experience across a variety of industries
• Strategic assessments, implementations, training, customer enablement and managed services
Who we are
Steve Whinnery • Partner – Responsible for Oracle
Practice Strategy and project delivery of all Oracle Projects
• 15 years consulting
• Oracle, Hyperion and Cognos performance Management and Business Analytic solutions
• Fortune 500 and mid-market implementations across a variety of industries
Scott Stevenson• Vice President – Business
Development and Strategy - Oracle
Practice
• 20+ years of software and services
sales management experience
• 10+ years of Hyperion Experience
• Management responsibility for the
sale and implementation of over 75
Hyperion Projects throughout the
United States
Sample Client List
Agenda
•What is Planning
•Industry Leading Practices for Planning
•Executing Leading Practices
•Analytics and Planning
•Q&APlanning Best
Practices
Planning
“If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.” ― Yogi Berra
“I'm not making any plans. I'm just going to let the universe surprise me.” ― John Cusack
“Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential.” ― Winston Churchill
What is Planning
Operational Planning• Demand, Production, Capacity Planning• Detailed plans by product, customer, plant,
etc.• Completed by Sales, Production, Supply
Chain, etc.
Strategic Planning• Long range planning (3 to 5 year outlook)• High-level financial planning• Strategic projects, M&A, target setting• Completed at Corporate
Budgeting• Budget for the next fiscal year• Detailed or granular financial plan• Completed by business users or managers
Forecasting• Semi-Annual, Quarterly or Monthly• Forecast remaining fiscal year or 12 to 18
month rolling• Completed by business users or managers
Key Components of Planning
• Revenue or Volume
• Cost of Sales
• Workforce or Compensation
• SG&A
• Capital Expenditures
• Balance Sheet
Industry Leading Planning Practices
Leading Planning Practices
• Integrated Planning processes• Evolve to a rolling forecast• Driver Based Planning• Efficient Process• Develop an adaptable model• Timely and effective reporting
Integrated Planning Processes
Strategic Plan
Annual Budget / Plan
Include Operational Details
Evaluate Workforce & Capital
Monthly / Rolling Forecast
Update Strategic Plan
Run models based on key strategies
Set targets
Seed targets to annual operating plan
Start annual process
Include operational detail and model variability of financial plan
Evaluate resource and capital requirements
Update forecast with latest budget and actuals
Update strategic plan with latest forecast
Rolling ForecastMaximum
Productivity of Available Resources
More Cost & Time Efficient Planning and Budgeting(decentralized inputs & global plan consolidation)
Better Company Forecast Accuracy(monthly/quarterly forecasts, driver-based modeling)
BetterStrategy
Execution(rolling forecast & relative
performance targets)
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Driver Based Planning
• Focus on the highly variable drivers
• High impact drivers
• Leverage seasonality and external factors
• Systematically update planning model
Efficient Process
• Define appropriate level of detail
• Leverage technology to enable efficiency
• Evaluate process simplification
• Engage the appropriate users
Adaptable Model
• Flexibility to change with the business
• Scenario modeling
• Ad-hoc forecast
Timely and Effective Reporting
• Immediate analysis (real-time)
• Budget/forecast vs. actuals
• Integration with MS Office
• Reporting flexibility
How to ExecuteLeading Planning Practices
How to get started
• Understand this is a journey, not a destination
• Executive sponsorship
• Identify and prioritize strategic initiatives
• Define the value of the project
• Build the team– Internal
– External
Implementation Leading Practices
• Assess the current state gaps
• Multiple Phases Deliver a “Quick Win”
• Evaluate process change
• Identify enabling technology
• Allocate more time for Requirements and Design
• Communicate, Communicate, Communicate and then communicate more!!
“Break up the project – don’t go for big bang. Treat it as a program with project phases.” ― Peter Dankwerth, Ecolab, VP Finance
Analytics and Planning
Business Analytics and Planning
• Creates feedback loop for Planning processes:
– Measure and evaluate planning accuracy
– Provides analysis to gauge progress toward strategic goals
– Graphically represent actual results against plan
• Delivers actionable business information
• Provides a vehicle for organizational information dissemination
“People come to work in the morning wanting to make the right decisions; but, they don’t have the information to do so.” ― Jamie Wiggins, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics, Sr. Director Clinical Services
Analytics and Planning
• Measure financial result of strategic initiatives
• Enable users to make better and more timely decisions
• Improve accountability and accuracy
• Allows for more time analyzing data vs. gathering data
• Better align business resourcesSource: AQPC
Q & A