This is the next blog in our series regarding Forecasting, Budgeting and Planning processes as we experience them at our customers and how these processes can be done in a different way.
In our previous blogs we explained why Kaya has selected Board International (hereafter Board) as her preferred CPM/EPM tool. In this blog we will explore what Board can be used for in a crisis situation like we are now experiencing with the COVID-19 pandemic. We do this based on the concept of integrated business planning.
Integrated Business Planning
Integrated Business Planning (hereafter IBP) is often defined in different ways. There is no common definition of IBP that is universally agreed upon. However one can agree on the notion that mature IBP processes enable organizations to bring together different elements of planning into a single process. According to Wikipedia this includes, but is not limited to, the following:
• Supply & demand
• Finance & operations
• Functions & business processes
• Strategy / Outcomes & business processes
• Financial and non financial measures
• Cash flow, costs and revenues
The role of an IBP process is to balance these different objectives in a way that achieves the best overall result. One way of accomplishing this is with prescriptive analytics. Used tools are often employed in these processes to mathematically optimize parts of a plan, a classic example of which is inventory investment. The most mature IBP processes leverage IBP to mathematically optimize all aspects of a plan.
This description from Wikipedia assumes that multiple planning efforts should be combined. When this can be achieved the best overall result can be determined. When a proper integrated business planning process is available an organization can without doubt benefit from that. Especially in a situation of great changes and/or turmoil such an approach can be vitally important for an organization.
As a lot of various planning efforts, most of the time handled by different departments, must be combined this is an approach to be embraced by senior management/C-level in order to be successfully used in an organization. In smaller organizations this kind of integration can be handled easier, but still needs attention by senior management/owner of a company.
Is Board suited for Integrated Business Planning
Given the above one can ask the question if Board, as our preferred CPM tool, can be used to accomplish IBP. This question can without any doubt be answered in a positive way. The Board platform can be used to import virtually any data (both financial and non-financial) and power users can create their own applications (in Board language a capsule) without coding (the no code concept is stringently applied within Board). Apart from that data cubes and cost drivers can be designed/defined by themselves (or by Board itself whilst importing the data) and various ways of allocating financial data over periods are standard available, combined with predictive and prescriptive analytics. If and when wanted/needed workflow can be added.
This all makes Board very much suited to implement an IBP process in an organization.
An example of Integrated Business Planning in Board
In order to demonstrate the above below a screen print from an example where an IBP process is supported by Board. Bear in mind that this is just an example. The desired IBP process can be tailored to the wishes of every organization.
What’s next
If you are interested Kaya can discuss (and demo) the “standard” IBP process in order to provide a starting position for your organization. Based on your requirements Kaya can support you in order to establish the IBP process most suited for your situation. As Board is easy to maintain, to extend an app/capsule and future changes can be handled by a customer itself as a principle. Therefore Kaya can be used as a second line of support.
In our next blog(s) we will reveal more ways in which Board can be used, as it is our experience that Board grows on an organization, meaning that usually Board at the start is used for a single department (most of the time financially orientated) but after a while is used for multiple purposes within an organization (like for instance the IBP process, but this is just one example of what we have noticed).
Look for other related blogs at https://kaya-consulting.com/category/board/