Anaplan is a cloud-based business planning and performance management platform that enables organizations to plan, analyze, and make informed decisions in real time. It provides enterprise-scale solutions for connected planning, offering tools to forecast, budget, and optimize operations across finance, supply chain, sales, HR, and more. Anaplan integrates data from multiple sources to create a unified platform for business-wide collaboration and insights. By connecting Anaplan with other systems, businesses can ensure smooth data flows and enhance the accuracy and timeliness of planning processes.

Business use cases

Financial planning and budgeting

Anaplan is commonly used for financial forecasting and budgeting. With Frends integration, financial data from ERP systems, accounting tools, or databases can be automatically fed into Anaplan, ensuring real-time updates to financial models. This accelerates budgeting cycles and provides businesses with accurate, up-to-date insights for financial planning.

Demand and supply planning

In supply chain management, Anaplan helps organizations balance demand and supply more effectively. Frends can connect inventory management systems, sales data, and supplier databases with Anaplan to provide continuous updates to demand forecasts and inventory planning models. Automated data flows reduce lead times and enable better planning accuracy.

Workforce planning and optimization

Organizations can use Anaplan for workforce planning, including forecasting labor needs and managing employee costs. By integrating HR systems with Anaplan via Frends, businesses can align their staffing models with budget constraints and operational requirements. This ensures that workforce planning is data-driven and scalable.

Sales performance and territory planning

Anaplan allows sales teams to optimize territory assignments and forecast sales performance. Frends can integrate Anaplan with CRM systems like Salesforce to automatically update sales data and pipeline metrics. This gives organizations a comprehensive view of sales performance trends and helps identify opportunities for growth.

Scenario modeling and what-if analysis

Anaplan's scenario planning capabilities allow businesses to simulate the impact of various decisions, such as pricing changes or product launches. Frends can pull relevant data from operational systems into Anaplan to populate scenario models. This enables businesses to assess risks and outcomes for different strategies, improving decision-making confidence.

Product profitability analysis

Manufacturers and retailers can use Anaplan to analyze product-level profitability. Frends can link Anaplan with financial systems and inventory platforms to provide detailed data on production costs, sales, and margins. With this integration, businesses can identify underperforming products and make adjustments to pricing or supply strategies.

Revenue forecasting and management

Anaplan supports revenue forecasting by consolidating data from multiple revenue streams. Frends can assist by integrating sources such as subscription management systems, POS (point-of-sale) platforms, and customer data into Anaplan. Businesses gain a unified view of revenue trends and can adjust forecasts based on real-time data.

Capital expenditure planning

Anaplan’s capabilities in capital expenditure (CapEx) management allow organizations to optimize investment strategies. Frends can facilitate the integration of asset management or project management systems with Anaplan to update CapEx plans with actual cost data, ensuring alignment with company goals.

Compliance and audit readiness

Anaplan can be used to track compliance initiatives and provide reporting for audits. Frends can integrate compliance systems with Anaplan, allowing businesses to maintain a comprehensive view of compliance metrics and generate audit-ready reports quickly, reducing preparation time and effort.

Marketing and campaign performance analysis

Marketing teams can use Anaplan to plan campaigns and track ROI. By integrating marketing automation platforms with Anaplan through Frends, performance data such as campaign costs and conversion rates can be synchronized. This enables better planning for future campaigns and ensures alignment with overall marketing budgets.

By utilizing Frends to integrate Anaplan with enterprise systems, businesses can achieve greater agility and collaboration in their planning processes. Frends ensures seamless and automated data synchronization, empowering organizations to unlock Anaplan’s full potential for connected planning and performance optimization.