Enterprise planning is a multi-phased discipline that combines people, process, and technology in a rich, continuous, broadly collaborative cycle. It provides useful insight into past, current, and future operating performance in time to identify opportunities and affect outcomes.
Enterprise planning means articulating what you want to achieve, and how you will achieve it—through a hierarchy of cascading plans, measures, and reports that flow from corporate objectives to tactical plans across departments, divisions, and locations. It relies on the input and commitment of the hundreds or thousands of people who must execute against changing performance goals. And it stays up to date through real-time visibility and focus on the value-driving activities that affect performance against stated goals.
Enterprise planning encompasses the entire process and technology base upon which an organization creates a clear-cut strategy for achieving best-in-class status. It turns that strategy into discrete plans and budgets for every relevant employee and external partner. It communicates those plans—and the actions required—to those who need to know. It provides real-time feedback, and realigns plans as the situation evolves. At the same time, enterprise planning ensures that performance plans and forecasts are coordinated across functional and geographical silos, providing a consistent, enterprise-wide understanding of how to execute the game plan.
