Blog

Articles about the Anaplan Community and Connected Planning

Kick Off Summer by Improving Your Consolidations Process
School is almost out, but you can still ace your corporate reporting by performing your consolidations process in Anaplan! The close and consolidation process can lead to late nights at work, but Anaplan’s real-time calculations can save you some extra hours—giving you more time to spend outside in the summer sun.…
Join the Anaplan Community LinkedIn group!
Did you know the Anaplan Community is on LinkedIn? We are nearly 3,300 members strong and growing daily! Join the group to connect and learn from like-minded individuals in the Anaplan ecosystem. In the group, you can stay up to date on what's happening on the Community, including events, new content, and trending forum…
Anaplan Careers: Industry vs. Consulting
A career as a model builder in Anaplan has two avenues: industry and consulting. In over three years of model building, I worked in two distinct industry jobs. In September 2019, I moved into the consulting avenue when I joined Spaulding Ridge, 2020 AMER Partner of the Year. In this blog, I will address the different…
Sales and Finance Cross-Functional User Group— May 12
Anaplan invites you—customers and Community members—to come together for a Sales And Finance Cross-Functional User Group on May 12 to share questions, challenges, and best practices for supporting sales and/or finance organizations. Unless you’re a firefighter, work shouldn’t feel like you are just putting out fires.…
Community Vlog #5: New York Area Pre Sales—Jen & Yelena
In this Community Vlog, Jen Wang and Yelena Keselman—members of the New York area Pre-Sales team—discuss their roles within Anaplan, how they serve new and existing customers, how their team works with customers to create successful implementations, and so much more! Get to know these amazing members of the Anaplan team…
As Easy As 1, 2, 3
We’ve heard from more than a few talented Anaplanners that their passion for the platform is so strong—they couldn’t imagine working on any other platform out there. They want to continue to expand their skill set and stay within the Anaplan ecosystem, while also advancing their careers. Great news! Anaplan has developed…
Using Data and Technology to Create Value in Your Organization
We are living in disruptive times driven by uncertainty, volatility, and ambiguity. People tend to forget quickly, but looking back, disruptive events are increasing over time. Remember the real estate crisis in the ’90s and the .com bubble in early 2000? What about the events of 9/11 and the financial crisis in 2008? And…
New User Groups Offer Help for Business Disruptions
To say we are living in a time of disruption would be an understatement. Planning for next week (let alone next quarter or next year) has become challenging. However, this is also a time of tremendous collaboration. In that spirit, we want to make it easier for people to offer and receive help for their businesses in their…
Spring Cleaning: Marie Kondo-ing Your Anaplan Model
Imagine your closet transformed by Marie Kondo. Marie Kondo is an organizing consultant that sparked a cultural phenomenon with her “KonMari” method of organization. Her approach is that every item should serve a purpose and spark joy. All items in a Marie Kondo-ed closet provides value. All the shirts, pants, shoes, and…
Starting an Anaplan Center of Excellence
A Center of Excellence (CoE) can be a daunting undertaking, especially if you have a full Connected Planning vision on the horizon. While the vision may be big, the first steps are small and consistent to ensure you are involving the right people early enough to set yourself up for success. Let this be that guide to your…
Tips for Large Script Implementations Using AnaplanConnect 1.4.x
Please note that this article is specific to an MS Windows Server implementation with a CA Certificate and uses Windows Batch Scripting file commands. A good reference for Windows Batch Scripting commands can be found here: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Windows_Batch_Scripting So, you’ve had your Anaplan environment up and…
User Groups Upgrades are Here!
More than 1,200 people have discovered the benefits of being in an Anaplan User Group—and those benefits have just gotten better! Anaplan’s User Groups are where you can be equipped to gain the highest value from Anaplan. Simply put, a User Group is three or more Anaplanners gathering to discuss Anaplan-related topics,…
Certified Master Anaplanners Support COVID-19 Efforts with Global Hackathon
As the situation with COVID-19 evolved around the world, it became apparent that the Anaplan community wanted to help people on the frontlines respond to the crisis—and could do so using the Anaplan platform. In the face of seemingly unlimited new problems that needed to be solved, we called upon our own community of…
Connected Planning Helps Prepare Organizations for Success
As the COVID-19 landscape continues to evolve, Anaplan leaders are here to support businesses through this new normal. Thoughtful planning and decision-making are even more critical for the long-term success of organizations everywhere. Today, we’re talking to more Anaplan leaders to share perspectives on navigating…
Anaplan—Spring Cleaning!
It is not uncommon for the way in which your organization uses Anaplan to grow and change. Sometimes, your business processes change. Sometimes, individuals enter and exit your organization. And sometimes, you simply think of better ways of doing things. The good news is that Anaplan is designed to help you respond to all…
Community Vlog #4: New York Area Customer Success—Andy, Sree & Maria
In this Community Vlog, Andrew Nivison, Sreekanth Kumar, and Maria Longo—members of the New York area Customer Success team—discuss their roles within Anaplan, how they serve business partners and customers, how customer success business partners create successes, and so much more! Get to know these amazing members of the…
The 3 Pillars of Connected Planning: Part 2—Data
In the first part of “The 3 Pillars of Connected Planning” series, the Community team spoke with Chief Planning Officer Simon Tucker about the importance of the “people” pillar of Connected Planning and the need for a cultural shift within an organization. In part two, we take a look at the “data” pillar and what…
Higher Education—Managing Forecasts in Uncertain Times
Recent changes to all sectors of business and society in the U.S. have been swift and sometimes devastating. Colleges and universities, in particular, are experiencing a total collapse of their business models, rendering first quarter financial forecasts virtually useless. But institutions that use Anaplan Connected…
Connected Planning Supports Success in Uncertainty
COVID-19 has forever changed the planning landscape for organizations. In this blog series, we're teaming up with Anaplan leaders to share their perspectives on the long-term impact and new normal of business today. In this installment, Anaplan's Chief Planning Officer Simon Tucker shares his guidance and thought…
Master Anaplanner Andrew Byers Talks Best Practice 'Template' Model
This month we sat down with Andrew Byers from Simon Property Group to learn more about how Anaplan supports the property management business. As a Master Anaplanner, Andrew knows the benefits of saving time in real-time planning. He's even created his own "Template" model to support his day-to-day planning. Thank you,…
Forrester TEI Study: Anaplan Centers of Excellence are Key to Business Success
According to a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) Study, recently conducted by Forrester Consulting, it was reported that the Anaplan platform can deliver a 3X return on investment. To understand the fundamentals associated with an Anaplan investment, Forrester anonymously interviewed seven long-term customers, then developed a…
Anaplan Academy: Micro-Lessons Now Available on Community
The Anaplan Academy team designed the updated platform training (Level 1-3 Model Building), understanding that learning is constantly happening—developing tools to enable you and your team. These micro-lessons—the short interactive eLearning modules—are now available on the Anaplan Community. The Anaplan Academy On-Demand…
Lucky You…The Anaplan Live! March 2020 Event is Now Available
You’re in luck! All Community members now have access to all of the great presentations and thought leadership shared in the March 2020 Anaplan Live! event, including: * The full live-streamed videos from both days of the event. * Individual video segments. * Discussions around each segment. How Did It Go? The March 2020…
Lionpoint Group: Enhanced Anaplan Model Performance
Maximizing your Anaplan models helps ensure that you're getting the best results. Lionpoint Group provides a unique perspective and tactical applications to improve overall model performance by achieving a more thorough understanding of how the Anaplan engine works. Here we share our viewpoint and approach to optimal…
Retail Planning: The Business Case for Anaplan
The vision and interest to connect retail planning activities was well understood before 1990, but technology wasn’t as evolved as our ambition. Anaplan is an ideal platform to enable virtually all retail, wholesale, and eCommerce planning activities. The value provided by Anaplan combines the flexibility of spreadsheets…
Cutting Inventory Costs With Anaplan
Either because the items in our inventory are costly, perishable, central to our business, or for any other reason, a proper stock planning always pays off. Could I cut down my inventory cost by a million pounds with Anaplan? The answer, of course, is “yes”. Ok, you are right: it is rather easy to cut down inventory cost!…
Community Stories: We Are Miller Homes
Miller Homes has a unique perspective on how they manage their home-building business. Find out how everything from in-house budget management to on-site task management is handled within their Anaplan implementation by watching their Community Story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVDEK18NORY
Anaplan Celebrates International Women’s Day—#EachforEqual
International Women’s Day is a global celebration that champions women and provides a structure to amplify action all year long. This year’s theme of “Each for Equal” recognizes that an equal world enables us all to be our best, every day. Individually, we can fight against stereotypes, participate in open communication,…
The Three Duties of an Anaplan Project Team
The term “duties” is a connotation to the lifeblood of a project. These are the necessary actions that will keep a project from being either an immediate failure or a ticking time bomb. Consider them the goals, the vision, and the survival requirements of any software implementation. Without achieving these, a project…
Anaplan Live!—Day 2 Streaming Now!
Anaplan Live! is loaded with expert content curated just for you, and it's happening THIS WEEK! Set yourself up for continued success in your Anaplan journey and the expansion of your honeycomb with our live-streamed event that brings insights and access to Anaplan experts directly to your fingertips. What to Expect Walk…