Business planning gets hard as a company grows. Finance uses one spreadsheet, sales uses another and supply chain uses a third. Numbers do not match and leaders wait days for answers. This is the problem Anaplan solves.
So, what is Anaplan? Anaplan helps businesses connect their planning processes on a single platform, improve collaboration across departments and make more informed business decisions. In this blog, you will learn how Anaplan works, what it offers, how companies use it, what it costs and how it compares with other tools.
Anaplan is a cloud-based enterprise planning platform. Companies use it to plan and manage finance, sales, supply chain, workforce and operations from one connected system. The name "Anaplan" also refers to the company that created the software.
The platform follows an approach called connected planning. In this approach, every department works from the same data and the same logic. When one team changes an assumption, the change flows to every related plan. This keeps everyone aligned.
Anaplan serves large and mid-sized organizations. According to PwC, the company has more than 2,000 customers which include Bayer, Google, ServiceNow and Shell. Anaplan is also a cloud-only product. You cannot install it on your own servers and you need web access to use it.
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Learn Anaplan modeling, financial planning, data integration, and business forecasting through practical training.
Anaplan was designed to provide businesses with a more integrated and simpler method for planning. Businesses were facing difficulties as their growth meant that plans were being created and managed separately on numerous spreadsheets. Each department used its own information which complicated and hampered business operations and decision-making.
Anaplan was established in 2006 by Guy Haddleton and Michael Gould in Yorkshire. The idea behind Anaplan was to create a tool that would enable companies to model business processes effectively, despite the complexity of possible calculations.
After being launched in 2010 to the public, Anaplan underwent continuous development as more companies adopted it. App Hub launched in 2014 allowing users to navigate to applications available on the platform.
In 2018, Anaplan went public and started trading on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol PLAN) marking the start of a new stage in its development.
In 2022, Anaplan was acquired by Thoma Bravo, a private equity investment company for about $10.4 billion. At present, Anaplan helps companies connect their planning activities from finance, sales, human capital management to supply chain on the same platform.
Anaplan works as a modeling and planning workspace. Users build models, connect data and share results with other teams. Everything runs in the cloud, so teams can work from any location.
Here is the basic flow:
The key idea is that one change updates every connected plan at the same time. If sales lowers a revenue forecast, finance and supply chain see the impact without manual work.
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Anaplan offers many tools. The features below matter most for planning teams.
Spreadsheets show data in rows and columns. Anaplan lets you model data across many dimensions at once. You can view revenue by product, region, customer and time period in the same model. You can also slice the data in different ways without building a new file.
The Hyperblock is the in-memory calculation engine behind the Anaplan platform. It updates connected data quickly when inputs change. Anaplan also introduced a second engine called Polaris in 2021. Polaris handles very large and sparse data sets, which suits detailed planning at scale.
Anaplan connects to many business systems. You can load data through built-in connectors, APIs and file uploads. Anaplan CloudWorks helps schedule data flows with cloud services. The Anaplan Data Orchestrator gives teams one place to prepare and manage planning data.
Scenario planning lets you test "what if" questions. For example, you can model a price increase, a supplier delay, or a hiring freeze. You can then compare each scenario side by side. This helps leaders prepare for change instead of reacting to it.
Anaplan includes forecasting tools that use past data to predict future results. The platform also offers AI features under the name Anaplan Intelligence. These tools help teams spot trends, estimate demand and find risks earlier.
Users can build dashboards that show key numbers in charts and tables. Each person can see the data that matters to their role. Anaplan XL Reporting, which came with the Fluence acquisition, also lets users report on Anaplan and other data sources through an Excel add-in.
Many people contribute to a plan and Anaplan supports that work. Teams can assign tasks, set approval steps and track progress inside the platform. Everyone edits the same version of the plan, so version conflicts disappear.
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Companies use Anaplan for many planning tasks. These are the most common use cases.
Finance teams use Anaplan for budgeting, forecasting and long-range planning. They can also run financial consolidation and track actual results against targets. Monthly and quarterly planning cycles become faster and more accurate.
Sales leaders use Anaplan to set quotas, design territories and plan commissions. The platform links sales targets to financial plans. This helps teams reward the right behavior and forecast revenue with more confidence.
Supply chain teams plan inventory, production and logistics in Anaplan. They can see how a supplier delay affects orders and costs. This helps them respond quickly to disruptions.
HR and finance teams use Anaplan to plan headcount, hiring and labor costs. They can model how new roles affect the budget. They can also compare staffing scenarios before making decisions.
Demand planners combine sales history, market trends and promotions to forecast what customers will buy. Better forecasts reduce stockouts and excess inventory.
Operations teams use Anaplan to plan projects, capacity and resources. They can track costs and timelines in one place and adjust plans as conditions change.
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Anaplan offers clear benefits for organizations with complex planning needs.
Anaplan is powerful, but it is not perfect for every company. Consider these drawbacks before you decide.
Anaplan does not publish fixed subscription prices. Instead, it offers customized quotes based on factors such as business requirements, the number of users, selected platform capabilities and implementation needs. Companies interested in using the platform must contact Anaplan's sales team to discuss their requirements and receive a personalized quote.
Since each company has its unique planning requirements, Anaplan offers customized pricing that mainly depends on the business requirements. If organizations are interested in trying the software, they must contact Anaplan's sales team to discuss the requirements and receive a customized quote.
There are several things to consider for businesses before subscribing to Anaplan:
Note: To get accurate pricing information, visit the official Anaplan website and contact its sales team for a customized quote.
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Anaplan works with the systems that businesses already use. You can connect it to ERP, CRM, HR and data warehouse tools. Common examples include SAP, Oracle, Workday, Salesforce, NetSuite and Snowflake.
Anaplan offers several ways to connect data:
Anaplan runs on the web, so users need only a browser and an internet connection.
Many teams start with Excel as it is familiar and flexible, but it struggles as planning grows. Anaplan fixes many of those limits. Still, switching requires a clear business case.
| Area | Anaplan | Traditional Spreadsheets |
| Data size | Handles large, complex data sets | Slows down with large files |
| Collaboration | Many users work in one live model | Users share and merge separate files |
| Version control | One source of truth | Many versions and frequent errors |
| Scenario planning | Fast and built in | Manual and time consuming |
| Integration | Connects to business systems | Mostly manual imports |
| Setup and cost | Higher cost and longer setup | Low cost and quick start |
| Learning curve | Needs training | Familiar to most users |
Excel works well for small teams and simple plans. Anaplan fits companies where many teams must plan together on large data.
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Several tools compete with Anaplan. Here are the main ones.
Oracle Cloud EPM is a suite for planning, budgeting, consolidation and reporting. It fits companies that already use Oracle systems. It offers strong finance features.
Workday Adaptive Planning is easier to learn than many enterprise tools. It works well for finance and workforce planning, especially for mid-sized companies and Workday users.
IBM Planning Analytics, built on the TM1 engine, offers strong modeling and spreadsheet-style interfaces. It suits finance teams that want deep control and customization.
SAP offers planning through SAP Analytics Cloud. It fits organizations that run SAP ERP, because it connects closely with SAP data.
OneStream combines planning, consolidation and reporting on one platform. It is popular with finance teams that need close and consolidation tools along with planning.
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Anaplan is a good fit for:
Anaplan is a weaker fit for very small businesses, teams with simple budgets, or companies with no budget for implementation.
Anaplan is worth considering for businesses that manage complex planning processes across multiple departments. It helps teams connect their financial, sales, workforce and supply chain plans, reducing the need to work with separate spreadsheets. Its scenario planning and forecasting capabilities also help businesses evaluate different possibilities and make informed decisions.
However, Anaplan may not be the right choice for every organization. Its licensing costs, implementation requirements and learning curve can be challenging for smaller businesses with basic planning needs. Before investing in the platform, businesses should evaluate their planning requirements, request a product demo and compare its features and costs with other available solutions.
For the right company, yes. Anaplan can reduce planning time, improve forecast accuracy and connect teams around one plan. These gains often outweigh the cost for large organizations.
For small teams, the answer is usually no. The price, setup effort and training may exceed the value. Before you buy, list your planning problems, request a demo and ask for a clear implementation plan. Compare Anaplan with at least two alternatives.
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Anaplan offers coordinated planning solutions for finance, sales, supply chain, and workforce management functions of various companies. Its advanced modeling, computing, and forecasting functions help organizations streamline complex planning processes.
Nonetheless, its price, implementation process, and degree of difficulty can pose issues for some organizations. Firms engaged in large-scale planning can utilize the advantages of Anaplan, whereas other organizations may opt for more convenient software.
Overall, Anaplan can be a good tool for companies willing to manage the complexities of their planning work with the help of one application.
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No. Anaplan is not an ERP system. ERP software records daily transactions such as orders, invoices and payroll. Anaplan is a planning platform. It uses ERP data to build budgets, forecasts and scenarios.
No, it is not a CRM tool. CRM tools like Salesforce manage customer relationships and sales activity. Anaplan can pull CRM data to plan quotas, territories and revenue forecasts.
Anaplan is easy for end users who enter data and view dashboards. Model building is harder. Builders need training in modeling concepts and Anaplan formulas. Anaplan offers official training and certification and a large user community also helps.
No, Anaplan does not require traditional coding. Users build models with a formula language that feels similar to Excel. Advanced integrations may use APIs, which need some technical skill.
