As a consultant with years of experience in the packaging industry, I’ve seen firsthand how unpredictable market forces can disrupt even the best-run businesses. The challenges packaging leaders face today are unlike anything we’ve seen before: extreme volatility in energy and raw material prices — particularly starch — unpredictable demand, and mounting sustainability pressures.
These aren’t issues you can control. What you can control is how you respond. And that’s where better planning processes make all the difference.
This is why I advise packaging leaders to embrace Connected Planning — a smarter way to manage uncertainty. It equips your business with real-time insights, agility, and collaboration, so you can respond decisively when market conditions shift.
With our Profit& Frame – Starter Kit for Packaging, a pre-built Anaplan solution, you can start creating value in weeks, not months.
Your challenges are shared across the entire packaging sector. The difference between those who adapt and those who get left behind comes down to how you plan and respond.
Volatile Input Costs: Energy and raw materials prices can swing wildly overnight. You need a planning process that keeps pace — and allows you to run what-if scenarios so you always have a Plan B.
Complex Operations: Your mills, plants, and regional offices need consistent, connected data to coordinate effectively across regions and functions.
Uncertain Demand: Shifting consumer preferences and evolving regulations make static forecasts unreliable. You need a system that can flex and adapt as conditions change.
Focus Where The Value Is: There’s no reward for spending hours manually converting data, checking for errors, or rolling forward static forecasts. Free up your teams to focus on value creation — driving insights, innovation, and smarter decisions.
Forecasting Frequency: In a market where conditions change like the wind, you need an evergreen forecast that updates continuously. Annual planning cycles are no longer good enough. You must be able to adjust quickly when the unexpected happens.
Sustainability Pressures: Track the financial and operational impact of green initiatives and capital projects to make informed, data-driven decisions.
Connected Planning integrates finance, sales, operations, and procurement into a single platform. It gives you the power to model pricing, demand, and cost scenarios instantly and see the ripple effects across your value chain — all while freeing finance teams from manual processes so they can focus on strategic action.
I recently worked with the European paper mills division of a global packaging leader.
Their situation may sound familiar:
When energy and commodity markets turned unpredictable, their old methods couldn’t keep up.
By adopting Anaplan as their Connected Planning platform, we helped them:
Now, they can model scenarios in minutes — not weeks — and respond proactively rather than reactively.
The results speak for themselves:
Clarity: A single, trusted source of data.
Speed: Quarterly forecasts are produced in real time.
Efficiency: Teams focus on insights, not reconciliation.
Agility: Energy and commodity changes are modelled instantly.
Confidence: Leadership decisions are backed by real-time insights.
Today, major players in the packaging sector are embracing Connected Planning. It’s no longer a nice-to-have — it’s essential for staying competitive.
Luxury packaging: Groupe Pochet aligns supply chain planning with dynamic product portfolios.
Beverage packaging: The Coca-Cola Company connects demand, supply, and finance to stay responsive across global markets.
Paper and board manufacturers: Large global players have eliminated spreadsheet-heavy processes, gaining agility and self-sufficiency with Anaplan
As one finance leader explained: “Our collaboration with Profit& to implement Anaplan has transformed planning and reporting. We now have consistent, accurate data at our fingertips, and our teams can focus on analysis and strategic decision-making.”
At Profit&, we’ve distilled our experience into the Profit& Frame – FP&A Starter Kit for Packaging, a ready-to-use Anaplan application designed specifically for packaging companies.
With Frame, you can:
● Configure the model to your company’s structure.
● Start delivering value in weeks, not months .
● Add custom features to meet your specific business needs.
👉 Get a demo of the Profit& Frame today and see how fast you can move from spreadsheets to real-time insights.
Connected Planning doesn’t just improve financial planning — it creates a foundation for strategic, data-driven decisions across the business:
Sales and pricing optimisation — model discounts and pricing strategies in real time.
CapEx planning — Compare and prioritise investments with connected, consistent data.
Sustainability impact — Accurately measure both operational and financial outcomes of green initiatives.
In packaging, uncertainty is a given. Connected Planning turns uncertainty into a competitive advantage.
At Profit&, we specialise in helping packaging companies transform their planning processes. Our Connected Planning implementations are:
● Transparent and user-friendly — no “black box” models.
● Designed for self-sufficiency — your teams own and run the solution.
● Proven in packaging — from paper mills to global bottlers and luxury brands.
With the Profit& Frame – Starter Kit for Packaging, you don’t need to start from scratch. You get a proven, scalable Anaplan solution that delivers fast results while adapting to your business’s unique needs.
I invite you to explore how Connected Planning can transform your packaging business.
👉 Ready to see how Frame can help you navigate market volatility and stay ahead of the competition? Request a demo today.