In this article, I’ll explore how three organisations, each shaped by mergers, overcame fragmented systems and slow planning cycles using Anaplan. Their stories reveal why connected planning is so powerful when the goal is to bring clarity and confidence back to decision-making.
Mergers promise scale, synergy and efficiency, but often deliver complexity first.
When two organisations come together, so do their systems, spreadsheets, data definitions, and planning habits.
Suddenly, your finance team is spending more time reconciling numbers than understanding them. Forecasts slow down. KPIs don’t line up. And the leadership team loses trust in the data that’s supposed to guide post-merger decisions.
That’s the reality many finance leaders face once the deal is done. The good news? It’s fixable — and the proof is in how global brands like Virgin Media O2, Penguin Random House UK, and Konica Minolta used Anaplan to restore speed, trust, and transparency to their planning.
When two (or more) businesses combine, so do their problems:
● Fragmented systems and data: Each entity keeps its own ERP, templates and chart of accounts.
● Inconsistent KPIs: Gross margin in one division isn’t the same in another.
● Slow forecasting and reporting: Manual spreadsheets turn consolidation into a marathon.
● Limited visibility: Integration costs and synergies are hard to track in real time.
● Cultural friction: Teams plan differently, leading to misalignment and mistrust.
These aren’t technology issues alone - they’re planning and process issues. That’s why so many acquisitive organisations turn to connected planning platforms to rebuild control and consistency.
When Virgin Media and O2 merged, they inherited thousands of spreadsheets and more than 1,500 KPIs across finance and commercial teams. Forecasting cycles took weeks, and no one could see the full picture.
With Anaplan, they consolidated planning onto one platform, rationalised KPIs, and reduced their monthly forecasting process from weeks to just days. Today, every business unit works from the same assumptions, and leadership can make faster, data-driven decisions.
Result: faster forecasts, fewer KPIs, and a finance team trusted as a business partner, not a data gatekeeper.
After bringing together multiple imprints and divisions, Penguin Random House UK was managing a patchwork of templates and planning methods. Each team planned differently, and consolidation meant hours of manual work.
By building a unified financial planning model in Anaplan, the publisher connected sales, production, and distribution data in one place. Finance can now model scenarios across titles, imprints, and regions, balancing creative freedom with commercial control.
Result: a single source of truth that gives leadership real-time insight into profitability, demand, and resource allocation.
Following years of acquisitions, Konica Minolta was operating with inconsistent planning processes across subsidiaries worldwide. Budgets, forecasts, and medium-term plans were all managed separately, creating duplication and delay.
Anaplan gave the organisation a unified, global framework linking local entities to headquarters. Managers now have real-time visibility of performance, can compare divisions consistently, and align short-term forecasts with long-term strategic goals.
Result: a connected planning environment supporting transparency, accountability, and agility across the global group.
Across all three examples, the story is the same:
● Multiple entities.
● Multiple systems.
● One need for connected, trusted, agile planning.
Anaplan helped each business to:
● Unify data and reporting across merged entities.
● Align KPIs and performance measures.
● Accelerate forecasting and scenario modelling.
● Empower teams to plan collaboratively and confidently.
When complexity multiplies, connected planning brings clarity back.
If your organisation has already merged, or you’re integrating new acquisitions, it’s vital to understand whether your FP&A capabilities are helping or hindering your progress.
Take our FP&A Capability Assessment to benchmark your current maturity and uncover where your merged organisation may be falling short.
We’ll share a tailored plan outlining:
● What level you’re operating at today.
● The practical steps to move to the next level.
● How stronger FP&A foundations can ensure your merged business delivers the value expected from the deal.
Book a 30 minute call with me to work through our short assessment.