Profit& Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Connected Planning and why should we care?

Connected Planning replaces fragmented spreadsheets with a single source of truth for financial, supply chain, and operational planning. It allows scenario modelling, faster decision-making, and better cross-functional alignment. For Finance, Supply Chain, and Operations teams, this means budgets, forecasts, and demand plans are consistent, transparent, and actionable across the entire organisation.

2. Are you an official Anaplan partner and what certifications/credentials do you hold?

Yes — Profit& is an official Anaplan implementation partner, recognised across the UK and Europe. Our consultants include certified model builders and solution architects. Combined with deep sector experience in manufacturing, logistics, transport, and technology, these credentials reduce delivery risk and accelerate time to value.

3. Why choose Profit& as my Anaplan implementation partner?

Profit& is a trusted Anaplan partner for FP&A, procurement, and demand planning, known for delivering measurable business outcomes rather than just technical builds. We combine proven delivery methodology and reusable Anaplan accelerators for manufacturing, logistics, transport, and technology. As an experienced Anaplan implementation partner, we help client design, deploy, and scale connected planning solutions that deliver lasting ROI.

4. What industries and functions do you specialise in?

Profit& We've delivered Anaplan projects across the UK and Europe for mid-market and enterprise clients in logistics, manufacturing/CPG, Technology, and transport. Our Anaplan accelerators and functional templates for FP&A, procurement, and demand planning are tailored to each sector's planning cadence and data model requirements.

5. What does a typical project timeline look like?

We recommend starting with a Minimum Viable Model (MVM) to deliver core capability in around 12 weeks. From there, we iteratively add integrations and advanced use cases. Timeline depends on the scope — including data integrations, model complexity, and process coverage.

6. What ROI should we expect and when?

Typical outcomes from our Anaplan implementation include faster budget cycles (20–40% faster), improved forecast accuracy (10–30%), and reduced working capital through inventory optimisation. ROI timelines depend on scope, but we benchmark before and after go-live to quantify value delivered.

7. How do you price implementations (fixed price vs T&M)?

Fixed-price packages suit repeatable scopes delivered via our Anaplan Accelerators, while complex, multi-function projects use time-and-materials with milestone governance. We provide clear deliverables, phase definitions, and staffing expectations to manage cost and accountability.

8. What is a Minimum Viable Model (MVM) and why start with it?

An MVM targets core business processes — such as FP&A, procurement planning, or demand forecasting — with minimal integration and standard reporting. It proves outcomes early, builds stakeholder confidence, and provides reusable foundations for future model expansion.

9. How do you integrate Anaplan with ERPs, TMS, source-to-pay and BI tools?

We design and implement data pipelines connecting Anaplan to ERP, procurement, WMS/TMS and BI systems. Integration includes master-data reconciliation, data contracts, and automated error handling — ensuring Anaplan models for FP&A, procurement, and demand planning remain synchronised and near real-time.

10. Which data sources can you integrate and how do you handle master data?

We integrate with leading enterprise systems (SAP, Oracle, Workday, Coupa, JDA, etc.) and flat-file sources. Early phases focus on master-data harmonisation and source-to-target mapping. We build validation rules and reconciliation dashboards so product, cost, and supplier hierarchies stay consistent across teams and functions.

11. How does AI/ML improve demand planning and inventory optimisation?

We combine algorithmic forecasting with human oversight in Anaplan to generate explainable, data-driven recommendations. This hybrid approach improves demand planning, optimises inventory levels, and flags exceptions for planners — balancing automation with accountability.

12. What are the most common implementation pitfalls — and how do you avoid them?

Typical challenges include unclear ownership, poor data quality, over-customisation, and weak change management. We mitigate these with clear RACI structures, early data cleansing, modular delivery, and Centre of Excellence (CoE) enablement. Our Anaplan implementation methodology prioritises adoption, maintainability, and measurable business impact.

13. How do you measure success after go-live? Which KPIs matter?

We track KPIs such as planning cycle time, forecast accuracy (MAPE), days of inventory, PO-to-invoice cycle time, and user adoption. Dashboards in Anaplan monitor these metrics continuously, ensuring business performance improvement and sustained model usage.

14. Do you provide post-go-live support, and what does your CoE offering include?

Yes — we provide ongoing optimisation, incident handling, and Centre of Excellence (CoE) enablement. CoE packages include governance playbooks, training curricula, accelerator libraries, and succession planning so internal teams can extend models safely and independently.

15. How do you address security and compliance (GDPR, SOC2, ISO)?

Anaplan’s cloud platform is compliant with major global standards including GDPR and SOC2. We enhance this with secure APIs, role-based access, and continuous monitoring — ensuring that your Anaplan implementation meets enterprise-grade security and audit requirements.

16. Can you show real results? Do you have case studies and metrics we can see?

Yes, we share client case studies and success metrics across multiple industries — including manufacturing, logistics, transport, and technology. Contact us to access detailed before-and-after KPI comparisons or speak directly with referenced clients.

17. What should we expect in terms of internal resourcing and change management?

Successful Anaplan projects rely on clear executive sponsorship, business process owners, and IT collaboration for data integration. We embed change management, role-based training, and internal champions into every Anaplan implementation to accelerate user adoption.

18. How do you avoid over-customisation and keep models maintainable?

Maintainability is achieved through modular, user-centric model design and strong governance. Our Anaplan accelerators and data standards reduce bespoke code and simplify future enhancements — keeping models lean, adaptable, and scalable.

19. How do you handle multi-country, multi-currency and multi-legal setups?

We deliver Anaplan implementations across the UK and Europe, managing localisation, FX handling, and consolidated reporting. Each deployment maintains accurate roll-ups while enabling local autonomy and compliance with regional regulations.

20. What’s included in your implementation methodology?

Our Anaplan implementation methodology includes discovery workshops, process mapping, functional and technical design, iterative builds, and user acceptance testing. Deployment phases cover training, cut-over planning, and post-launch optimisation, culminating in CoE handover and performance review.

21. Do you offer pre-built accelerators or templates?

Yes — Profit& offers configurable Anaplan accelerators for manufacturing, logistics, transport, and technology. These templates encapsulate proven business logic, dashboards, and integrations that speed delivery and reduce project risk.

22. What do you need from your clients to start?

We provide a pre-kick-off checklist to define scope and accelerate discovery. This includes business objectives, FP&A and demand planning samples, system access, master-data extracts, and a list of key users. With this, we can quickly establish the right Anaplan implementation roadmap and building a working Minimum Viable Model in weeks.

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