Anaplan
Anaplan, IncExternal reviews
436 reviews
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The Anaplan practice evolving all over the years
What do you like best about the product?
Anaplan is a easy-to-use service, but still very powerful and robust at the same time. There is a quite low level of entrance to the platform in order to be able to create complex models. If you are good in excel and VBA, you will be definitely good in model building. You can cover any business case by Anaplan, it's proved by my 7-years platform's experience. An UX is great, you don't have to get used to that. It is very native and user friendly. Anaplan doesn't stay in an one place. It releases new features very often.
What do you dislike about the product?
Unfortunately, Anaplan doesn't support any scripts modelling. Therefore, sometimes you have to pass a very long building way in order to reach your goal. The greatest disadvantage of the platform is a price. It is quite high, your company need to have a really good profit to afford it. On the other hand, Anaplan brings a real value. That amount can be calculated. In many cases the savings cover an Anaplan's TCO.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
As a consultancy company, we've managed a lot of Anaplan implementations in different domains and business cases. It's been FMCG, Pharma, Banking, Mining, and Tech industries. All of them found their benefits in the Anaplan's implementation. Some clients cut twice their time for budget campaign, others increased transparency and efficiency in C&B process for their Sales Reps. Many clients provide a great feedback about an ability to create and compare different scenarios in very rapid way. In my opinion, the greatest benefit in the Anaplan implementation is that clients, finally, get verified and enhanced buisness process, that have really clear definition. In addition to that, they can change the process, even by their internal champion. Nowadays, when the things are changed unpredictably fast, this is extremely important.
A great "connected" planning tool that can scale with your business
What do you like best about the product?
* Encourages collaboration across business units to break down silos
* Can easily add more granularity to existing planning models
* Relatively fast implementation timeframe
* Numerous integration options including Anaplan APIs, Anaplan Connect, HyperConnect and iPaas connectors
* Drilldown feature which enables a user to trace calculations back to source inputs/data
* Dynamic reporting through the use of dynamic text where values (e.g. Sales or Net Profit) dynamically change as the user selects different reporting periods
* Workflow feature although this currently costs a small license fee
* Customer focussed support
* Can easily add more granularity to existing planning models
* Relatively fast implementation timeframe
* Numerous integration options including Anaplan APIs, Anaplan Connect, HyperConnect and iPaas connectors
* Drilldown feature which enables a user to trace calculations back to source inputs/data
* Dynamic reporting through the use of dynamic text where values (e.g. Sales or Net Profit) dynamically change as the user selects different reporting periods
* Workflow feature although this currently costs a small license fee
* Customer focussed support
What do you dislike about the product?
* Certain aspects of model building are more complicated that it needs to be... although has improved recently and continues to evolve
* Some new features (e.g. Workflow) require additional licence fees to be paid
* Uses a different platform to handle very large models
* Some new features (e.g. Workflow) require additional licence fees to be paid
* Uses a different platform to handle very large models
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Our clients who have implemented Anaplan were primarily wanting to:
- remove/limit the use of MS Excel in managing and driving the performance of their business to eliminate inherent spreadsheet mistakes and provide transparency in assumptions/drivers used in planning models
- encourage collaboration among their business units
- significantly reduce the time it took to report their results and prepare updated forecasts
- introduce a faster way of creating scenario analyses to enable them to react to fast changing market conditions and plan for unforeseen challenges
- remove/limit the use of MS Excel in managing and driving the performance of their business to eliminate inherent spreadsheet mistakes and provide transparency in assumptions/drivers used in planning models
- encourage collaboration among their business units
- significantly reduce the time it took to report their results and prepare updated forecasts
- introduce a faster way of creating scenario analyses to enable them to react to fast changing market conditions and plan for unforeseen challenges
Anaplan platform
What do you like best about the product?
Highly configurable, ease of use for business
What do you dislike about the product?
Dashboarding capabilities can be restricted, predictive analytics can be integrated further into scenario modelling.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Build forecasting models across various use cases
Anaplan can be configured to hand the most unique business processes.
What do you like best about the product?
Anaplan is very user friendly and is owned by the business, not IT. The business owners are empowered to make changes/updates and can configure pages in such a way that meets the unique needs of each department/area within the business while still connecting all of the planning activities.
What do you dislike about the product?
While Anaplan does offer ML/AI functionality, it does not offere insights to the indicators for this functionality.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Anaplan allows us to track the stage of sales opportunities and rate the probablility of closure, which then informs our sales forecast. This information is also used to then plan our resources that need to be assigned to each opportunity.
Anaplan replaced shared spreadsheets.
What do you like best about the product?
Anaplan's security feature enable input data accountability. Its dashboards or reports update on the fly when data change.
Its flexible modelling features allow seamlessly model update. For example, when adding a new entity to entity list in a model, the same set of calculations will applied to the new entity straight away. No need to duplicate calculations for the new entity.
Its flexible modelling features allow seamlessly model update. For example, when adding a new entity to entity list in a model, the same set of calculations will applied to the new entity straight away. No need to duplicate calculations for the new entity.
What do you dislike about the product?
Dashboard functionality is not as flexible as excel. For example, font size in dashboard is not adjustable. Cell highlighting by user is not possible. Line item alias is not there, we need to create a separate line item to accommodate the reporting requirement.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Before Anaplan, we used spreadsheet for monthly workforce planning process which involves 20 cost centers and around 400 workforce resources. Some resources will be shared by multiple cost center, and it caused double counting in planning. To maintain the accuracy and integrity of data, a delegated staff responsible to meet with individual head of business functions and to input the workforce planning data for them. Also, it took the staff around 3-4 stressful days to produce a consolidation report. During these 3-4 days, any new-comer or resignation still need to be handled and updated to get an accurate report.
With Anaplan, individual head of business functions are able to input the workforce planning data themselves via the self-serve dashboard. With the control of cost center resources hierarchy, planning for shared workforce resources without double count become possible. Also, a cost center dashboard, which is impossible in spreadsheet model, allows the head of business functions to review their own workforce planning. Once the workforce planning data is completed by the head of business functions, the consolidation report is produced automatically. For any changes in resource, it reflects in the report immediately.
With Anaplan, individual head of business functions are able to input the workforce planning data themselves via the self-serve dashboard. With the control of cost center resources hierarchy, planning for shared workforce resources without double count become possible. Also, a cost center dashboard, which is impossible in spreadsheet model, allows the head of business functions to review their own workforce planning. Once the workforce planning data is completed by the head of business functions, the consolidation report is produced automatically. For any changes in resource, it reflects in the report immediately.
Highly Customizable No Code Business Application Building Platform
What do you like best about the product?
Anaplan is highly customizable and can be used to create any business application. You can make changes to it quickly and you don't need a engineering team to support if the platform is built right.
What do you dislike about the product?
There is learning curve. Cost of license is getting more expensive. New features are behind paywall.
Poor customer support
Poor customer support
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We use Anaplan to automate financial modeling.
A Highly Effective, Intuitive EPM System
What do you like best about the product?
Anaplan is an excellent tool to standardize their planning processes and connect previously disparate systems. The speed at which an effective model can be built and integrated into an overall business process is one of the biggest advantages of the Anaplan platform.
What do you dislike about the product?
One of the challenges with Anaplan is the upfront investement to successfully integrate data with Anaplan. One of Anaplan's key advantages is the ability for a line-of-business user to be the model builder. This advantage can only be fully achieved with some initial investment to get data flowing into Anaplan.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Anaplan helps solve the following problems for our clients: planning and budgeting, enrollment and tuition forecasting, program economic analysis, capital plannning and budgeting, and long range planning to name a few
Powerful analysis and reporting tool
What do you like best about the product?
- Excellent analytical capabilities
- Easy to learn
- Encourages single source of truth
- Easy to implement
- Easy to connect to other systems
- Easy to learn
- Encourages single source of truth
- Easy to implement
- Easy to connect to other systems
What do you dislike about the product?
- Support improving but could be better
- Certain "nice-to-have" features missing despite community support
- Certain "nice-to-have" features missing despite community support
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Monthly forecasting process, annual budgeting process.
- Allows multiple users to input data simultaneously
- Connects to accounting ledger and other systems for actuals
- Displays budget/forecast in ROY months
- Displays actuals in YTD months
- Allows multiple users to input data simultaneously
- Connects to accounting ledger and other systems for actuals
- Displays budget/forecast in ROY months
- Displays actuals in YTD months
Anaplan Architecture and Functionality from a Model Builder Viewpoint
What do you like best about the product?
From a model builder’s perspective, what I like best about Anaplan is its flexibility and the control it provides over building complex planning models without needing traditional coding skills. The platform’s intuitive interface allows me to design and customize models that fit unique business requirements, combining data from multiple sources into a single, connected planning environment.
Anaplan’s in-memory engine is powerful and supports real-time calculations, which means changes in one part of the model immediately update all related calculations. This instant feedback is invaluable for testing scenarios and ensuring data accuracy. The drag-and-drop functionality and modular structure make it easy to organize data and logic logically, improving maintainability and scalability.
Another key advantage is the ability to create reusable components like lists, modules, and line items, which saves time and helps maintain consistency across models. The platform also encourages collaboration by allowing multiple users to work on the same model simultaneously, with role-based access controls ensuring data security.
While there is a learning curve, especially with complex formula building and model optimization, the extensive community support and training resources make it manageable. Overall, Anaplan empowers model builders to deliver agile, robust planning solutions that can quickly adapt to changing business needs, which is highly rewarding.
Anaplan’s in-memory engine is powerful and supports real-time calculations, which means changes in one part of the model immediately update all related calculations. This instant feedback is invaluable for testing scenarios and ensuring data accuracy. The drag-and-drop functionality and modular structure make it easy to organize data and logic logically, improving maintainability and scalability.
Another key advantage is the ability to create reusable components like lists, modules, and line items, which saves time and helps maintain consistency across models. The platform also encourages collaboration by allowing multiple users to work on the same model simultaneously, with role-based access controls ensuring data security.
While there is a learning curve, especially with complex formula building and model optimization, the extensive community support and training resources make it manageable. Overall, Anaplan empowers model builders to deliver agile, robust planning solutions that can quickly adapt to changing business needs, which is highly rewarding.
What do you dislike about the product?
What I don’t like about Anaplan is the performance slowdown when working with large or highly complex models. As the size of the model grows—especially with millions of cells, multiple dimensions, or intricate formula logic—calculations can take much longer to complete. This lag impacts day-to-day usability, causing delays when entering data, refreshing dashboards, or running scenario analyses. This becomes more noticeable when multiple users are collaborating simultaneously, sometimes leading to timeouts or frustration during critical planning cycles.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We use Anaplan to streamline our Master Production Scheduling (MPS) and Material Requirements Planning (MRP) processes for a CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) client. Before Anaplan, the client struggled with disconnected Excel-based planning, limited visibility across supply and demand, and frequent stockouts or overproduction.
Anaplan helped centralize and automate their planning process. The MPS model enabled planners to balance supply with demand using real-time data, while the MRP model calculated material requirements based on production plans, inventory levels, and lead times. This helped reduce excess inventory and improved service levels.
The scope of the project included demand inputs, inventory planning, BOM explosion, capacity checks, and purchase planning across multiple manufacturing locations. With Anaplan, the client achieved better visibility, faster planning cycles, and improved decision-making. It also allowed cross-functional collaboration between supply planners, procurement, and production teams.
Overall, Anaplan addressed key business challenges like manual errors, siloed data, and lack of agility in supply planning—resulting in a more resilient and responsive supply chain.
Anaplan helped centralize and automate their planning process. The MPS model enabled planners to balance supply with demand using real-time data, while the MRP model calculated material requirements based on production plans, inventory levels, and lead times. This helped reduce excess inventory and improved service levels.
The scope of the project included demand inputs, inventory planning, BOM explosion, capacity checks, and purchase planning across multiple manufacturing locations. With Anaplan, the client achieved better visibility, faster planning cycles, and improved decision-making. It also allowed cross-functional collaboration between supply planners, procurement, and production teams.
Overall, Anaplan addressed key business challenges like manual errors, siloed data, and lack of agility in supply planning—resulting in a more resilient and responsive supply chain.
Fulfilling career as an Anaplan Model Builder
What do you like best about the product?
I like that Anaplan is a massive upgrade relative to other tools (like Microsoft Excel) in terms of empowering users to drive connected forecasting and planning. There are so many features that make this empowerment possible, such as version control, real time calculation updates, and dynamic cell access.
What do you dislike about the product?
When an Anaplan Model Builder attempts to implement a formula that is invalid, sometimes, this results in the Anaplan model locking up (or "toasting") for a period of time that ranges from seconds to minutes (depending on the size and complexity of the model) while the model processes and reverts the change. During this "toaster" period, no one, including Model Builders and users, can navigate or make changes in the model - This is extremely disruptive.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Through Anaplan's Application Lifecycle Management functionality, I can Model Build in an existing Anaplan model without disrupting users' working in the Production model. Thanks to Anaplan's Hyberblock technology, I can build models containing data and calculations that far exceed anything I can build in other tools in terms of size and calculation complexity. Due to the ability to build and manage Anaplan models without help from a typical Information Technology (IT) team, I'm empowered to develop solutions for our users with minimal overhead or reliance from non-business teams.
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