Rolling forecast is a planning process whereby the main objective is to foresee risks and business opportunities continually. It is more than just periodic updates on the annual budget. By adopting this type of planning technique, businesses can expect to be more agile and flexible in meeting stakeholder expectations as well as in making sure the business has a consistent competitive advantage.
This type of planning technique is very dependent on technology as it demands working on multiple budget assumptions, multiple iterations, real time integration, and faster and more intelligent analyses. It is therefore very essential to find a modern and agile CPM solution that can support rolling forecasts.
Having established that technology is a key component of rolling forecast, it is important to do a thorough evaluation of many CPM solutions before committing to one.
Many providers will claim that they are able to support generation of rolling forecast when in reality it is just wishful thinking.
We have come up with 5 features to look for in a CPM Solution to ensure that your chosen CPM application can truly support generation of rolling forecasts.
- Business Modeler
The first important feature to look for in a CPM solution is its ability to allow you to model your business into the solution. This ability to configure the uniqueness of your business is a good start in the sense that there truly is no one-size-fits-all CPM solution.
Every business is unique and because of that uniqueness, the CPM solution must accommodate that by allowing the solution to adjust to the way the business operates. Configuration not customization is the key.
- Scalability
It is pointless to settle for a CPM solution that cannot grow with your business. Choosing a solution that only caters to your current needs without any clear path of how it is going to grow with your business is a complete waste of time and effort.
Find a CPM solution that can clearly address your current needs and at the same time will offer unlimited upgrade possibilities to meet future business needs.
- Direct Integration of Revenue Planning and Sales Data
For most businesses, revenue planning is very important when budgeting and forecasting. Therefore, a CPM solution must integrate costs, revenue with sales unit volumes, or whatever applies depending on the line of business.
It is worth mentioning that revenue planning usually begins with integration of detailed sales data such as units and pricing across dimensions. A CPM Solution that provide direct integration ensures access to both historical and future demand sales.
- Driver-based Planning and Scenario Management
The key objectives of rolling forecast are revisiting of strategy and quick alignment of resources when necessary. Therefore, risks and business opportunities identified should trigger “what if analyses” and scenario planning. Through this, resources for OPEX and CAPEX can be allocated with the ability to set new performance targets as KPIs.
- Forecasting Ability Across Months and Years
Rolling forecast relies on multiple budget assumptions and iterations. It is also based on the whole idea of forecast on a continual basis which is why it is important that the CPM solution has the ability to forecast across months and years in order to truly see and act on periodic changes.
Are you uncertain about the CPM solution you have chosen? Talk to one of our finance consultants today to gain insight on what a robust CPM solution should contain. Visit www.performancecanvas.com for more information or email info@dspanel.com to book a meeting with one of our consultants.
DSPanel offers cutting edge technology platform for business analytics, planning, and visualization. DSPanel designs, builds, and operates with the end users in mind. Performance Canvas was created by DSPanel to answer the unarticulated needs of the market not addressed by previous available solutions. With Performance Canvas, information is transformed into valuable business insights for the business executives to utilize in their decision-making process. DSPanel currently has over 2500 organizations deploying their solutions.
