CPM: mission critical for your organization?

From 1 until 3 November Cannes (France) was the venue of the Outlooksoft European User Forum 2006. Within the sunny and beautiful surroundings of the Cote d' Azur there were numerous opportunities to meet Outlooksoft customers, Outlooksoft partners and Outlooksoft employees. Central theme during the conference was the presentation of Outlooksoft’s latest product: Outlooksoft 5 .

Outlooksoft 5 promises to offer ever increasing powerful CPM solutions based on continuous technological innovations and active incorporation of customer feedback. Unique focus is given on the planning and the predictive analytics that Outlooksoft 5 offers to its clients. Or as Outlooksoft CEO Phil Wilmington formulates it: “The ability to be a predictable enterprise in today’s market is mission critical.”

But what does this mean mission critical? A company’s mission states why the company exists (raison d’être) and what it wants to achieve on the short to mid term. Hence, a mission has something to do with a company’s strategy and its performance. So CPM is critical for the performance of organizations? Let’s find out!

In today’s global, turbulent and dynamic marketplace more and more flexibility and transparency is asked of organizations. Shareholders want to receive maximal value for their investments. Governments and legal bodies ask for increasing accountability of past and present results. Market barriers decline resulting in increasing competition. Customers expect ever more value for their money.
To cope with the increasing complexity of the marketplace managers feel the need for timely and relevant information which enables them to make the right decision on the right time. Achieving a sustainable competitive advantage demands insight and forward visibility to the business.

With the integration of financial and operational information, compliance orientated features, workflow controls, predictive analysis capabilities and the integration of Business Process Flow (BPF) technology CPM solutions are more and more meeting the demands of the competitive marketplace. CPM should not only address retrospective financial accountability and compliance. The capability to transform financial, operational and strategic information into reliable and timely predictive analysis will revolutionize the way organizations compete.

Successful CPM implementations align and streamline processes and systems starting with the company’s strategy. Goal of the implementation should be to offer a tailored and unique solution meeting the demands of the local marketplace and the company’s ambitions. Investing in the necessary systems and CPM tools is therefore just one part of the implementation. More important is how you organize and translate your information needs across the processes and systems. Hence, a successful CPM implementation does not just mean joining the bandwagon.
Unique solutions will offer organizations the opportunities for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. When implemented successfully CPM can help companies achieve goals, quantify success, effectively allocate resources, chart the continuing course and give accurate predictions for future investments. CPM can offer the critical information to outperform your competitors.

Is CPM mission critical for your organization? I reckon it is!