Anaplan
Anaplan, IncExternal reviews
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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.
Anaplan for Alternative Investments
What do you like best about the product?
Anaplan's flexible model building platform allows users to create very unique models to handle a myriad of use cases in the alternative investments space, including carry calculations, carry allocation, fund modeling and more. The platform is easy to implement given that the formulas mirror excel.
What do you dislike about the product?
Anaplan does not have a very robust workflow management functionality.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Anaplan gets companies out of excel and into a model with auditability functions and application lifecycle management.
Anaplan, the flexible calculation engine
What do you like best about the product?
Anaplan is able to calculate millions and millions of data points in seconds, while still providing a great amount of flexbility.
What do you dislike about the product?
Anaplan is not at a point where it can be used as a reporting tool, and still sometimes requires the use of another software for specific reporting requirements.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
I'm able to set up models in a way that scenarios can easily be added in order to create multiple forecasts.
Anaplan : A great connected planning platform
What do you like best about the product?
Anaplan is a lightweight solution which does not need labor intensive effort for implementation. It can remove excel-silos in the company and help collaboration among different department in the organization which can effectively shorten planning cycle and improve user experience in planning.
What do you dislike about the product?
There is no ETL tools embedded (excpet for paying a higher price for an OEM informatica). For every projects we have implemented, we require IT Department to help on ETL tasks which would always receive resistance and hesitation from the customers.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It helps our customers to solve the lack of multi-dimensional management in excel. Excel is an excellent tools for mathematical computation but it lacks the management of dimensions and hierarchy. Anaplan can effectively manage dimensions and hierarchy to help users shortening time for changing formulas in excel when there is any change in dimensions everytime, which is very frequent in business world nowadays. Strong computing power from Anaplan can also help users to plan at a more granular level when needed, the real-time calculation has outraced the performance in excel which could takes forever to update a formula if the source data volume is high.
Anaplan - Making Connected Planning Easier
What do you like best about the product?
Allows making connected planning across an organization's business areas more streamlined.
Allows to have one source of truth for planning accross the organization.
Allows to have one source of truth for planning accross the organization.
What do you dislike about the product?
Takes time to load data from source databases to allow refreshing the data in the platform.
Takes a lot of space if working with huge datasets - e.g. working with SKU/material level data.
Takes a lot of space if working with huge datasets - e.g. working with SKU/material level data.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Allows to streamline planning accross an organization - connecting business areas and allowing better connected planning. Allows areas to have a single source of truth for all data allowing planners to make better decisions.
Amazingly flexible. Huge benefits for the organization if done correctly
What do you like best about the product?
Flexibility. Can model any business process and function. No coding so development is fast and can be done within the function.
What do you dislike about the product?
Not a Anaplan problem per se but in order to get the most out of the product, you need capable resources. Anaplan is not a plug & play system.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Cost allocations, subsidiary FP&A, workforce planning, KPI administration, Sales Planning.
All of these are done in Anaplan. All of them are connected so having a single source of truth saves us a lot of time. The functionalities we have in these models couldn´t be done in any other (single) platform.
All of these are done in Anaplan. All of them are connected so having a single source of truth saves us a lot of time. The functionalities we have in these models couldn´t be done in any other (single) platform.
4yr+ Anaplan Developer Review
What do you like best about the product?
The flexibility of Anaplan is both the best. There is no out of the box Anaplan solution, meaning each implementation requires a dedicated team / external resource to create a solution and each solution can be customized/built for with a sustainable process in mind.
Used correctly, Anaplan can be an extremely powerful tool for breaking down siloed planning and drive meaningful cross-functional conversation across an enterprise.
While not perfect, Anaplan has grown in it's ability to move data in/out of the platform without relying on middleware. The Amazon S3 connector for example, has proven to be incredibly useful for our business.
Used correctly, Anaplan can be an extremely powerful tool for breaking down siloed planning and drive meaningful cross-functional conversation across an enterprise.
While not perfect, Anaplan has grown in it's ability to move data in/out of the platform without relying on middleware. The Amazon S3 connector for example, has proven to be incredibly useful for our business.
What do you dislike about the product?
The flexibilty, while being an unbelievable benefit, is a double edged sword. Solutions nede to be carefully designed to enable a sustainable solution.
Anaplan is also not the best tool for high intensity data transformation and highly spare data sets. When using data that has more than 3 or 4 large dimensions (customer id, product id, country, etc.) . Anaplan offers a high sparsity instance (called Polaris), but Polaris modelling is slightly different from the classic calculation engine, and our current Polaris build has required lots of communication with the Anaplan support team as we have run into a few kinks.
Anaplan is also not the best tool for high intensity data transformation and highly spare data sets. When using data that has more than 3 or 4 large dimensions (customer id, product id, country, etc.) . Anaplan offers a high sparsity instance (called Polaris), but Polaris modelling is slightly different from the classic calculation engine, and our current Polaris build has required lots of communication with the Anaplan support team as we have run into a few kinks.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We use Anaplan for budgeting and forecasting, our financial statements, corporate consolidations, workforce management and headcount operating expense management.
Flexible, scalable, approachable tool!
What do you like best about the product?
Multi-dimensionality for data, ability to conduct scenario planning, collaborative and cloud-based platform
What do you dislike about the product?
Management style reporting is a new feature that still needs some work. The ability to execute iterative calculations similar to Excel is not present.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
The scalability and security issues faced when using Excel for budgeting and forecasting. Users can ensure integrity in a forecast without cell-by-cell formula references.
Easy to setup and support for HR and workforce
What do you like best about the product?
Ease of use \ configuration. Simple setup on a small VM to connect our data with Anaplan., Dedicated team that works with you through the adoption process to get started.
Competitive price
Competitive price
What do you dislike about the product?
Initial vendor calls had a bit of disconnect between their sales and technical teams. A lot of confusion over certificates that ended up being a non-issue in the long run.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It helps our HR department make important planning data visualization and charts that would not be possible with something simpler like MS Excel and allows them to gather data to further compare with other departments for project planning, budgeting and financial consolidation.
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