Core xP&A Capabilities
Would you use outdated data or forward it to someone on your team to make decisions that affect your business's competitiveness? Surprisingly, many companies do. They operate without a complete data management system that enables all managers to see an accurate and complete business picture.
xP&A helps to optimise a company’s full potential across all essential functions: finance, human resources, sales, marketing, operations, supply chain, IT and R&D. It’s an effective way of ensuring companies are in tune with their data to capitalise on every business opportunity.
1. Real-time Data for Insightful Analysis
One of the capabilities of xP&A is its ability to deliver real-time data and insights. All managers integrate data from multiple sources, like plans, forecasts, non-financial and financial data, into a real-time connected system. The resulting data pool enables groups, cost centres, departments, divisions or subsidiaries to work together remotely or in any office for prompt decision-making. They can create financial and operational plans, such as rolling forecasts from up-to-the-minute data.
Real-time access empowers decision-makers to move past their gut instinct and base their actions on accurate and current information. Today, this is easily done with the introduction of AI and automation. The xP&A systems become increasingly skilled at identifying patterns, flagging anomalies, and offering predictive insights to help organisations stay ahead of the curve.
2. Performance Management of All Company Data
Extended planning and analysis is not just about collecting data, but also about using it to drive performance. Using consolidating metrics that are extracted from operations, finance, sales, HR and other functions, it can provide an overview of the organisational performance.
Leaders are able to see how different parts of the business contribute to a certain strategic goal. Since teams have a clear visibility into their targets and progress, this approach also supports accountability.
3. Integrated Supply Chain and Financial Planning
Most businesses have experienced supply chain issues. xP&A has the ability to make the delivery of goods and services from supplier to customer more efficient. Organisations can easily optimise resource allocation and reduce waste. All that's needed is to align sales forecasts, production schedules and inventory levels with financial budgets. This can sometimes be a problem.
If we drill down to more basic but fundamental business activities, the findings are alarming. While finance teams often attribute manual data entry to critical errors, the majority of finance professionals still rely on outdated tools. Many may not know that, years ago, a spreadsheet copy-paste error cost JP Morgan billions in trading losses. A faulty calculation also led to a £18.5 million budget shortfall.
This is why there must be a better connection between accurate data delivery and insightful analysis. Companies must act with current figures efficiently and spend more time calculating good business decisions.
Mercur Solutions surveyed its customers and found that xP&A allowed them to do precisely that. Since switching to its xP&A system, Mercur Business Control, 94% say they now have more time for analysis and monitoring.
The outcome is that all these companies can dive deep into their current supply chain or other operational and financial data. Their teams can create graphics to illustrate problems and timely solutions.