PerformanceManagementLink
Issue #253
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PerformanceManagementLink covers
the latest in performance management and measurement, budgeting,
financial reporting and analysis, business intelligence,
consolidation and decision support. Readers will gain insight
on such critical issues as software and market trends as
well as learn tips, techniques and solutions to common problems.
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Sponsored by
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Visit the BPM Magazine Resource Center
Here you will find white papers, product demos, and presentations from
companies whose reputations have been built on helping BPM practitioners
get the most from their initiatives. You can browse the content "booths"
by vendor or category.
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- Today's Alerts -
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The
Strategic Value of OpEx
According to Anand Sanwal, vice president of corporate
portfolio management and strategic business analysis at American
Express, companies are "stuck in a time warp" when it comes to managing
operating expenses (OpEx). While managers often focus on capital
expenditures (CapEx), "discretionary OpEx investments in marketing,
sales, operations, people, and other areas of the business deliver the
results that sustain the enterprise and ultimately determine the winners
and losers in an industry," explains Sanwal in "OpEx as Investment: How
To Spend More Strategically." Implementing a corporate portfolio
management (CPM) approach to OpEx decision-making can promote better
resource allocation and strategic growth.
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2008 Core BPM
Vendors
BPM Partners has identified its "core" performance
management vendors for 2008, a recognition given to vendors that address
a majority of business performance management (BPM) basics, have a BPM
focus, appeal to a wide range of potential customers, are proven in the
field, and have a satisfied group of clients. Of the nine honored
vendors, four -- Adaptive Planning, Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP -- are
new to the list, while Clarity Systems, IBM/Cognos, Infor, Longview
Solutions, and SAS are all veterans.
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Integrating
Financial, Sales, and Operations Planning
Even though companies are interested in sales and
operations planning (S&OP) and are looking to integrate S&OP
technologies into their financial planning processes, many are still
mired in spreadsheets and unsure of how S&OP will connect to current
systems. According to CEO and executive vice president of research for
Ventana Research, Mark Smith, "At its core, S&OP is an aggregate
planning process, and doing it well brings rewards." In his article
"Sales and Operations Planning: Making BPM Work," Smith identifies eight
activities that parallel S&OP success: involving finance in the S&OP
process, aligning S&OP with financial plans, including
plan-versus-actuals reports in top-level S&OP reviews, getting executive
sponsorship for the S&OP process, ensuring top-level S&OP planning
involves a regular agenda and a list of key decisions to be made,
measuring results of S&OP processes, holding regular executive S&OP
meetings, and using technology that includes profit-based S&OP in
performance management.
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Does
the ROI Justify the Cost of BI?
Is business intelligence (BI) worth the cost? The
answer may be "yes," but how can you determine the ROI? Since it is
difficult to quantify how certain information improves decision-making
capabilities, Bill Hostmann, vice president and analyst at Gartner Inc.,
suggests conducting a survey to measure user satisfaction, based on
predetermined BI goals, 18 to 24 months after BI implementation. Another
approach is to consider the loss from not implementing BI. "You've got
a peer over there that has better information for making decisions,"
Hostmann said. "What's the risk of your not making similar investments
[in BI]? The risk is that your competitors are making these kinds of
investments and are able to react more quickly, manage their business
better or respond to changes in the market better and, as a result,
perhaps have better earnings than you."
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BPM
Resource Center: A Guide to EPM
If you are unsure how to apply enterprise performance
management (EPM) to your organization, read "Oracle's Comprehensive
Guide to Realizing Enterprise Performance Management" in the BPM
Resource Center.
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Business
Finance's Ask the Expert
Take this opportunity to tap into the expertise of
Craig Vaream, Managing Director and Product Executive for JPMorgan's ACH
and Global Check Deposit and imaging businesses. He will answer your
questions about the movement from paper to electronic payments and other
trends in the payment space and imaging solutions.
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BPM
Summit 2007: Now Available On-Demand
If you missed the performance management event of the
year -- the 5th annual BPM Summit: The Finance Transformation -- be sure
to catch the on-demand archive where you can listen to the presentations
and review the slides from all of the event's sessions. Speakers include
leading practitioners, authors, consultants, and analysts. A free,
one-time registration is required to access the BPM Summit on-demand.
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- Today's Diverts -
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For
Sale: My Life
A man looking for a fresh start after a painful
divorce is putting his whole life up for auction on eBay -- his house,
job, and even an introduction to his friends are included in the
package. Ian Usher, a British immigrant living in Perth, Australia,
explained his decision, saying, "Everything that I have -- the furniture
in the house -- all has memories attached to it. It's time to shed the
old, and in with the new."
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Cartoon Cat is
Japan's New Ambassador
Japan, a country famous for its "anime," a unique
style of animated cartoons, has appointed an official Anime Ambassador.
Doraemon, a cartoon robotic cat, will promote Japanese culture around
the world. Doraemon told Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura that "through
my cartoons, I hope to convey to people abroad what ordinary Japanese
people think, our lifestyles, and what kind of future we want to
build."
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Audio
Podcasts
Download interviews with some of the best minds in finance
-- for
free -- by visiting Podcast Central, where you'll find fresh
insights on leadership, strategy, and what it means to be
a finance
executive today.
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