In this article, we’ll explore the impact of fragmented planning — and how to build enterprise planning processes resilient enough to weather ongoing economic uncertainty.
As we enter a new period of disruption, financial planning — and the budgeting, forecasting, and scenario modeling that come with it — is set to take center stage for many enterprises. The effects of widespread uncertainty and market volatility will be felt across all businesses, but they’ll be even more pronounced for companies struggling with fragmented financial planning processes.
So how can finance teams strengthen their processes now to prepare for the next disruption that rattles their best-laid plans? By unifying budgeting, planning, and forecasting across the enterprise.
In this article, we’ll explore the impact of fragmented planning — and how to build enterprise planning processes resilient enough to weather ongoing economic uncertainty.
Fragmented planning: What is it and why is it dangerous during economic disruption?
As the name implies, fragmented planning occurs when data from departments, business units, and regions are disconnected from each other and the broader organization. Often, plans and planning data are isolated or siloed in systems, which makes it difficult to build a baseline plan, let alone craft a cohesive planning strategy or respond quickly to requests and evolving conditions.
The risks of fragmented planning
FP&A teams need to be productive, agile, and fast — but that can feel impossible when they’re bogged down by the data collection, normalization, and analysis required to stitch together fragmented planning processes. Here are just a few consequences of fragmented planning processes.
Compromised agility
One study by commerce platform Deuna found that teams juggling multiple data sources waste 80% of their time just cleaning and reconciling data. Similarly, research by Finquore showed FP&A teams spend 75% of their time on data collection and process management, leaving just 25% for actual analysis and planning. Imagine if those numbers were flipped.
Fragmented planning traps teams in the data trenches, pulling information from scattered systems and spreadsheets, then scrubbing it until it's usable. Meanwhile, the real value of FP&A — strategic analysis, spotting inefficiencies, maximizing revenue — takes a backseat.
Compromised accuracy
To err is human — and fragmented planning processes are full of human touch points: exporting data from ERPs, copying and pasting spreadsheets, emailing for updates, tweaking formulas in Excel. Every manual step opens the door to errors.
Even a “whoops” as seemingly insignificant as a misplaced decimal can have costly consequences during volatile times. A study by the University of Baltimore and Datarails found that flawed FP&A reporting processes cost U.S. companies $7.8 billion annually due to errors and inefficiencies.
Inaccurate data leads to inaccurate forecasts, which drive poor decisions and strategy. Ultimately, quality issues in the data preparation not only reduce accuracy but add to the time burden planners have to be ready to plan versus planning, analyzing and aligning plans with strategy.
Compromised alignment
Divisions or Business Units of a business must operate independently to serve their own goals while still contributing to the broader success and strategy of the enterprise. Yet a Deloitte survey found that 72% of companies struggle with efficient cross-functional planning, leading to misaligned strategies and missed revenue opportunities. Board International’s 2024 Global Planning Survey echoed this, reporting that 31% of respondents saw poor planning hurt profitability, productivity, and innovation efforts.
When planning is misaligned, the impact can be significant:
- Stockouts: Sales ramps up demand, but operations aren’t prepared to fulfill it.
- Excess Working Capital: Planning agility is too slow to recognize slowing sales and determine how to reduce or reallocate supply.
- Inconsistent responses: One team freezes hiring during a crisis while another expands headcount.
- Confused accountability: Central Procurement and business unit buyers assume the other is tracking cost-saving efforts — but no one is.
- Slow reactions: Finance misses revenue shortfalls in key segments until weeks later, delaying leadership’s response.
- Delayed cost-cutting: Without centralized budget data, leaders can’t quickly spot or cut non-essential spend.
Departments acting on incomplete or delayed data inconsistently manage strategic goals and fragmented planning leads to misalignment across planning and execution.
