Cloud xP&A is a platform-centric enterprise planning strategy to extend financial planning and analysis (FP&A) with multidiscipline planning capabilities that are packaged, marketed and sold as an integrated operational planning solution. xP&A solutions must include a cohesive, composable, data-harmonized vendor platform that can accommodate emerging technologies, horizontal functional and vertical-specific solutions for their target market(s)
Gartner defines financial planning software as the key tool that enables organizations to automate and streamline their enterprisewide financial planning processes. The software supports planning, budgeting and forecasting processes by connecting relevant operational and driver data to profit and loss, balance sheet and cash-flow financial statements. Additionally, the software offers enhanced decision support and analytics that can be customized to unique planning requirements. To provide this support, financial planning software offers data integration, data modeling, reporting and workflow capabilities, which all enhance a user’s ability to effectively manage the planning process and their organization’s financial performance.
Sales performance management is a suite of operational and analytical functions that automate and unite back-office operational sales processes, and are implemented to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness. SPM core capabilities include incentive compensation management (ICM), territory management (TM) and quota management (QM). Additional capabilities may include objectives management, advanced analytics, natural language processing and exploration, gamification and mobile apps.
Gartner defines supply chain planning (SCP) solutions as platforms that provide technological support to enable a company to manage, link, align, collaborate and share its planning data across an extended supply chain. An SCP solution supports planning, ranging from demand planning through detailed supply-side response planning and from strategic planning through execution-level planning. It is the planning decision repository for a defined end-to-end supply chain. It is also the environment in which end-to-end-integrated supply chain decisions are managed. It establishes a single version of the truth for planning data and decisions, regardless of the underlying execution technology environment.
A talent management (TM) suite is an integrated set of modules that supports an organization’s need to plan, attract, develop, reward, engage and retain talent. The modules offer functionality that includes the areas of workforce planning, recruiting and onboarding, performance appraisal, goal management, learning management, competency management, career development, succession and compensation. The functional modules align with the key human capital management (HCM) processes of: • Plan to source • Acquire to onboard • Perform to reward • Assess to develop A boost to demand in the TM suite market has resulted from the delivery of functionality to improve workforce engagement and collaboration. Further, growing demand for greater analytical capabilities and predictive insights to improve decision making in relation to workforce actions has improved the market’s general health.
Trade promotion management (TPM) and trade promotion optimization (TPO) are the processes and technologies that consumer goods manufacturers leverage to plan, manage and execute the activities that require collaborative promotional activity from their retail partners. Collectively, we refer to them as 'trade promotion execution' (TPx). The solutions in the market are currently offered either separately or as part of a combined package, and to date, have largely been used to deliver promotional activity in brick-and-mortar locations.