Scenario planning with Oracle PBC: grip in an uncertain world
The coronavirus has been holding us in its grip for some time now. In addition to its impact on public health, the virus has a major impact on the global economy. Almost every company is affected by the coronavirus. One company has a large loss of turnover. The other sees its turnover increase. Overtime is worked to manage care and to meet changing consumer needs. Governments make arrangements to help companies and employees are also asked for leniency to prevent companies from collapsing. All in all, it is a strange time, and it is uncertain how long and to what extent this will last. How do you keep looking ahead, how do you keep a grip on your organization?
Scenario planning with Oracle PBC: grip in an uncertain world
Does a forecast still make sense?
Some companies will wonder whether it is useful at all to make a forecast or to start on next year’s budget because there is a lot of uncertainty. However, it is essential in this day and age, to focus on the future, both in the short and long term. The budget and the first forecasts made up to and including February are probably no longer realistic and will therefore have to be revised. Often the question is: How? Challenges here are, for example, the time it takes for the business to make a forecast/budget and what data should be used as a basis since the first half-year is not representative for the second half-year, let alone the next year.
Scenario Planning with Oracle PBC
For several clients using Oracle PBC, Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service, we have developed several functionalities on a concise term to deal with the above challenges. Such a model could, for example, facilitate that each business unit chooses its baseline (the basis for the forecast/budget data), for example, last year’s actuals or for example 80% of the current year’s budget. It is also possible to set multiple scenarios against each other, for example, a base scenario versus a “best case” or a “best case” versus a “worst-case”.
The power of “what if’’
To reduce the time required from the business to execute this scenario planning, it is desirable to be able to make adjustments at a higher level and work out “what if” scenarios. For example, what if the government decides to reimburse six months of wage costs and what if this is extended to 9 months? What if purchasing prices skyrocket and what if this crisis persists for more than a year? With a few simple drivers, it is possible to plan at a high level and analyze the impact on both a high and low level, for example, on business unit/product/activity level.
Want to know more?
Would you like to know more or would you like to talk about the possibilities Oracle PBC has to offer? Please take a look at our webinar Improve your forecasts with predictive planning. In 20 minutes, you can see how to make a forecast when circumstances demand it. Would you like to experience for yourself how Oracle PBC works? Please contact our Oracle experts and book a free demo!
