Planning Process for Organizational Alignment

A large paper manufacturer recognized the need for an updated planning process to address key internal, marketplace, and industry realities. To compete successfully, it needed to align the planning process with key customers and accelerate the rate of innovation. Internally, the company was shifting focus and needed a disciplined process to better align their marketing objectives, investments, and outcomes. (r)evolution designed a planning process that addressed their internal and external realities. The development of the process was based in a collaborative approach that leveraged a team of consumer products employees from different functions and categories to provide continuous input and feedback to shape the process. The new process created value for the business through optimizing collaboration, improving the planning content, and realigning the calendar - with collaboration across functions and categories as an integral component of the new process. The consumer products division successfully executed the first annual cycle of the new planning process and in the end, was able to better align investments with the highest priority growth opportunities across the organization.