When planning becomes a lived experience

Raising awareness among non-specialists about supply chain planning issues is never easy. Trade-offs, capacity constraints and cross-functional impacts are difficult to grasp until they are experienced first-hand.
This is precisely why we designed a business simulation dedicated to Connected Planning.

In October and November, students from Centrale Lille and CentraleSupélec took part in this immersive experience.

The objective was clear: to understand, through practice, the importance of a shared vision across teams and the effects of truly unified decision-making.

A simulation covering 12 to 18 months of activity

Over two to three half-day sessions, participants form small teams that act as mini-companies managing an accelerated year of operations. Each group must plan, decide and arbitrate while dealing with the same types of disruptions real organisations face.

The simulated context is built around a company founded in 2010, characterised by:

• A core business focused on a premium product, subject to strong seasonality and significant exposure to international markets
• A diversification strategy launched in 2020 with two new product lines experiencing rapid growth in the US and European markets
• Positive momentum in 2023, to be consolidated in 2024
• A clear objective: maximise profit

The simulation mirrors the key steps of a monthly planning cycle:

1. Financial and strategic framing
2. Business analysis and forecast updates
3. Operational adjustments
4. Final alignment with an executive committee

In practice, participants quickly realise how these steps collide with familiar challenges: unexpected events, lack of coordination, conflicting objectives, incomplete or poorly shared data.

Disruptions that reflect real-world constraints

Throughout the game, the teams must manage several structuring events:

• A product shortage caused by capacity constraints
• Limited but critical recruitment decisions
• Growth opportunities in the US and European markets
• A marketing campaign launched without sufficient anticipation
• The introduction of a carbon footprint constraint, forcing teams to arbitrate between economic performance and environmental impact

These elements require teams to align strategy, operations and real-world constraints while controlling their impact on margin and revenue.

An Anaplan environment to make decisions tangible

Each team works within a dedicated Anaplan environment. The goal is not to showcase a solution, but to make tangible:

• The link between assumptions and decisions
• The direct impact of local adjustments on overall performance
• The importance of a single, shared data reference
• The need for consistent updates across departments (finance, HR, sales planning, supply chain planning)

This environment facilitates scenario comparison and enables teams to quickly measure the consequences of their trade-offs.

What participants quickly discover

As the simulation progresses, several key insights emerge:

• Team connectivity: no decision can be made in isolation
• Cross-functional impacts: any change in capacity, forecast or workforce immediately affects the entire planning system
• The role of digitalisation and data sharing: shared information streamlines collaboration and reduces misinterpretation
• The value of unified steering: capacity, forecasting, hiring and cash flow must be synchronised to avoid contradictions
• The differentiating power of planning decisions: with similar business potential, teams achieve markedly different margins based solely on the quality of their planning trade-offs

A central takeaway

The experience reinforces a strong conviction: engagement does not come from the tool, but from understanding other functions’ realities.
Connected Planning takes root when each participant understands how their decisions affect other teams and recognises the constraints shaping their work.

Our business simulations are designed precisely to embed this understanding—well before any operational or technological transformation begins.