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Integrated Business Planning
One plan, not five spreadsheets.
We implement SAP Integrated Business Planning so demand, supply, and finance work from the same numbers — and the planning cycle finishes while the plan is still useful.
Overview
Everyone is planning. Just not together.
Demand builds a forecast. Supply builds a production and procurement plan. Finance builds a budget. Each is careful, considered work — and each is usually done in a spreadsheet, on its own set of assumptions.
The monthly meeting then spends its first hour reconciling three versions of the same number rather than deciding anything. By the time a plan is agreed, the assumptions underneath it have moved on.
IBP puts those teams in one model. The planning does not get easier, but it stops being repeated three times in parallel.
What IBP covers
What we see most often
The situations that come up in nearly every planning conversation
These are the three problems we see most often — and what changes once demand, supply, and finance share one model.
Demand, supply, and finance plan separately and reconcile afterwards. The meeting starts with arithmetic instead of decisions.
Data gathering, spreadsheet consolidation, and review run long enough that the plan is dated before it is published.
Without a recorded baseline there is no way to know whether forecasting is improving, so improvement is difficult to argue for.
Demand, supply, and finance working from a shared planning model, with differences visible as scenarios rather than as disputes.
Consolidation happens in the system, so the time goes into judgement rather than data gathering.
Forecast error measured consistently, so planning performance becomes visible and improvable.
IBP puts those teams in one model. The planning does not get easier, but it stops being repeated three times in parallel.
If you are on SAP APO
Moving from SAP APO to SAP IBP
Development on SAP APO stopped some years ago and maintenance runs to the end of 2027. PP/DS and global ATP have moved into S/4HANA, and the wider planning capability moves to IBP.
Moving is not a technical migration. IBP models planning differently, so the work is largely a redesign of the planning process itself — which is usually the point, since most APO models carry a decade of accumulated workarounds. That is also why it is worth starting the conversation well before the date becomes pressing.
Start with one planning process, not five. The IBP programmes that go well usually begin with demand planning or S&OP alone, prove the model, and add modules afterwards. Attempting the full suite at once is where these projects tend to stall — not for technical reasons, but because planners cannot absorb that much change at once.
What IBP Covers
Five planning capabilities, one model
- Demand planning: Statistical forecasting, demand sensing on short horizons, and a consensus forecast the commercial team recognises as theirs.
- Supply and response planning: Constrained supply planning, allocation, and response to changes in demand or availability.
- Sales and operations planning: The process that ties the others together — with scenarios, version control, and a defined cycle rather than a recurring meeting.
- Inventory optimisation: Multi-stage optimisation to set stock targets on evidence rather than on rules of thumb that were set years ago.
- Supply chain control tower: Visibility and alerting across the plan, so exceptions surface early enough to act on.
How We Help
Planning process design
IBP implementation
Data integration
Planning model design
Planner enablement
Ongoing support and optimisation
Why Organisations Choose VIPAS Technologies
An IBP model that automates a planning process nobody trusts simply produces mistrusted numbers faster, so we design the process before the system.
We design the process before the system
We sequence for adoption
We stay with you after go-live
How We Help
From discovery to long-term support
How the planning cycle should run, who owns each step, and what a good plan looks like — agreed before configuration begins, and supported long after go-live.
How the cycle should run, who owns each step, and what a good plan looks like — agreed before configuration begins.
Module by module, sequenced so each delivers something usable before the next begins.
Connecting IBP to S/4HANA or ECC, with master and transactional data flowing reliably into the planning model.
Planning levels, key figures, and time profiles built around your business rather than copied from a reference model.
Training and hands-on support for the people who will run the cycle, which is what decides whether IBP is used or worked around.
Model tuning, forecast review, and support as the business and the planning process evolve.
Sectors
Industry-Specific Solutions
At Vipas, we provide tailored solutions that align with the unique requirements of various industries. Our expertise spans multiple sectors, ensuring that we meet your specific business needs effectively.
Petro-Chemicals and Agro & Fertilizers
- Integrated Planning: Streamlines downstream and upstream operations, maximizing profits by eliminating transfer pricing using SNP models.
- Predictive Analysis: Leverages AI/ML to manage feedstock variability and integrates maintenance planning based on seasonal and price fluctuations.
- What-If Analysis: Utilizes scenario modeling to predict profitability impacts and optimize feedstock allocation.
- Cost Balancing: Aligns feedstock prices with downstream consumption and market sales, considering by-product costs.
- Recycling Optimization: Uses SNP models to maximize output from the C2 C3 carbon chain in recycling processes.
Hi-Tech
- VMI Modeling: Implements Vendor Managed Inventory processes using IBP Response Planning.
- Contract Manufacturing Management: Integrates with existing ERP systems for effective contractor oversight.
- Demand Forecasting: Models customer-specific demands to enhance forecasting accuracy.
- Load Balancing: Addresses bottlenecks in front-end and packing processes through proper capacity modeling.
- Order Allocation: Prioritizes customer orders using advanced rules to ensure fairness and efficiency.
- No-Touch Sales Orders: Increases automation in sales order allocation using SAP IBP AATP and BOP processes.
Commodity and Specialty Chemicals
- Discrete Planning: Manages chemical and intermediate planning based on finalized feedstock and by-products.
- Controlled Allocation: Adjusts for price fluctuations to prevent overstocking while meeting customer demand.
- Continuous Manufacturing: Incorporates daily production into planning for effective allocation.
- Cost Minimization: Reduces changeover frequency on the shop floor with S4 ePPDS.
- Daily Deployment: Utilizes DDMRP IBP models for accurate customer commitment planning.
Pharma Industry
- Active Ingredient Management: Oversees strength and concentration in Rough Cut Capacity Planning (RCCP).
- Campaign Planning: Adapts planning based on yield and weight-to-volume ratios.
- Decartelization: Transforms continuous manufacturing processes with discrete BOMs.
- Quality Assurance Integration: Embeds QA and QC processes into planning.
- Demand Management: Uses AI/ML for demand sensing in the generics market.
- Production Strategies: Implements push and pull strategies to manage bulk APIs effectively.
Partnering with Vipas ensures a comprehensive engagement from advisory services and product assessment to implementation, integration, support, and co-innovation. We are committed to delivering solutions that drive efficiency and success across your organization.
Why Vipas
Our differentiators
At Vipas, we offer a unique approach that sets us apart in the SAP Integrated Business Planning (IBP) implementation space:
Business-Centric Approach
We maintain a technology-agnostic view to identify and solve critical business problems and challenges.
We understand and contextualize business requirements, translating them into effective technological solutions.
Focus on People, Process, and Technology
Our focus extends beyond just technology to include people and processes for improved performance.
We identify key levers to maximize value from technology implementations for the business.
Business Process Transformation with Best Practices
We identify gaps in existing business processes and propose measures to address them.
We align business processes with industry best practices to streamline operations.
Techno-Functional Team with Relevant Experience
Our team comprises domain and technology experts who streamline implementations based on specific requirements.
We leverage industry experience and business knowledge to help clients succeed through technology interventions.
At Vipas, we provide our customers with a flexible planning scenario to deploy projects efficiently and effectively. We adapt to your needs and offer the flexibility to implement the suite module by module or adjust it according to your evolving requirements.
Our commitment to delivering value through a holistic approach sets us apart in the SAP IBP implementation space. Partner with Vipas to unlock the full potential of your supply chain planning processes.
Partnership
Improve Supply Chain Planning with SAP IBP and Vipas
Digital transformation in planning needs expert support, not just software. Vipas Technologies guides you through the entire process of designing, implementing, and maintaining SAP IBP — whether or not your organisation already runs other SAP components.
We provide a comprehensive approach to every engagement, from model conception and planning process design through deployment and ongoing maintenance, so your business operations continue smoothly while we manage the change.
Whether you operate within a SAP environment or have your own systems, we are ready to advise and guide you through any project. Partner with Vipas to improve your supply chain planning with SAP IBP.
Get in touch
How long does your planning cycle take?
Tell us how planning runs today and which teams are involved. We'll come back with a view on where IBP would help first — no obligation, and no sales pressure.
Request a consultation
First name, last name, email, phone, message — that's all we need to start.