Today, the business has clearer accountability for planning, while higher data quality and better access to information provide a more reliable basis for decision-making. Previously, Askalon handled budgeting and forecasting mainly in Excel. As more people became involved in the process, the limitations of Excel became increasingly clear.
“The Excel solution presented challenges related to data quality, version control and the ability for several people to work simultaneously. The process was also highly dependent on specific individuals, which made it difficult to establish clear accountability for budget responsibility across the business. We wanted each Business Area to be able to take full responsibility for its own planning and budget,” explains Anna Danielsson, CFO at Askalon.
Today, Askalon uses Planacy for several key planning processes, including the sales budget, bookings and order backlog, investment budget, HR budgeting, cost budgeting and cash flow planning. Planacy has also been integrated with QlikView and Fortnox.
“The integrations work very well and give us access to up-to-date information and relevant key figures directly in the planning process. This gives us better conditions for working with planning, performance monitoring and analysis based on relevant and current information,” says Anna.
Askalon was able to quickly see a clear change in how budgeting and forecasting are carried out following the implementation of Planacy; among other things, the allocation of responsibilities has become clearer and each Business Area has gained greater accountability for its planning.
“By year two, we are already seeing a significantly more structured and efficient budgeting and forecasting process. In addition, understanding of the business’s cost drivers has increased, creating better conditions for making the right priorities and decisions,” explains Anna.
Above all, Askalon sees significant benefits in how Planacy combines efficiency and transparency with higher quality in financial planning.
Anna also feels that the implementation and collaboration with Planacy have worked very well.
“Planacy’s team has been professional and attentive, and has helped us adapt the solution to our specific business needs. The support is quick, knowledgeable and easily accessible,” Anna explains.
Going forward, Askalon continuously evaluates how the use of Planacy can be further developed as the business’s needs change. Among other things, they see potential to use more of the platform’s features for analysis.
“Good system support helps save both time and resources while reducing the administrative burden of the budgeting process, and that is exactly what Planacy does. For us, Planacy has also created better collaboration, increased engagement across the organisation and a more reliable basis for decisions and planning,” Anna concludes.
About Askalon
Askalon AB is a leading supplier of valves, services and solutions for industrial automation. As an Emerson Local Business Partner, Askalon represents Emerson's valve range in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland and is particularly well known for Fisher control valves and services. Visit Askalon's website
