Anastasia Pyleva,
Senior Supply Chain Management Expert at Planingo
In a world where accurately forecasting business development a year ahead is becoming difficult, and Excel is no longer fit for purpose for medium-sized enterprises, companies are increasingly turning to technology to support their business planning processes. Kazakhstan is no exception. In the context of rapid economic change in the country and the wider region, Kazakhstani companies face the challenging task of learning to respond quickly to changes and build sustainable business models in conditions of high uncertainty.
However, simply deciding to adopt modern technologies is not enough. Without fundamental changes in people’s thinking and the development of key team competencies, digitalisation risks becoming an expensive showcase with no real return.
From Excel to ecosystem. From processes to people
Many Kazakhstani companies use leading integrated business planning (IBP) platforms such as SAP IBP, Oracle and Anaplan. Replacing fragmented spreadsheets with an integrated digital platform seems like an obvious solution. However, in practice, it is often the human factor that poses the greatest obstacle to the adoption of new technologies. The platform is just a tool. Success depends on who uses it and how.
Companies that have undergone transformation agree on one thing: without the right skills, not even the most technologically advanced model will work. Conversely, a mature team can sometimes achieve great things with even modest solutions.
5 must-have capabilities to make digitalization work
1. An expert-level understanding of end-to-end processes.
Essentially, integrated business planning focuses on management decision-making process to be effective and well-informed. Knowing your area of responsibility is not enough — you also need to understand how your actions affect other functions and the results of the entire business. Without this understanding, information gaps, miscalculations and costly mistakes are inevitable.
2. Cross-functional interaction and change management
Planning is not just the work of analysts in offices. It involves constant dialogue with the sales, production, logistics and finance teams. This requires effective communication skills — the ability to negotiate, argue and persuade.
3. Systems thinking and analytical maturity
A digital model is not a calculator. It reflects business logic with all its complex interrelationships and influencing factors. The team must be able to read the model like a map, understanding the reasons for deviations, recognizing weak signals and formulating hypotheses. More accurate models require a larger amount of data, as well as the team’s ability to interpret the results. A lack of these skills often leads to the tool being rejected as ‘too complicated’, or conversely, the model being overcomplicated due to irrelevant data.
4. The ability to trust and verify algorithms
A strong team knows how to test a solution before launch, and afterward, trust and use it, focusing on exception-based planning. Without this ability, you can fall into the trap of making constant manual adjustments, which can be disastrous when it comes to scaling up: what works with 50 SKUs might not work with 5k.
5. Flexibility and adaptability
The time has passed when business processes had to be “tailored” to fit rigid IT systems. In stable conditions, there is nothing wrong with strictly following regulations. However, in Kazakhstan, where the external environment can change in a week — including currency, duties, supply chains and regulations — people who are used to working this way will struggle to adapt. Today’s technologies are flexible — the question is whether people are ready for change. The ability to adapt, rethink approaches and embrace continuous improvement is key to effective planning teams.
It’s not about one hero, but a strong team as a competitive advantage
It is important to understand that the above-listed skills are not a checklist for one ‘superhero’. They are the collective ability of a team. However, the absence of even one key link can make the entire system vulnerable.
Companies that recognize this invest not only in tools, but also in people: they build T-shaped roles within teams (deep expertise in one area combined with broad understanding of related fields), foster a culture of collaboration and trust, and train employees to adapt and make data-driven decisions. They understand that business sustainability today is built not only on IT infrastructure, but also on people’s ability to work with it consciously, proactively and strategically.
Source: DK News
