Executive Summary
Key Takeaways
Supply chain planning has evolved from periodic forecasting and inventory management into a continuous, cross-functional discipline that aligns demand, supply and operational execution. Enterprises increasingly rely on SCP platforms to improve forecast accuracy, coordinate planning decisions and respond more effectively to changing business conditions. AI, scenario modeling and continuous planning capabilities are accelerating the shift toward more agile and data-driven supply chain operations.
Software Provider Summary
The ISG Buyers Guide™ for Supply Chain Planning evaluates 27 software providers offering products that support demand planning, supply planning and cross-functional operational alignment. The research ranked the top three overall leaders as Anaplan, Kinaxis and Oracle. Providers were classified using weighted performance in Product Experience and Customer Experience for ISG quadrant placement. Anaplan, Board, Dassault Systèmes, Infor, Kinaxis, Manhattan Associates, o9 Solutions, Oracle, SAP and WiseTech were rated Exemplary, with Blue Yonder, John Galt Solutions, OMP and RELEX rated Innovative. Arkieva, Coupa, GEP, NetStock, Pigment and QAD were rated Assurance, and Blue Ridge, GAINS, ICRON, Logility, Slimstock, Sunstice and ToolsGroup were rated Merit.
Product Experience Insights
Product Experience, representing 80% of the evaluation, focuses on Capability (40%) and Platform (40%), including adaptability, manageability, reliability and usability. Anaplan, Kinaxis and SAP achieved the highest performance as Leaders in this category, highlighted by demand and supply planning capabilities and scenario analysis that support cross-functional planning decisions. Leaders demonstrated enterprise-grade platform capabilities across varied planning, operational and decision-making contexts.
Customer Experience Value
Customer Experience, representing 20% of the evaluation, focuses on validation and TCO/ROI. Anaplan, Oracle and Kinaxis were the Leaders in this category, demonstrating strong customer commitment and clear dedication to customer needs. Providers with lower performance often lacked sufficient information to demonstrate customer success, articulate commitment to customer experience or communicate measurable value through TCO/ROI.
Strategic Recommendations
Enterprises should evaluate supply chain planning platforms based on the ability to support end-to-end planning processes, cross-functional collaboration and continuous decision-making. Assessment should prioritize forecasting accuracy, scenario modeling, planning workflow management, analytics capabilities and support for integrated demand and supply planning. Organizations should also evaluate AI-enabled planning, risk identification and recommendation capabilities that improve agility while maintaining transparency and business accountability.
The Findings
The software providers and products evaluated in this research offer product and customer experiences, but not every feature is equally valuable to every enterprise or is needed to support the relevant business processes and use cases. Moreover, having too many product capabilities may be a negative factor for an enterprise if it introduces unnecessary complexity. Nonetheless, you may decide that a more comprehensive set of capabilities is important and meets your enterprise’s requirements.
An effective customer relationship with a software provider is vital to the success of any investment. The overall
customer experience and the full lifecycle of engagement play a key role in ensuring satisfaction and long-term success. Providers with dedicated customer leadership, such as chief customer officers, tend to invest more deeply in these relationships and prioritize customer outcomes in line with TCO and ROI expectations. It is equally important that this commitment to customer success is evident throughout the provider’s website, the buying process and the customer journey.
Overall Scoring of Software Providers Across Categories
The research finds Anaplan atop the list, followed by Kinaxis and Oracle. Providers that place in the top three of a category earn the designation of Leader. Anaplan has done so in five categories, Kinaxis in four, Oracle in three and Board, o9 Solutions and SAP in one category.
Executive Summary
Key Takeaways
Supply chain planning has evolved from periodic forecasting and inventory management into a continuous, cross-functional discipline that aligns demand, supply and operational execution. Enterprises increasingly rely on SCP platforms to improve forecast accuracy, coordinate planning decisions and respond more effectively to changing business conditions. AI, scenario modeling and continuous planning capabilities are accelerating the shift toward more agile and data-driven supply chain operations.
Software Provider Summary
The ISG Buyers Guide™ for Supply Chain Planning evaluates 27 software providers offering products that support demand planning, supply planning and cross-functional operational alignment. The research ranked the top three overall leaders as Anaplan, Kinaxis and Oracle. Providers were classified using weighted performance in Product Experience and Customer Experience for ISG quadrant placement. Anaplan, Board, Dassault Systèmes, Infor, Kinaxis, Manhattan Associates, o9 Solutions, Oracle, SAP and WiseTech were rated Exemplary, with Blue Yonder, John Galt Solutions, OMP and RELEX rated Innovative. Arkieva, Coupa, GEP, NetStock, Pigment and QAD were rated Assurance, and Blue Ridge, GAINS, ICRON, Logility, Slimstock, Sunstice and ToolsGroup were rated Merit.
Product Experience Insights
Product Experience, representing 80% of the evaluation, focuses on Capability (40%) and Platform (40%), including adaptability, manageability, reliability and usability. Anaplan, Kinaxis and SAP achieved the highest performance as Leaders in this category, highlighted by demand and supply planning capabilities and scenario analysis that support cross-functional planning decisions. Leaders demonstrated enterprise-grade platform capabilities across varied planning, operational and decision-making contexts.
Customer Experience Value
Customer Experience, representing 20% of the evaluation, focuses on validation and TCO/ROI. Anaplan, Oracle and Kinaxis were the Leaders in this category, demonstrating strong customer commitment and clear dedication to customer needs. Providers with lower performance often lacked sufficient information to demonstrate customer success, articulate commitment to customer experience or communicate measurable value through TCO/ROI.
Strategic Recommendations
Enterprises should evaluate supply chain planning platforms based on the ability to support end-to-end planning processes, cross-functional collaboration and continuous decision-making. Assessment should prioritize forecasting accuracy, scenario modeling, planning workflow management, analytics capabilities and support for integrated demand and supply planning. Organizations should also evaluate AI-enabled planning, risk identification and recommendation capabilities that improve agility while maintaining transparency and business accountability.
The Findings
The software providers and products evaluated in this research offer product and customer experiences, but not every feature is equally valuable to every enterprise or is needed to support the relevant business processes and use cases. Moreover, having too many product capabilities may be a negative factor for an enterprise if it introduces unnecessary complexity. Nonetheless, you may decide that a more comprehensive set of capabilities is important and meets your enterprise’s requirements.
An effective customer relationship with a software provider is vital to the success of any investment. The overall customer experience and the full lifecycle of engagement play a key role in ensuring satisfaction and long-term success. Providers with dedicated customer leadership, such as chief customer officers, tend to invest more deeply in these relationships and prioritize customer outcomes in line with TCO and ROI expectations. It is equally important that this commitment to customer success is evident throughout the provider’s website, the buying process and the customer journey.
Overall Scoring of Software Providers Across Categories
The research finds Anaplan atop the list, followed by Kinaxis and Oracle. Providers that place in the top three of a category earn the designation of Leader. Anaplan has done so in five categories, Kinaxis in four, Oracle in three and Board, o9 Solutions and SAP in one category.
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