Unlocking decision excellence to drive better financial returns

Thousands of decisions are made across companies every day. But are they the right decisions? Do they drive the right outcomes? And can these outcomes be measured and quantified?  

With the Anaplan Enterprise Decision Excellence Report™ 2024, we’re able to quantify for the first time the value of elevating your company’s level of decision excellence and demonstrate how enterprise connectedness is foundational to better decision-making.

Our report delves into the heart of this challenge and unveils a groundbreaking connection between decision excellence, enterprise connectedness, and total shareholder return (TSR). While it might seem apparent that good decisions lead to better outcomes, we wanted to discover how senior leaders could improve decision performance across their organizations and the financial gains of these enhanced decisions.  

We worked with a leading global strategy consulting firm to survey 500 senior executives from the largest 1,000 organizations in the US, UK, and Canada. We conducted more than 20 in-depth interviews and a series of panel debates, collecting more than 50,000 data points.  

Our research reveals trailblazing evidence, establishing for the first time that enterprise connectedness forms the cornerstone of improved decision-making and elevated decision excellence directly correlates with higher financial returns.

The findings show a 14% improvement in TSR for organizations with higher decision excellence achieved through connectedness.

Defining our terminology

Let’s clarify how our research evidenced this. First, we must define “decision excellence,” “enterprise connectedness,” and “connected enterprise.”

• Decision excellence is not a vague notion but a measurable trifecta of quality, velocity, and efficiency in decision-making.
• Enterprise connectedness is the extent to which an enterprise joins or links its decisions and operations.
• Connected enterprises are characterized by a heightened level of interconnectivity in data, processes, perspectives, and systems that we examined across vertical, horizontal, and external dimensions.

Defining these terms enabled us to establish two indices: the Decision Excellence Index and the Enterprise Connectedness Index, for data analysis on participating organizations.

The power of connection

Our research focused on the correlation between decision performance and organizational connectedness. While we recognize there are other factors involved in decision-making excellence, we wanted to keep our report focused.

What areas of an organization need to achieve elevated connectedness to drive better decisions? Does connectedness drive value within an organization? And if so, by how much? That’s the next hypothesis we set out to explore.  

Connectedness emerged as the enabler of decision excellence. We found that as organizations climb the ladder of enterprise connectedness, their decision excellence scores ascend in tandem.  

Most interestingly, our research discovered this powerful correlation is not confined to a singular aspect but permeates every facet of organizational life, from reducing unproductive meetings by 43% to fostering a 25% increase in focus on crucial matters.

Connectivity inside and out

And our discoveries didn’t stop there. Organizations with enhanced enterprise connectedness don't just build strong internal connections — they extend their reach externally.  

Our report uncovers a 58% higher level of connectedness with customers and suppliers among top performers compared to their lagging counterparts. Of course, it follows then that these organizations are more successful; this external connectivity equips them to navigate challenges such as demand fluctuations and supply chain disruptions more effectively.

We found the higher-performing organizations didn’t just connect specific parts of their business, like sales and marketing or R&D with production. Instead, they demonstrated connection throughout their organization, something we believe is crucial to enhancing decision-making and driving improved financial performance.   

Unlock your decision potential  

Our research unveils a new perspective on decision-making excellence. We establish a clear link between enterprise connectedness and enhanced decision performance with improved shareholder returns by up to 14 percentage points when compared to industry peers.