Author: Danielle IJkema
Last week I had the pleasure of attending and presenting at the Cparity Event– From S&OP to IBP. Two and a half days full of sharp insights from leaders across different industries — and a clear sense of where Integrated Business Planning stands in 2025.
Across presentations, a few themes stood out to me:
🔹 Uncertainty is here to stay.
🔹 Leadership now requires a blend of science (data, processes, structure) and art (culture, engagement, politics, stakeholder alignment).
🔹 IBP is not just a planning exercise — it is a strategic, human, decision-making process.
🔹 Beyond KPIs, measuring happiness and engagement helps us understand whether processes truly add value.
🔹 Adaptiveness, continuous learning loops, curiosity, and connection are becoming essential capabilities.
🔹 New roles may emerge — decision-making architects, business generalists with curiosity and financial acumen, alliance builders.
🔹 And above all: Integrated Business Planning is a human process.
Anna Kulikova, Serkan Atlas, Teun Veldhuizen, Sorina Bretan, Vineet Khanna, Olivier Gléron, ANNA BOUROU, Nick Marton, Dr. Nicole J Osentoski, Wolfgang Eich, Birgit Breitschuh, Ieke le Blanc, Alfons Willemsen, Harald Leenaars,Tina McKenzie.
Hearing these insights, I found myself reflecting on the word “planning” itself.
In a world defined by volatility, can we truly plan our way forward?
Yes — better data, more technology, and faster insights will help.
But are they enough?
I believe what we really need is to strengthen our ability to:
✔ Sense and interpret signals
✔ Collaborate deeply
✔ Make better decisions together
To build decision-making capacity not just vertically in hierarchies, but horizontally across the organization.
To appreciate skills like listening, curiosity, experimenting, learning, and above all, building trust.
These ideas were echoed in every presentation, and they inspired me to question whether improving our traditional planning capabilities is truly the answer for the future — or whether it’s time to evolve toward what Helmut Leitner from HELIBLICK first coined as Integrated Business Sensing (IBSing©).
❓A question for my fellow supply chain and business leaders:
🤔 Will doing more of what we’ve always done prepare us for what’s next?
💡 Or is it time to rethink our mental models and develop new sensing and decision-making capabilities for a new era of work?