Corporate / Business Performance Management (CPM)

The definition of Corporate Performance Management (CPM) has not changed since industry analysts Gartner Research introduced the term in 2001, but the way we approach CPM solutions in our organizations today has changed drastically!

Most simply defined, CPM includes the processes, methods, systems, and measurement capabilities that are used to manage the performance of an organization.

The CPM Cycle

In every successful organization you will find a common set of core practices among its leaders and managers that enable them to achieve their goals. All successful organizations follow this formula to one degree or another. These core practices make up the CPM Cycle:

1. Lead the Organization ...Vision, Strategy, & Business Planning
• Establish a Vision and Mission for the organization
• Create (or refresh) the Business Plan of how the vision of the organization will be achieved.
• Frequently map out Strategic Objectives that are aligned to achieving the vision, mission, and business plan of the organization.
2. Manage the Organization ...Financial Planning and Performance Expectation Setting
• Translate the results of the above strategic direction setting into something much more tactical and measurable
• Long Range Financial Plans
• Annual Budgets and Financial Plans
• Quarterly Forecasts and Rolling Forecasts
• Metrics: Targets and Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)
• Clearly communicate the resulting direction and performance expectations through all levels of the organization
3. Run the Organization ...Perform and Execute!
4. Manage the Organization ...Evaluate Performance, Continuously Improve
• Capture, Consolidate, and Measure the resulting operational activity
• Report and Analyze the expected vs. the actual performance of the organization
• Reports, Scorecards and Dashboards to quickly identify areas of concern and missed performance goals
• Query and Analysis capabilities to drill down further and exactly understand the cause of the missed performance goal
• Take action to remedy the issue!
5. Lead the Organization ...Reset Direction
• With great information an organization can determine where they’re successful and where they have issues that must be addressed. They can accurately manage business processes and resources, identify and analyze new opportunities as well as divest from unsuccessful activities, and make new tactical and strategic decisions.

…and the CPM Cycle continues as a living process that directs the resources of the organization in the pursuit of high performance.

CPM Systems

In order to be successful an organization must have the right systems in place to accomplish its operational goals. Since 2001, there has been a tremendous focus in the industry to create the functional tools that enable a flexible, timely, and accurate CPM Cycle. We commonly know these tools to include:

• Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting
• Financial Consolidation
• Business Intelligence Applications (Data Integration and Metadata Modeling, Query, Reporting, Analysis, Dashboards)
• Metrics Management and Scorecards

Cognos and BPM Northwest bring these solutions to you

For many years, leaders in the CPM Software Industry, such as IBM Cognos, have been investing in a suite of applications that greatly ease the processes of the CPM Cycle. Cognos has now delivered these solutions on a single architecture with great benefits which enable collaboration, end user adoptability, consistency, and complete access of historical, plan, and forecast data. As a Cognos Partner, BPM NW works with Cognos and the client to deliver these solutions with the greatest level of product knowledge and implementation expertise available.

Cognos is now complementing its solid, integrated technology foundation for CPM with a whole-product approach. The company is pursuing this evolution with partners and thought leaders. Together, these groups are defining the "sweet spots" for CPM-where a CPM methodology can have highest impact. They are also developing and offering the pre-built solutions that can take advantage of those sweet spots. This whole-product approach of a CPM System comprises:

• Technology Platform: through integrated capabilities and underlying services
• Solutions: that cover departmental, industry, and enterprise-wide performance management needs
• Best practices: through the Cognos Innovation Center for Performance Management
• Partner Ecosystem: Building performance management solutions on the Cognos platform and bringing all of these benefits to the client

The whole-product approach and additional innovations allow BPM Northwest to extend the ever-growing capabilities to bring the client an even greater level of value.