No company is like any other. Therefore, no solution for Corporate Performance Management can be defined as static. Peculiarities of models, metrics and modes do not have to lead to consider Performance Management initiatives as lacking of design and application settings.
Considering we can have three types of metrics – Financial, Operational and Performance - , the objectives of CPM projects can be grouped into three main categories: Strategic alignment, Performance planning and Result monitoring
In this context, we should be able to identify and draw influences and relationships of the PM processes, based on the analyzed Critical Factors and defined KPI.
Since there is not a unique and complete technological solution that can support the entire framework, but a series of proper combinations, based on the objectives and resources that should be considered, the SDG’s “Adapt-Case” is the ideal approach to develop CPM initiatives, which are also powered by a combination of People, Process and Performance perspectives.
In this way, we should move from the "sense and response" measuring to "seek and act" performance managing.
CPM projects are more efficient for companies that have built a solid data warehouse architecture, dimensions and measures involved in planning processes. This simplifies the homogenization of different data sources, the aggregation by size and the search for the most reliable and useful data for every specific need. Indeed large part of efforts in a "scorecard" project is the complex search for data in order to find the most consistent with the indicator to be defined, that should be at the same time easy to catch and release.
However, these premises are no longer enough to properly define the requirements of the technology framework: it is increasingly clear that the ROI of CPM projects is due to an increased quality and in-depth information used in the process, that necessarily requires the involvement of new actors inside and outside the company.
The approach, already tested for example with the integration of branch offices in sales and cost planning, is spreading to new partners able to provide more detailed information that can be managed through an "extended framework”.
An example is the integration of qualitative and quantitative data from survey agencies and benchmarks, the inclusion of risk indices by the reference contacts of the audit or banking area contact, the ability to involve organizations in collecting demographic trend data or to involve merchandisers, logistics operators, customers, suppliers or employees.
The technology framework expands and sees new components of collaborative working and workflow entering a structure of CPM portal that combines business intelligence and CPM tools.